BY CHRISTI MATHIS

SOUTHERN BUSINESS JOURNAL CONTRIBUTOR

(reprinted from http://www.sbj.biz/story_holder.php?page=006&i=101)

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS - At a time when municipalities and agencies are watching every penny, a special summer arrangement is providing untold benefits for Southern Illinois cities and community organizations.

At the same time, a group of young people is gaining invaluable experience and an educational monetary award.

The AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associates program has come to the region through sponsorship of the Illinois Coalition for Community Services funding seven summer associates to assist with summer programs of all kinds.

Those internships range from feeding children and sprucing up communities to developing a spay/neuter program for low-income families and providing free summer youth programs, or assisting with economic development.

Associates receive a monthly stipend for working on special designated projects in their own communities, and at the end of the eight-week program, receive a $1,000 education award to apply toward future or past tuition costs for college or graduate school, according to Amber Ainsworth, Community Development Specialist with the ICCS.

A beautification program is under way in Tamaroa, courtesy of Angela Gleason. She's been working on a variety of projects at the village's community center and park, including repairing and painting the old shop building now used for storage, planting flowers, painting picnic tables, caring for about 35 trees planted at the park this spring, and working on tuckpointing and building park benches.

"I'm gaining pride in my community that it looks better and pride in myself that I helped do it," Gleason said, adding that she plans to use her educational award to further her learning at Rend Lake College.

"She has been a godsend," said Gleason's supervisor, Joyce Mazzarella, who said the assistance provided by Gleason has proven invaluable to her and to the village who otherwise couldn't have afforded to pay for additional help.

Renata Alexander graduated from Western Illinois University in May with a degree in recreation, park and tourism administration and she's been putting it to good use developing and facilitating a free summer youth program at the Murphysboro Youth and Recreation Center.

"I just wanted to give back to my community before I go anywhere else in the United States," Alexander said. "I'm building relationships as well as networking with the community."

For Alexander, the experience has been rewarding personally and also career-wise. She's the site supervisor of the summer food program that feeds an average of 45 breakfasts and 55 lunches each weekday with a high of 110 served on a recent Friday, said Angie Kuehl, chairman of the center's board of directors and 4-H Community Worker for the Jackson County University of Illinois Extension.

The program offers free meals to children 18 and younger and $1 breakfasts and $2 lunches for anyone in the community.

In addition, Alexander has implemented a six-week, half-day summer youth program offering middle school youth. Kuehl said the program offers all sorts of enrichment activities, including 4-H activities, food safety, arts and crafts, and she also credits Alexander with being "wonderful in engaging other segments of the community" to work with the youth.

That's led to first aid and CPR training, visits by Cavanaugh Gray of the Youth Entrepreneurship Program, representatives of the Illinois Department of Employment Securities helping with resume preparations, career study, and interview skills. The center also works with the Women's Center in Carbondale offering the RAD Kids personal improvements, safety and education program.

"Without having Renata here, there's no way we would be able to implement the food program alone, let alone have the youth program," Kuehl said. "She's very industrious and very dedicated."

There wasn't funding for someone to do what Alexander is doing otherwise, Kuehl said. Through the program, kids have a safe place where they get hands-on learning experiences in a fun atmosphere and parents benefit from knowing their children are well-cared for and that the community as a whole benefits not only from the meals but from having youth involved in something worthwhile that keeps them out of trouble.

The not-for-profit Community Center in Nashville opened just about a year ago on a shoestring budget in the 1923-era building that once housed the high school and later the grade school.

But lots of local youngsters have discovered the center thanks to the program being run by VISTA Associate Dan Frederking. He's organized all sorts of free youth activities including a basketball tournament, a theater program culminating with the performance of a play, and much more.

"It's kind of exciting," said Frederking, a junior at Illinois State College in Bloomington. "It's exactly what I wanted to do this summer."

Frederking plans to be a high school English teacher but also coach or sponsor school extra-curricular activities and said this summer is "really good experience."

"He is doing a fabulous job," said Dennis Cook, executive director of the Community Center. Frederking is a summer VISTA Associate while Cook's wife, Kay, is a year-long associate through the program.

"Both of them are invaluable," Cook said. "We don't have the resources to get people in here to do this."

Cook said the youth program is proving quite popular with children and their parents and is also having the side benefit of helping many people, particularly from the surrounding area, realize the center exists.

He said the center offers everything from an exercise room to party room rentals, flea markets, a volleyball league, baseball tournaments, and even entertainment nights featuring the likes of an Elvis impersonator.

The center is privately funded and extensive building repairs are needed, so having Frederking's help in setting up and operating the youth program is a huge benefit to the center and the community, Cook said.

Elsewhere in the region, Melanie Kwiatkowski is facilitating a community beautification plan in Ashley.

Ashley Bishop is developing a low-income spay and neuter program to be offered through the Perry County Humane Society to help low-income individuals get their pets fixed.

Ryan Lloyd is assisting the village of Coulterville with economic development tools, including a community brochure and user friendly Web site.

And Dawn Rogers is developing and facilitating a free summer youth program at the Manasseh Temple COGIC in Sparta.

Ainsworth said the workers are giving perhaps 100 youngsters around the region positive things to do this summer. They're increasing community pride and assisting economic development, lowering the euthanasia rate for animals which in turn cuts the county's costs for putting adoptable animals to sleep.

The associates in return receive not just the monetary benefits, but enjoy giving back to the communities in which they live while helping foster community pride and gaining valuable work experience.

cmathis5@verizon.net

(618) 357-8391