Portland, Oregon – On January 21, 2013, Oregon Campus Compact and nine colleges (Concordia University, George Fox University, Lewis & Clark College, Portland Community College, Portland State University, Reed College, University of Portland, Warner Pacific College, and Western Oregon University) will bring together 1,000 students to explore education as a civil right and to support the momentum and energy of those working to increase the high school graduation rate in Multnomah County. 

On MLK Day, college students will support education by helping to remove one of the barriers to literacy, access to books. The day’s main volunteer project, sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service, will involve sorting, cleaning, and distributing gently used children’s books into the Portland-area. The service projects will prompt college student volunteers to reflect on the value of education and how poverty impacts learning.

In total, college students will donate 4,000 hours of volunteer time to the community and distribute 40,000 used children’s books into homes, schools, and libraries.

“It’s really exciting to bring together a large group of college students to respond to the community's needs," said Concordia University's Assistant Director of Service Leadership, Amy Dickerson. “MLK Day is impactful because it inspires students to serve not only one day but also to continue their service to the community throughout the year. By uniting colleges and universities to serve together, students become a part of something bigger than each of their individual campuses.”

College students in Oregon are experienced with serving their community. Oregon ranks eighth in the country for college student volunteerism according to the Corporation for National & Community Service report, Volunteering and Civic Life in America. Oregon’s students are challenging those who believe they are disengaged and apathetic by showing up (in record numbers) to serve and prove through action that they are making a difference in their community.

For further information, contact McKenzie Miller at (503) 406-3572. 

The ORCC Board of Directors is pleased to announce Josh Todd has been chosen as the new Interim Executive Director of ORCC.

Josh brings a deep value in equity and the power of civic engagement, especially of those most impacted by disparities, to transform communities and campuses. Josh served Multnomah County for over ten years most recently in his role as Director of the Multnomah County Commission on Children, Families and Community He joined the county in 2002 as the Youth Development Coordinator, developing and implementing meaningful ways for young people to engage with government. 

Over his decade of service he facilitated a two-year community effort to create Our Bill of Rights: Children + Youth, the nation’s first such document; expanded participation by underrepresented youth in the Multnomah Youth Commission; and negotiated an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Portland to make the Youth Commission a formal policy advisory board to the Portland City Council and County Commission. He was also co-convener of the Cradle to Career Ready for Kindergarten Collaborative and served on the All Hands Raised steering committee for the effort.

Josh received his Bachelor of Social Work from Aurora University and Masters of Public Affairs from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is an AmeriCorps Alum and avid runner.

Josh formally begins in the new role on January 23rd. He can be reached at josh@oregoncampuscompact.org or 503-406-3575. 

Letters of Intent Due Friday, January 11, 2013

ORCC is pleased to announce the release of our 2013-2014 Request for Proposals (RFP) for our VISTA and Retention Project AmeriCorps programs. These programs provide campuses a full-time AmeriCorps Member to focus on community engagement and service-learning initiatives that alleviate poverty (VISTA) and build mentoring programs for underserved youth and college students (Retention Project).

ORCC AMERICORPS VISTA MEMBERS WILL:

• Build organizational capacity for projects focused on alleviating poverty
• Foster reciprocal partnerships between community-based organizations and campuses
• Enhance the quality of campus community service and service-learning programs
• Improve student leadership in service and the number of students in direct service with the community

ORCC RETENTION PROJECT MEMBERS WILL:

• Improve retention and academic advancement rates of middle school, high school, and college student mentees who are at-risk of dropping out of school by providing them with a college student mentor and engaging them in service-learning activities
• Improve retention and academic advancement of college students by engaging them in leadership through mentoring and other service-learning activities
• Develop the civic and work force skills of all students

Linked below you will find the RFP and a Resource Guides for both the VISTA and Retention Project programs. The Resource Guides are designed to provide examples and ideas for strong project proposals. Likewise, Program Supervisor, Signe Bishop is available for application technical assistance.

ORCC Full-time AmeriCorps RFP (this is a fillable form, so please make sure to download the original)
The Retention Project ORCC RFP Resource Guide 2013-2014
VISTA ORCC RFP Resource Guide 2013-2014

Letter/Email of Intent to apply due to ORCC (send to signe@oregoncampuscompact.org)

• January 11, 2013

Technical assistance conference calls (choose ONE)

• February 5, 2013 at 10am OR
• February 13, 2013 at 11am OR 
• February 21, 2013 at 2pm

Call Details (for all call options):
Dial 605-475-4700
Enter Access Code 421222, then #
Please RSVP to signe@oregoncampuscompact.org 
VISTA and Retention Project Proposals due to ORCC

• March 8, 2013 at 5pm

Please feel free to forward this announcement to anyone who might be interested in hosting an ORCC AmeriCorps Member in the 2013-2014 service year. We look forward to hearing from you!