Training Session Descriptions

Building Community through Initiative Games and Team Building
Building community and an atmosphere of trust, respect, and support in your program area can be challenging. This workshop will focus on self-awareness, group dynamics, effective communication and conflict resolution through discussion and active participation in games and scenarios. This experiential workshop is ideal for teachers of all grade levels and disciplines that want to incorporate character education and challenge into their programs. Get ready to move and learn some great activities. Maximum capacity 25.

Community Collaborations - Building Community from the Grassroots Up
This is an interactive and educational session that includes Collaboration Profiling and Community Assets and Mapping. We will discuss the building blocks of healthy community collaborations and productive partnerships with successful goals and outcomes. This session will also include a creative approach to working with everyone within a community, including the people and organizations you forgot about.

Community Collaborations: How to Partner with Businesses in Your Community
Learn how to approach companies and engage them in the community-based work that you do. First Book, a national nonprofit children's literacy organization has been recognized as a leader in the field of cause-based marketing including a recent spotlight as one of the top 20 innovative non-profits in Fast Company magazine. Discover ways to collaborate with companies to achieve your organization's mission. This workshop will include a brainstorming session so you can return to your organization with the tools you need to feel confident approaching businesses to achieve solutions to the various social issues in your community.

Dealing With Difficult People
Working with the general public is never easy! Difficult situations arise daily causing one to wonder if the situation was handled in a professional manner. Whether it is the 'complaining' parent, the 'know-it-all' volunteer, or the 'avoider' co-worker, this workshop will give you tips on how to work with each difficult person. You will also discover your triggers and learn how to identify your emotions and unconscious reactions. This workshop will help you get to the heart of conflict and turn 'enemies' into allies.

Delegate…And Make it Work
Basic steps of effective delegation will be presented, along with tips for coaching to successful outcomes.

Disaster Relief - The AmeriCorps Connection
America has suffered a series of large-scale disasters this past year that has caught our nation off guard. Hundreds of relief workers remain in Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and Mississippi to help rebuild people's lives and AmeriCorps is in the middle of the activity! You'll hear about the service of the Washington Youth Service Corps and what steps you need to take if called upon to serve your country. Go to http://www.wa.gov/esd/wsc/.

Effective Leadership
Applying Leadership Practices to your AmeriCorps Experience and Beyond - In this interactive session we will explore different leadership practices, learn how to recognize your personal leadership style, and discover ways to improve your leadership abilities.

Facilitating Meetings
Tips for running a successful, short meeting that covers everything you need to cover.

Get Organized! Create a Personal Work Plan
This session will provide an opportunity to clarify your personal mission and link this to your year of service. We will explore how internal motivation provides the discipline needed to create and stick to a work plan. The most effective work plans speak to both your personal goals and professional responsibilities. You will walk away from this session with renewed clarity and a simple process to prioritize what needs to take place to reach your goals.

Greening Your Programs
Every year, Americans throw away enough office and writing paper to build a wall 12 feet high from New York to Los Angeles. Now that's a lot of paper that could have been recycled! Through this interactive presentation, you will gain valuable tips for office and program recycling, learn what to collect, about closing the loop, how to teaching with recycled materials, and more. Most everything can have a 2nd life. Maximum capacity 25.

Handling Sensitive Topics and Risky Behaviors
In this session we will explore some of the reasons behind teen risk behaviors and what can be done by parents and caring adults to assist in risk reduction. We will examine brain research, influences and connections of risk behaviors and delve into best practices to assist with the decline of teen issues, especially early initiation of sexual activity, STDs and teen pregnancy.

How to get Books into the Hands of Children in Need
This one-hour workshop will focus on how conference participants can access books for children in need participating in their programs. Participants will receive materials about First Book and will learn about with three different ways to receive new books. They will also be briefed on how to start a First Book Advisory board and the resources and funds available to get a Board up and running. We will be using PowerPoint to present this information.

Keeping Youth Engaged
There are a lot of youth initiatives these days and a lot of adults leading the way. It's not just about finding meaningful roles for young people, but giving youth the opportunities to help design programs that will engage their peers. This is an out-of-the-box session that will help you identify effective engagement strategies.

Life After AmeriCorps
The Life After AmeriCorps workshop will be looking at how our experiences in service have prepared us for our next steps and will benefit us for the rest our lives. In addition, we will be discussing some of the common obstacles faced during the transition from AmeriCorps Service to life after AmeriCorps and how to overcome and make the most of them. This will be a fun and informational workshop for all AmeriCorps members.

Marketing and Communications-Working with the Media
The Power of the Plan - An interactive presentation examining basic marketing principles, and a how-to plan for building community awareness for non-profit programs and organizations; creating and getting out the message; engaging the media, including practical exercise in writing effective news releases, creating a relationship with local radio, TV and print sources; maximizing technology to get attention; and the win-win development of business partnerships to supplement small marketing budgets.

Practical Youth Outreach
Struggle with getting youth in your teen center, or involved in your programs? This session will offer creative ways to reach youth in your communities and market your programs. We will drill down on universal and targeted recruitment strategies and share what is working well in your communities.

Rut Buster
You are midway through your year, you're wondering what happened to your energy, and you're beginning to think that living on a meager stipend is not such a good thing after all. Hang tight - in this session we'll be looking at ways in which you can reengage, restore, and maintain your energy for the rest of your service year and beyond.

Service-Learning
What brings students and teachers to life in the classroom? Can we engage students in meaningful activities that combine learning and social action, and still improve test scores? Explore service-learning strategies that support academic accomplishment and social-emotional growth. Integrate skill development, literacy, and civic involvement. Discover practical methods and interdisciplinary connections that allow students to apply critical thinking. Leave this interactive session with materials and ideas you can put to use. All levels of experience and all grades, K-16 welcome!

Social/Emotional Development in Children 5 to 12
Entering the Social World: stages of social/emotional development for early age children. Explore the world from the viewpoint of a child! 'Start where the learner is'!!!!

Tapping into National Service Opportunities
Learn about National Service programs and projects, their history, focus and accomplishments and how to access the services of National Service programs in Idaho.

The Making of a Good Role Model
Each of us can point to individuals who powerfully and positively influenced our lives as we were growing up. What they said or did impacted our decisions and future direction. In this session we will look at the characteristics of those good role models and how we can increase our ability to model qualities that others will want to emulate. Be prepared to share your ideas and insights!

The Power of Voice through Civic Engagement
This presentation will focus on helping individuals learn how their voice in the community can make a difference. Working through a democratic model, participants will learn the importance of participating in a decision-making process and meeting particular community needs.

United Way - Opportunities and Options
Everything you wanted to know about United Way.

Using All Community Resources -- Engaging Individuals with Disabilities in Service Projects
Many service projects require service members and volunteers to recruit and serve alongside members of the community. This workshop will discuss how to engage and support individuals with disabilities in community service projects. The workshop will discuss success stories, inclusive language and etiquette, asset based assessment and development, reasonable accommodations, and state resources.

Volunteer Management
This session provides the necessary basic framework for managing a volunteer program. Practical ideas are highlighted on the components of a volunteer program: program readiness; policies; volunteer position development; recruitment; screening; training/orientation; recognition; record keeping and individual and program evaluation.