8 President’s Volunteer Service Award
9 Advisory Board Relates to Students
10 Thirty Years of Providing Safe Space
11 Campus/Community Network Begins
12 Nonprofit Agencies Work Together
14 Giving Back This Holiday Season
Progression Through Partnerships is the quarterly newsletter of the Western Kentucky University ALIVE Center for Community Partnerships
CEES Uses Service-Learning Model
Part-Time Faculty; Full-Time Impact
Applied and Community-Based Research
New Coordinator Familar With Issues
Mutual Benefits from Service-Learning
WKU Students Leave a Living Legacy
December 2010
Volume 5, Issue 3
2
3
4
5
6
7
Progression Through Partnerships
Inside This Issue
Page 2
Service-Learning
ALIVE CCP
CEES Uses Service-Learning Model
By: Nadia De Leon
Photo provided by Dr. Terry Wilson
ENVE 560 graduate students teach Lost River Elementary and Cumberland Trace Elementary
School students about sinkholes and karst topography. Below: Warren East Middle School
students from Susie Comer’s science class perform water testing.
W
estern Kentucky University’s Center for
Environmental Education and Sustainability (CEES)
works with the campus community, as well as local
schools and other organizations, to advance sustainability
by promoting environmental education and training
teachers. They conduct educational programs and foster
partnerships, community service, and research.
Using the Earth Force service-learning model, students
get involved in environmental discovery projects and
then apply their findings to a community environmental
improvement project. Earth Force is a nationwide
organization that promotes environmental education
programs that engage young people as active citizens
to improve the environment and their communities. The
service-learning projects are also expected to take place
in partnership with at least one community organization.
Dr. Terry Wilson has been the director of the CEES since
1989, and he first became involved in service-learning
through Earth Force. In the spring of 2009, participating
students also attended a Youth Environmental Summit
hosted in Bowling Green, in conjunction with the Campus
Sustainability Conference. They presented on their
findings and the results of their projects to policy makers,
teachers, other students and the media.
CEES is leading this project
for the Kentucky University
Partnership in Environmental
Education (KUPEE). They
have continued to partner
with Earth Force, as well as
Brandeis University’s Center
for Youth and Communities,
in order to integrate servicelearning into the courses that
are part of the environmental
education teaching
endorsement at WKU,
Eastern Kentucky University,
Murray State University, and
Morehead State University.
Students in those teacher
education courses have
been assessing energy
use in public buildings on
and near their campuses
and developing projects to
decrease energy use in their
target building.
Past student projects
include: establishing food,
water, and shelter sources
for wildlife habitats, installing nesting boxes for local
wood ducks, and investigating a sinkhole in school
property. During the fall 2010 semester, over 90 students
from Parker-Bennett Curry Elementary School have
been going to Trammel Creek, where they gathered and
interpreted data based on an inventory of the area they
created themselves. The students are currently looking at
the problems in the area and will narrow their focus down
to one issue they want to address. They will then conduct
more specific research and finally set on a project to
bring about positive change.
Some of the Earth Force programs at CEES include
Community Action and Problem Solving, a program that
trains educators in the core Earth Force process, and
Global Rivers Environmental Education Network, a handson science program about watershed assessment and
improvement projects.
In 2009, CEES was funded by a Learn and Serve America
grant awarded by the Corporation for National and
Community service to lead a three-year, $1.57 million
project to integrate service-learning into environmental
education programs in Kentucky. The program will reach
thousands of students through high-quality servicelearning projects that meet local needs.
Progression Through Partnerships
Volume 5, Issue 3
ALIVE CCP
Faculty Engagement
Page 3
Part-Time Faculty; Full-Time Impact
By: Nadia De Leon
If faculty in your department participate in service-learning or community-based research, please contact
Nadia De Leon, Community Engagement Coordinator, at nadia.deleon@wku.edu for information on
being featured in one of our publications. Read full facutly engagement stories on our blog at wku.edu/
spiritofengagement.
Juan Gutierrez
Health Programs Specialist - South Central Kentucky Area Health Education Center (AHEC)
Coordinator of Language Access - TJ Samson Community Hospital
Part-Time Faculty - WKU Department of Communications Disorders
Dr. Juan Gutierrez is in involved with a number of programs at WKU and in our
community, such as the Language Access program at TJ Samson Community
Hospital in Glasgow and free medical interpreter training by AHEC. This summer, a
new WKU certificate program in Cross Cultural Communication in Health Care was
approved and will be taught out of the Department of Communication Disorders in
the College of Health and Human Services.
“I hope it will foster the sometimes very fuzzy connection between programs
related to communication, health administration, people who do not speak
English, and the public health consequences of such issues,” Gutierrez explains.
He would like for the program to promote deeper understanding and help people
communicate across cultures, but to also create deeper change by impacting
the results of the interactions between non-English speaking patients and the
healthcare system, for the benefit of both sides. He adds, “only that would make
the program truly effective and sustainable.” This program will be the only one
nationwide that has an administration track for language access planning, the
Implementing and Managing Language Access track. Students in the track will learn about legislation, how it works,
and how to create programs that are compliant, cost effective, and safe for the patients. The other track, Medical
Interpreting, requires that students be bilingual. It is open, however, to students who are fluent in any language. In
fact, he states that “by working with DELO (WKU’s Division for Extended Learning and Outreach), we will be able to
work with over 120 languages, including sign language.”
Diane Sprowl
Community Health Improvement Branch Director - Barren River District Health Department
Instructor - WKU Consumer and Family Sciences Department
Last year, Dr. Christine Nagy and Dr. Darlene Shearer approached Mrs. Diane
Sprowl to determine if there were any projects their students could work on
through the Barren River District Health Department. “They wanted them
(students) to have some real world experience that meets their class requirements
and is useful to us,” Sprowl explained. She presented to the students about her
work and possible opportunities, and thus initiated a partnership for servicelearning class projects. In the spring of 2010, Sprowl had 11 students working with
her in six different projects. This fall 2010 semester, she and two colleagues in
dental health and health promotion, respectively, have each taken four students to
work in pairs for two projects.
Masters of Public Health students are required to complete a capstone project
and an internship, and the health department has long been a site for internship
placement. As part of these internships, students function as health educators and participate in programs according
to their focus area, such as home visits and restaurant inspections. However, applied class projects at the department
are a new development.
Sprowl appreciates the importance of service-learning and applied research. “I think it makes the subject come alive.
They see the practical application of what they are doing. I think it’s very valuable.”
Volume 5, Issue 3
Progression Through Partnerships
Page 4
ALIVE CCP
Community-Based Research
Applied and Community-Based Research
By: Nadia De Leon
C
ommunity-based research is a
form of applied research, that
is, unlike pure research, driven not
Service-learning programs can also
only by curiosity and the intention
be a form of community-based
of expanding knowledge, but driven
learning, as the service-learning and
by interest in solving a problem or
the community members collaborate
improving a particular situation. For
and learn from each other.
example, a pure research question
might focus on discovering what
causes a certain disease, while
an applied research project would then focus on how to
cure the disease. A community-based research project,
for instance, would focus on working with a particular
community to create and implement an action plan on
how to best prevent that disease in the area. Communitybased research is largely defined by the community’s
participation. The researcher does not conduct research
on but with the community. Thus, the community and
the researchers learn together. Of course, none of these
types of research are fixed categories, but rather points
on a spectrum. Where a research project belongs within
the spectrum depends on a number of factors, such as
timeline, perspective, and, most importantly, intention.
The same applies to community-based research, since the
level of community participation may vary – participatory
or collaborative types of community-based research are
those with the most community involvement. Community
partners can be established organizations, informal
community groups, or individuals from the community.
Here are some of the elements that make
community-based research a unique approach:
• It addresses a topic of importance to the
community, so that the research process and
outcomes benefit and empower the community,
finding sustainable solutions whenever possible, and
building on community assets.
• The unique strengths, knowledge, and
perspectives of all research partners involved in
the process are valued, sought after and taken into
account.
• Community partners participate as co-researchers
in the planning, implementation, and evaluation
processes and have real influence on project
direction.
• Community partners are part of the analysis and
interpretation of data, and their points of view are
included, even if they defer with, but in no way
censor, that of the researcher.
The Institute for Citizenship & Social Responsibility posts
questions on their boards for visitors to start thinking
about public problem solving. Above, Christian RyanDowning from the Office of Sustainability responds to
the question of “What is sustainability?”
The ethics of community-based research also requires
caution to avoid possible unintentional harm, respect
for the local community (including culture, values, and
privacy), full disclosure of the researcher’s background
and biases, and flexibility in order to address the goals of
the community with or alongside those of the researcher
without risking accuracy or integrity of the research
process.
Following these principles allows community-based
research to transform one-way relationships in which
academic researchers hold all the power, and their
knowledge is perceived as superior to that of the
community, into an equitable true collaboration that
can democratize the research process, contribute local
voices to social and scientific advancement, and produce
better culturally-situated and community-specific new
knowledge and action for public problem-solving.
Contact nadia.deleon@wku.edu
for a list of peer-reviewed journals
• Results are disseminated in multiple and
accessible ways.
for community-based research, service-learning, and
other campus and community engagement scholarship.
• Projects focus largely on marginalized
communities to bring about positive social change.
Sources and more information:
Community Based Collaborative Research Consortium
http://www.cbcrc.org/ and http://www.cbcrc.org/CBCresearch_Protocols.pdf
School of Public Health, University of Washington
http://sph.washington.edu/research/community.asp)
Kellogg Foundation Community Health Scholars Program
Progression Through Partnerships
Volume 5, Issue 3
ALIVE CCP
ALIVE
CCP
Community Engagement
Page75
Page
New Coordinator Familiar With Issues
I
feel fortunate to have joined the ALIVE Center
staff as the Community Engagement Coordinator.
As a public folklorist, I am familiar with and a strong
promoter of, social advocacy and community-based
scholarship. Folklorists and cultural anthropologists often
study expressions of culture by conducting fieldwork
and participant observation, and we are very aware of
the benefits of and issues involved with participatory
research.
Folklore is a community-based discipline that studies the
traditional practices and knowledge of groups of people,
from families to nations. I hope that my preparation as
a folklorist, will help me bring to the Center an academic
perspective and scholarship approach, as well as a
viewpoint that appreciates the role and importance of
lay knowledge and non-traditional forms of experiential
education.
In my new capacity, I will help facilitate campus and
community partnerships by bringing together parties with
common goals and concerns. I look forward to learning
more about the needs and assets of campus groups and
community organizations in order to foster valuable and
sustainable partnerships. Additionally, I will focus on
identifying and developing opportunities for our students,
faculty, and staff to conduct collaborative servicelearning, community-based research, and public problemsolving.
I work in partnership with the Institute for Citizenship
and Social Responsibility (ICSR), and manage the Hill
House program and The $100 Solution ™ program for
By:Nadia De Leon
our campus and region. I also oversee the Community
Partnership Incentive Awards program. I see myself
being responsible to the community as a connector and
a practitioner, and to the faculty and their students as a
guide for opportunities to be engaged scholars and active
community members.
Additionally, I plan to share guiding information for
service-learning leaders to utilize oral or written reflection
to foster critical-thinking, contextualize service projects,
and transform experience into learning.
I am particularly excited to launch The $100 Solution™
in the spring as a service-learning model for faculty
to implement in their classes, and for community
organizations and student groups who would like to
make a difference. In February, we will start hosting
promotional events and trainings, and accepting
proposals for $100 solutions to be funded.
The $100 Solution ™ is a wonderful tool for participants
to think outside the box, beyond monetary purchasing
solutions, and experience how a small amount of money
can help make a significant difference. Projects must
take into consideration the five principals: partnership,
reciprocity, capacity-building, sustainability, and
reflection.
As a cultural scholar, I am passionate about multicultural
and international education, and I hope to bring these
aspects into our community work and educational
opportunities.
Keep up with the Hill House
Visit
wkuhillhouse.posterous.com/
Hilda Owusu (left), graduate student in Public Health and resident of the Hill House,
discusses her research presentation on second-hand smoke issues at local restaurants.
Nadia De Leon (right) meets with Owusu and other Hill House students every Tuesday
morning.
Progression
Through
Volume
5, Issue
3 Partnerships
Volume
5, Issue 3
Progression Through
Partnerships
ALIVE CCP
Student Spotlight
Page 6
Mutual Benefits from Service-Learning
By: Rebekah Garr
“Where you are deficient, someone else
is more than efficient. Mutually beneficial
relationships work together to make it
happen. They are learning from each as a
community.”
~Brandon Bowman
The $100 Solution
TM
TURNING $100 INTO A WORLD OF CHANGE.
W
hat started out as a class project turned into a
lifestyle for WKU Senior Brandon Bowman. Studying
Corporate & Organizational Communication and Public
Relations in the Honors College, Bowman took the
course Community Approach to Service-Learning that
challenged him to make a difference in the Bowling
Green community. His group decided to teach English
as a Second Language to a Hispanic family in a mobile
home community and fell in love with service-learning.
Although this was Bowman’s first experience with servicelearning, it laid the foundation for his involvement now
with The $100 Solution™ and other community and
campus endeavors.
Photo by: Clinton Lewis
of other people and use all of the resources that college
students have available to them, such as passion, time,
advisors, and peers. Bowman’s advice to students who
have trouble finding their own project is to create a team
TM
and brainstorm together.
The $100 Solution
“Where you are deficient, someone else is more than
TURNING $100 INTO A WORLD
OFsaid
CHANGE.
efficient,”
Bowman. “Mutually beneficial relationships
Bowman holds the Communications Liaison position
on The $100 Solution™ Board of Directors, which is a
program that affects communities world-wide by initiating
change through the ideas of students who want to make
a difference in a community with only $100. He is also
involved with Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI), campus ministries,
Navitas, and the Alumni Association.
These experiences gave Bowman skills that he will use
for years to come both in his personal life and in his
future career. He has been given the opportunity to write
bylaws, recruit new members and advisors, and assist in
creating a strategic development plan.
“Before, community service was good, but now it’s
empowering for both parties,” Bowman said. “I’ve learned
a lot by helping others learn and my values have been
shaped. Mowing a lawn for someone is nice, but when
you add meaning, that’s when you learn and grow.”
Bowman believes that service-learning and student
engagement are necessary for growth. He shows this
through the organizations he is involved in, and he strives
to “do things well and be hyper-involved, while giving it
all you’ve got.”
“Blow service out of the water,” Bowman said in
encouragement to students to find and do something that
challenges them. He urges students to seek the advice
Progression Through Partnerships
work together to make it happen. They are learning from
each as a community.”
To think that only the community is being served is false,
according to Bowman. He has experienced the process
and realized that being involved in community service is
a life change. Bowman discussed how there should be
an inspiration of the heart and the utilization of students’
skills.
“When I walk out of college, I want to know that
everything I did was worth it,” said Bowman. “I want to
know I used my time efficiently. It may have taken a lot
of time, physical energy, and resources, but when you
pay it forward, someone else will carry it on. It will grow.
Inspiration and vision grows exponentially.”
VOTE Today!
refresheverything.
com/100dollarsolution
Volume 5, Issue 3
ALIVE CCP
Community Engagement
Page 7
WKU Students Leave A Living Legacy
By: Alyssa Stephens
Photo by: Clinton Lewis
Class Legacy
B
eginning with the class of 2013, students will have
the opportunity to give something meaningful while
they are still attending Western Kentucky University,
something that will keep on giving to both the university
and the community, a living legacy. This is the idea
behind the Class Legacy Project.
The Class Legacy Project was introduced in WKU’s Quality
Enhancement Plan, which states that WKU will “establish
a Class Legacy Program whereby each student cohort
adopts and addresses a significant university, social or
civic issue during their tenure at Western.” The Quality
Enhancement Plan (QEP) is part of WKU’s accreditation
review, but this program in particular was based on a
demand from students who want to be more involved in
the community, and a desire for increased engagement
and connection between students at WKU and the citizens
of Bowling Green.
After being published in the QEP, the project was passed
on to Honors College Senior and Interdisciplinary Studies
major, Joey Coe, who was part of the successful ONE
campaign in 2007, in conjunction with Dr. Paul Markham,
Co-Director of the Institute for Citizenship for Social
Responsibility (ICSR).
According to Honors College Sophomore, Tracy Jo
Ingram, one of the founding “Legateers,” beyond that
sentence, nothing was really given to them. Ingram, a
self-design major in Art, said, “It wasn’t defined beyond
that, what a Class Legacy Project was or what it should
look like, so that it totally became the interpretation of
students.” Joey Coe and Dr. Markham started inviting a
group of freshman to the Hill House to further develop
the idea, and since then it has been in student hands, the
class of 2013. “We’ve taken the reigns, and it is up to us
to dictate what it might look like.”
but students have narrowed their focus to Bowling
Green’s “Enterprise Community,” so named because of a
grant program that provided hundreds of thousands of
dollars over 11 years to improve the economic and social
conditions of this area. In Ingram’s opinion, this decision
is the most important. “Our overarching goal isn’t the
project but the place. We are making a commitment to
that area, and each class will find their niche within it and
find room for improvement in that area.”
“It’s not anything like what we thought it would look like
last year,” says Ingram, “It’s very much derived from
the QEP, but now that it’s started to take shape, it’s also
changing form. It’s really an idea that requires patience.
The whole idea of ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day.’ It’s this
concept that’s being built upon more and more as we
learn about our community and the difference we want to
make.”
The idea made its official debut this fall at the Freshman
Assembly and was met with considerable interest. The
original class involves around 10 people, but about 40
members of the class of 2014 expressed interest in
being a part of this project. This may seem small, but
according to Ingram, that is all you need. “It really boils
down to a few committed people,” says Ingram. “But
that’s really all it takes to make a difference.”
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The inaugural class has yet to name a specific project,
Volume 5, Issue 3
Progression Through Partnerships
ALIVE CCP
Volunteerism
Page 8
President’s Volunteer Service Award
By: Aurelia Spaulding
Community Partnerships,
and the staff at the
Center will verify the
service and recognize
recipients annually for
their achievements.
Individuals can submit
their 2010 service hours
to the ALIVE Center
until January 31, 2011.
Individual hours must
be confirmed before
awards are presented.
The ALIVE Center staff
encourages community
members to use the
verification forms
available in the office to
record hours or provide a
proof of service from the
organization. Nonprofit
agencies are encouraged
to share this information
with their volunteers.
Western Kentucky University students volunteered at the Boys & Girls Club in Bowling Green during
the 2010 National Volunteer Week celebrations. Above, a WKU student provides assistance with math
during the afterschool tutoring program.
“I feel that we can wish all we want that the world would
change, but until we make the effort to make the change
happen, it won’t,” said WKU Corporate Communication
Senior Jill Gladish, in reference to her experiences
volunteering.
Unsung heroes like Gladish impact the community
through giving their time, lending their knowledge,
and providing a helping hand every day throughout the
region. Now, the WKU ALIVE Center for Community
Partnerships celebrates those volunteers through
serving as a certifying organization for the United States
President’s Volunteer Service Award.
Former President George Bush created the President’s
Volunteer Service Award in 2003 to honor individuals,
families, and groups who have demonstrated a sustained
commitment to volunteer service over the course of 12
months. The award is issued by the President’s Council
on Service and Civic Participation to recognize valuable
contributions volunteers make to the nation.
Children, adults, families and groups can receive the
President’s Volunteer Service Award based on their
service for a year or lifetime. To qualify for the President’s
Volunteer Service Award, volunteers simply submit a
record of their service hours to WKU ALIVE Center for
Follow the ALIVE Center
for regular updates
on volunteer opportunities
@wkualivecenter
Progression Through Partnerships
To find available service
opportunities, campus
and community members
can visit the ALIVE Center website or join the ALIVE
Volunteer Listserv. The staff sends volunteer opportunities
1-2 times a month to interested volunteers.
Once hours are confirmed, volunteers will be recognized
in the spring for their efforts with a gold, silver, and
bronze award (see below). For more information,
contact the ALIVE Center at 270-782-0082 or visit
wkualivecenter.com.
Read the full story on Gladish by visiting the Spirit of
Engagement Blog at www.wku.edu/spiritofengagement.
Kids - 14 and younger
Bronze Award
50 - 74 hours
Silver Award
75 - 99 hours
Gold Award
100 or more hours
Young Adults - Ages 15 - 25
Bronze Award - 100 - 174 hours
Silver Award
175 - 249 hours
Gold Award
250 or more hours
Adult - Ages 26 and up
Bronze Award
100 - 249 hours
Silver Award
250 - 499 hours
Gold Award
500 or more hours
Families and Groups (two or more people)*
Bronze Award
200 - 499 hours
Silver Award
500 - 999 hours
Gold Award
1,000 or more hours
*Each member contributing at least 25 hours
towards the total
Volume 5, Issue 3
ALIVE CCP
Student Advisory Board
Page 9
Advisory Board Relates to Students
By:Kayla Tyson
international students, De Leon
was more than happy to be
included in this outing.
The inaugural semester of the
Student Advisory Board has
proven to be a busy one, with
members of the group speaking
at over ten different venues
with more lined up throughout
the rest of the semester. The
groups have run the gamut
from University Experience
classes and M.A.S.T.E.R. Plan
groups to the presidents of the
Greek organizations on campus.
“The Student Advisory Board
has the unique opportunity
to share with many diverse
groups on campus and touch
every type of student at
WKU, which is good because
it’s helping students from
different organizations across
the board get engaged in their
community,” Garr explains.
A
rmed with a red polo and the ability to explain all of
the ALIVE Center services in less than five minutes,
the outline for the work of the Student Advisory Board
was created by former intern Jane Wood, after the
ALIVE Center staff found students are more likely to
listen to other students when it comes to talking about
volunteerism, service-learning, and ways to get involved
in the community. Students also provide valuable input
when planning ways to reach other students. Now that
Wood’s vision of the Student Advisory Board has come
to fruition, she and eight other students speak at various
organizations’ meetings, classes, and special seminars.
Rebekah Garr, a senior Public Relations major, is a
Communications & Marketing intern at the ALIVE Center,
and a member of the Student Advisory Board. She
explained the need for students to learn from other
students about the volunteer and service-learning
opportunities available to them: “The reason why the
Student Advisory Board is effective is because students
are able to envision themselves in a service-oriented role.
When board members express their experiences and how
students can get involved in opportunities, the students
are able to relate to them better than they can relate to a
faculty member.”
Student Advisory Board members are sometimes
accompanied by ALIVE Center staff. Recently, the WKU
Navitas group asked the Board to speak, and two
members were accompanied by Nadia De Leon, the
Community Engagement Coordinator for the Center.
Because of her extensive background in working with
Volume 5, Issue 3
“Community service has a way
of being able to fit into every
person’s agenda, whether they are a freshman looking for
an organization to get involved with, the president of an
organization wanting to get their group engaged in the
Bowling Green community, or just someone looking for
volunteer hours for class,” Corbin Snardon, a senior Social
Studies and History major, said. “I love that the Student
Advisory Board is able to talk to each one of these types
of students and help them figure out their next steps.”
Snardon loves that he is able to help students get
involved with the Bowling Green community because,
“Change begins one person at a time, and where better
to start than in your own back yard?”
The Student Advisory Board speaks to campus groups
and classrooms on an as-needed basis. For more
information on the Board, contact Kayla Tyson at the
ALIVE Center at (270) 782-0082.
Featured in the above photo, beginning with the bottom row
(left to right) Kayla Tyson, senior Corporate and Organizational
Communication major; Alyssa Stephens, senior Sociology major
with the Honors College; Jane Wood, junior Public Relations
major; Rebekah Garr, senior Public Relations and Spanish
major; (Second row) Alanna Baugher, sophomore Spanish
major in the Honor’s College; Noelle Johnson, sophomore in
Interdisciplinary Studies; (Back) Corbin Snardon, senior Social
Students and History major. Missing are Gretchen Bies, senior
Mathematics major and Travis Amadio, Physical Education
major. Tyson, Baugher, and Stephens are all part of the
American Humanics Program at WKU.
Progression Through Partnerships
Page 10
ALIVE CCP
Regional Spotlight
Thirty Years of Providing a Safe Space
By: Aurelia Spaulding
Photos by: Noelle Johnson
B.R.A.S.S. advocate Marta Woosley, spoke to 350 Western Kentucky University students about dating and domestic violence
at Love the Way You Lie, a partnership event with the ALIVE Center, Hope Harbor, and Women’s Studies. In addition to
providing a safe space, B.R.A.S.S. offers a number of services and speaks to groups about domestic violence.
D
uring the middle of the fall semester, The Medallion
Honor Society (TMHS) decided to plan their monthly
service event as a fundraiser for the Barren River Area
Safe Space. The Medallion Honor Society’s “Game Day”
event is one of a number of events, projects, or drives
campus and community organizations coordinate that
support the efforts of B.R.A.S.S. and the individuals they
have continued to serve for 30 years.
“We work with residents to gain employment and help
them build skills to maintain that employment so they
can move out on their own,” Alcott said.
The 26-bed facility provides a safe space for victims of
domestic violence and their families for a 10-county area.
Individuals in domestic violence situations can contact the
shelter’s two 24-hour hotlines to talk to trained advocates
who help set up protective services. Women and children
may be provided shelter at BRASS, and advocates will
work with male victims to arrange hotel accomodations or
other safe space options.
With the number of services and recent loss of funding for
the food pantry, TMHS President, Jolie Carwile, said, “We
could do more than just collect food.” The organization
raised money and collected a number of personal items
for B.R.A.S.S.
Executive Director Lee Alcott said B.R.A.S.S. responds
anytime someone comes to file a protective order in
Warren County as well. “Sometimes we get called down
10 times a day, sometimes two, it really depends,” Alcott
said.
While B.R.A.S.S. is know for their shelter and crisis line,
the organization provides a number of other services to
help families become self-sufficient.
Progression Through Partnerships
Since 1980, B.R.A.S.S. has implemented a number
of support services that include counseling, economic
literacy, legal advocacy, asset-building and tax
preparation, and transitional housing.
B.R.A.S.S. accepts interns and volunteers on a regular
basis. Anyone can donate used cell phones for B.R.A.S.S.
at the WKU ALIVE Center. See page 16 for a list of all
dropoff locations.
For more information, visit
barrenriverareasafespace.com
Crisis Line: 1-800-928-1183
or 270-843-1183
Volume 5, Issue 3
ALIVE CCP
Community Partnerships
Page 11
Campus & Community Network Begins
By: Leah Ashwill
Dozens of attendees
expressed similar
sentiments regarding the
usefulness of structured
time together. Therefore,
on February 17, 2011,
the ALIVE Center will
host its first Campus and
Community Network. The
goal of the network is
to provide a structured
time for members of the
campus and community
at large to interact and
exchange ideas, develop
work groups to focus on
particular issues, and
generate action steps
towards shared goals.
The community issues
we seek to address
through collaborative
efforts are not
necessarily issues
that exist for any one
particular organization.
Above, Brooklyn Belcher with WKU’s Owensboro Campus discusses identifying needs with
Laura Petrino from the American Red Cross during the ALIVE Center’s Five Points of Partnership They are the community
workshop. Below, Nancy Booth ofWarren Central High School Youth Services Center talks with issues that require many
of us working together
Brian Becker, Executive Director with Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Central Kentucky.
to solve. Some examples
that
have
already
been
suggested
by some of you
ince the fall of 2009, the ALIVE Center has hosted
include transitional housing and other fair housing issues,
partnership workshops that bring the campus and
Hispanic community development, and ESLI needs of all
the community together for an opportunity to explore
immigrant and refugee populations, just to name a few.
collaborative efforts in public problem-solving. These
workshops have not only been well attended and
Campus and Community Network participants who attend
favorable uses of time, but they have also served as a
in February will have the opportunity to identify core work
catalyst for attendees to contact us asking a very good
groups, establish goals, consider additional partners,
question: What next?
develop next steps, and set a tentative time for core work
groups to meet again.
The ALIVE Center has received much positive feedback
on the Five Points of Partnership and One Mission
Look for additional information on the Campus and
workshops, as well as multiple requests for the Center to
Community Network after the holidays! In the meantime,
facilitate follow-up efforts and additional opportunities to
contact Nadia DeLeon, Community Engagement
network and explore potential partnership opportunities
Coordinator, at 270-782-0966 or nadia.deleon@wku.edu
that address specific, community-wide issues that often
for questions.
cannot be accomplished by a single organization.
S
As stated by one workshop attendee, “One thing I like
about the Partnership workshops was just realizing there
is an organization committed to helping us to connect
with one another in improving our community.”
Another workshop attendee added, “It is always good to
get people who have similar or likemindedness together
to meet and interact…Conversation and dialogue create
pathways to better understanding…Obviously the ideas
and seeds planted in meetings like this are fundamental
to seeing a better city, a goal of ours at Grace & Peace
Presbyterian Church.”
Volume 5, Issue 3
Progression Through Partnerships
Page 12
Community Partnerships - Nonprofit Spotlight
ALIVE CCP
Nonprofit Agencies Work Together
to Meet Needs in the Community
By: Alyssa Stephens
T
he Vision Council uses collaboration to meet client
needs.
Nonprofits were created to meet the needs of the
community, but where very limited resources collide
with seemingly unlimited needs, organizations quickly
realize that they cannot do it all. However, nonprofits in
Bowling Green have banded together to create Vision, a
multi-agency council that shares information and pools
resources to better service our area.
Centers (FRYSCs), the Bowling Green Police Department,
Hospice of Southern Kentucky, Community Education,
Red Cross, Lifeskills, Habitat for Humanity, Community
Action, WKU ALIVE Center for Community Partnerships,
Boys & Girls Club, B.R.A.S.S., and many more.
Using their monthly meeting as a vehicle for open
communication and sharing of information, Vision allows
nonprofits to use precious time and financial resources
wisely and avoid waste through overlap or duplication
of programs. Anne Grubbs,
Enrichment and Volunteer
Coordinator at Community
Education and longtime
“We can make this work. We will make it
veteran of Vision, said that
work. Whatever it takes. Those are the kinds of it “helps [nonprofits] not
people who are involved in Vision. Not the kind recreate the wheel. If it’s out
of people who say it can’t be done....”
there, let’s get together and
~Debi Jordan work together.”
Bowling Green has had
this nonprofit coalition
for over 30 years. It was
originally called the MultiAgency Council, but in 2000,
when the Department of
Community-Based Services
(DCBS) was mandated to
interact with other agencies,
they built upon the existing
framework and Vision 2000
was born. The 2000 has since been dropped, but Vision
remains a strong organization with participation from
nonprofit organizations including the Human Rights
Commission, multiple Family Resource & Youth Services
With over 300 nonprofits
operating in Bowling Green,
it is difficult to know the details and programs of each
individual organization. To remedy this, the third Friday of
each month Vision holds their meeting to share services
or upcoming programs, allowing nonprofit leaders to
Just some of the agencies
represented through the
Vision Multi-Agency Council
Progression Through Partnerships
Volume 5, Issue 3
ALIVE CCP
Community Partnerships - Nonprofit Spotlight
Page 13
(continued from page 12)
be better informed about
what is available in Bowling
Green and therefore better
able to help those who seek
assistance. This ensures that
even if one agency cannot help
a person, they are aware of
those who can and can refer
them to another agency.
been able to branch out and
accomplish even more. When
Vision members learned that the
Next Vision meeting will be held
Salvation Army did not have enough
December 10th at 8:30am at the
funds to sponsor children 13 and
older as part of their Angel Tree
Bowling Green Police Department.
program, they created an all new
program called Teen Angels to
fill in the gaps. Jordan said they
knew it wouldn’t be easy, but
they were up to the challenge. “We can make this work.
Grubbs said that Vision’s monthly meetings used to
We will make it work. Whatever it takes. Those are the
consist solely of announcing needs to the group. “The
kind of people who are involved in Vision. Not the kind of
whole hour used to be people standing up [and saying]
people who say it can’t be done and wring their hands.
‘I have a family in need.’ ‘I have a family in need.’”
We’re going to make it work.”
But recently, Vision created a listserv that sends out
announcements to all members. Any agency with a
Though this collaboration has been happening in Bowling
person in need can send that information out to all
Green for many years, Jordan says this is not the case
members, “anything from paying a membership for a
in many other communities. “We’ve been very fortunate
child to play Pop Warner to a family who has been burned in our community. When we go to other communities
or flooded out of their home,” according to Debi Wade
or conferences and they talk about what needs to be
Jordan, Executive Director of Community Education.
happening in communities, most of them do not have real
Because it goes to so many people in so many agencies,
collaborative efforts going on between agencies like we
the need almost always gets met.
do in Bowling Green. We’ve already done it.”
Now that the Vision listserv is in place, members have
Vision Organizes Teen Angel
Drive Ends December 9th
Volume 5, Issue 3
Progression Through Partnerships
Page 14
Community Events
ALIVE CCP
Giving Back This Holiday Season
It’s that time of year again, where we
hear the bells jingling and the carolers
singing, and we all get into the holiday
spirit. This is usually the time of year
when we start to think about those less
fortunate than us, the ones who cannot
afford to pay to heat their homes or
cannot feed their family a world-class
meal on Thanksgiving. In addition to
donating to the traditional Salvation
Army bell-ringers or a canned food
drive, what can we do to help those less
fortunate? More importantly, what can
we do to ensure those who need help
the most are getting what they need?
There is an abundance of local nonprofit organizations, philanthropies, and
programs in the Central Kentucky region
who would love your assistance this
holiday season.
Photo by:Rebekah Garr
Looking around in the Bowling Green community, there
are plenty of local organizations that have created an
outlet for people to give back:
Salvation Army Bell Ringer
The Salvation Army, located at 400 West Main Street,
accepts bell-ringing volunteers yearly to ask for donations
in front of stores such as Wal-Mart, Macy’s, Kroger
and other establishments around the Bowling Green
community. For more information, call 270-843-3485.
Salvation Army Angel Tree
The Salvation Army is also continuing its annual Angel
Tree for children from low-income households. According
to Bowling Green Daily News, there are over 3,500
children needing assistance this year. You can sponsor a
child who may not get much for the holidays by finding
an Angel Tree near you or calling the Salvation Army.
Teen Angel
The Vision Multi-Agency Council is collecting gift cards
for youth in middle and high schools who will not be
receiving much for the holidays. Individuals are asked
to give cash donations or Kmart, Wal Mart, Target, or
Greenwood Mall gift cards for youth affected by the
Angel Tree age limits. To donate to Teen Angels, drop off
donations at the ALIVE Center, Community Education, the
Housing Authority Learning Center, or Bowling Green or
Warren County middle and high school FRYSCs. For more
information, contact Nancy Booth at 270-781-0903.
Progression Through Partnerships
Toys for Tots
Toys for Tots is looking for new and unwrapped toys with
a value of $10-$15. For more information on drop-off
locations and what Toys for Tots needs, contact John
Kiraly at 270-303-1916.
Potter Children’s Home
Potter Children’s Home has multiple opportunities to give
back. There is a holiday bazaar on Saturday, December
4th, and all proceeds will benefit the home. Also, there
is a Tuesday’s Treasures yard sale on Tuesday, December
7th. Lastly, Potter Children’s Home will have a wish list for
the children residing in their facility. Stop by and support
a child for the holidays! For more information, contact
Geneva Brewer at 270-843-3038.
Family Resource Centers
Contact local elementary, middle, and high schools to
get in touch with their Family Resource/Youth Service
Center. These centers are for students and families who
may need assistance with food, clothing, shelter, or other
needs. For more information, go to http://www.warren.
k12.ky.us or http://www.b-g.k12.ky.us.
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Volume 5, Issue 3
ALIVE CCP
Community Events
Page 15
Giving Back This Holiday Season
KAP Kreations Gives Back
Again this year, the middle and high school participants
of the Kelly Autism Program are giving back to their
community during the holiday season. The participants
are making and selling various items as part of their
business “KAP Kreations”. These include Christmas
cards, Christmas ornaments, greeting cards, jewelry,
coasters, blankets, and assorted dessert mixes. The
participants then market these items to the general
public through events on campus, area businesses, craft
fairs, and at the KAP Program.
The participants use some of these profits to benefit
families in need by purchasing, wrapping and delivering
gifts in time for the holidays. The participants are
learning various business and budgeting skills. Their
greatest lesson is giving back to their community through
the “Adopt a Family” program.
To support KAP Kreations, please view the KAP website
for sales and events where their products will be sold.
Visit http://kap.wku.edu or call 270-745-4727.
Gamma Beta Phi Toy Drive
This year, the WKU-Glasgow chapter of Gamma Beta
Phi honors service fraternity is sponsoring a campuswide drive to collect toys for Toys For Toppers. There is
currently a donation bin placed in the student lounge
area, and the campus community has already responded
with generous donations of new and unwrapped toys and
books. For more information please feel free to contact
Dr. James McCaslin, assistant advisor or the student
organization president, Rebecca Tracy, at rebecca.tracy@
wku.edu.
Supply Services Food Drive
WKU Staff in the Supply Service Building (Purchasing,
Accounts Payable, Shipping/Receiving and Inventory
Control) are skipping Secret Santa this year to give
their money to a better cause. Those staff members
participating will be collecting food for a local food drive.
If anyone is interested in donating items to their cause,
contact Ashlee Tilford at 745-2909.
FRP Holiday Assistance Program
The Family Resource Program (FRP), located within the
Suzanne Vitale Clinical Education Complex at WKU, is in
the midst of its annual Holiday Assistance Program. The
Holiday Assistance Program assists needy families with
children during the holidays. Anyone in the community
can help in one of three ways: 1) Sponsor one family
with children and shop for them, then bring items to
the FRP; 2) Donate money to the FRP in order for the
staff to shop for families; 3) Bring donations of new
items to the FRP such as toys, games, food, personal
hygiene products (toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo,
conditioner, soap, lotion, etc.), and household products
(dish detergent, laundry detergent, cleaners, etc.).
The FRP will also gladly pick up any donations. Contact
Volume 5, Issue 3
information for the FRP is listed below. Any help with this
project will be greatly appreciated! For more information,
contact vellamae.travis@wku.edu.
Warren County Public Library Mitten Trees
The Warren County Public Library is accepting donations
for children and adults in our community this Christmas
season. These include new or gently used mittens,
gloves, coats, scarves, and hats. These donations will
decorate “Mitten Trees” at all library locations. They will
be collected until December 17 and then delivered to
BRASS. For more information, contact 270-781-4882.
Hospice of Southern Kentucky
Items to be given to the families of patients moving
into the care of Hospice are being collected at Broadway
United Methodist Church on Melrose Avenue. Help these
patients in transition by donating socks, peanut butter
crackers, children’s DVDs, chewing gum, hot chocolate
packets, and women’s and men’s socks labeled Hospice
-Ted Hitchel. For more information, contact 270-843-3942
Jaycee’s and Nat’s Sports Bicycle Drive
Nat’s Sports of Bowling Green will be taking bikes
as donations for children in need this Christmas in
conjunction with Jaycee’s. They will be taking donations
until December 17. Contact 270-842-6211 for more
information.
Thanksgiving Give-Backs
The Volunteering in Progress Program collected personal
care items and will be sending care packages to over 30
deployed soldiers. Over 100 letters have been written by
WKU students to accompany the packages.
The WKU Kentucky Public Health Association provided
meals for four families this Thanksgiving. The students
collected a list of 15 items to provide a nice meal for
parents and families in the area.
The Men’s Basketball team participated in service events
this fall and winter, including four players visiting the
Center for Courageous Kids in Scottsville, KY. Camp
Courageous is a place where kids with serious medical
concerns and their families come to have a great camp
experience in a safe environment. That particular
weekend, 70 children with juvenile diabetes and their
parents were there. Our guys spent three hours with
them playing basketball and sharing dinner. Then, on
November 24, the team served Thanksgiving Meals at the
Salvation Army in Bowling Green.
Progression Through Partnerships
Nonprofit Community Events
December 2010 - February 2011
12/01Vision Teen Angel (through 12/09)
12/04 Eloise B. Houchens Center Trees for Christmas
12/03 Rich Pond Baptist Church Christmas Tree Post play (runs through 12/05)
12/04 Bowling Green Jaycees Christmas Parade
12/04 Riverview at Hobson Grove Tea with Mrs. Claus
12/04 Kentucky Public Theatre Best Christmas Pageant Ever
12/05 Historic Rail Park & Train Museum Festival of Trains
12/06 Eloise B. Houchens Center Movies Through the Years (runs through 12/22)
12/09 Regional Child Development Clinic Skate for Kids
12/12 Riverview at Hobson Grove Timeless Manners for Children
12/24 American Red Cross blood drive
01/21 Vision Multi-agency council meeting
01/24 Family Enrichment Center Buckets of Hope
(runs through 02/04)
01/28 American Red Cross blood drive
02/06 Riverview at Hobson Grove Timeless Manners for Children
02/10 ALIVE Center & AHSA Service Exchange
02/18 Vision Multi-agency council meeting
02/19 Family Enrichment Center Funniest Kids Around
02/22 Big Brothers/Big Sisters WKU Bowl for Kids’ Sake
02/27 Big Brothers/Big Sisters Community Bowl for Kids’ Sake
Find a full listing of community events
at www.wku.edu/alive/events.html
Phone: 270.782.0082 Fax: 270.782.0922
Email: alivebg@wku.edu Website: www.wku.edu/alive
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