Denise Meise's Field Reports

Hello to all! It has been a very long time since I have blogged! Things here in Tennessee are going fine, although busy! I spent the entire month of December and most of February making fudge to raise money for the STAR Center. The fudge seems to be a very popular item, as well as a great gift to give or to receive. We raised about $15,000 with 2 fudge sales (one for Christmas and one for Valentine's Day). With each fundraiser, we included the option to have the fudge delivered to a person's home or place of business, and I recruited volunteers to help with delivery. For anyone who is interested, here is the recipe: …read more

Hello to all! I hope that you are all having fun as a VISTA and that your first week of work has been okay. All is well here in Tennessee. I have been busy working and learning how to do my "job". So far, I have rewritten the "Volunteer Handbook" and "Volunteer Application" for the STAR Center. I have also been able to talk to several people who are interested in volunteering and have scheduled for them to come in for training. In the next week, I will be busy doing trainings, orientation, and tours of the STAR Center. I have also been doing some research for a new adult literacy lab that will be opening (officially) at the end of October. I will need to find several volunteers to run this lab as well. …read more

I am in Boston for the first time for the CTC VISTA PSO. It's beautiful here! I am from Jackson, Tennessee (a small city between Nashville and Memphis) which is also where I will be serving.  On Monday, September 11,  I will start my service as a CTC VISTA at the STAR Center. The STAR Center serves people with disabilties and has a large scope of services.  They do everything from teaching people with disabilities how to use computers to personal assistance in private households.  My job title as a CTC VISTA is "Volunteer Coordinator".  I will be responsible for recruiting in-house volunteers for an adult literacy lab and other various things.  I will also be recruiting volunteers for fund-raising and other large, once-yearly events.  During my "spare time" (ha! ha!) I will be helping to establish a loan program for all different types of assistive technology. …read more