CAP Volunteer Program E-News a monthly newsletter of Christian Appalachian Project
Did You Know?
Facts about Appalachia
Thirty-four counties in Kentucky are listed as "distressed" by the Appalachian Regional Commission. These counties (shaded in red) rank in the worst ten percent in the nation's counties based on unemployment, per capita income, and poverty rate.
You're Doing What? (or, what to tell your family about volunteering)
Whether it's your parents, children, or a significant other, some people just don't get this volunteering thing. Here are some helpful hints on how to respond to your family and friends' questions about volunteering.
Seriously, you're working for free? Where are you going to live? How are you going to eat? How could you do this to us? No one gets financially rich from volunteering, but being a CAP volunteer won't require you to sell your plasma either. All CAP volunteers who choose to live in a volunteer house receive room and board, and long-term volunteers (those serving nine months or longer) receive a monthly stipend to pay for "extras."
Will we ever see you again? Volunteering certainly entails some level of detachment from family, but CAP understands volunteers' need to return home occassionally to visit parents or children. Long-term volunteers receive 10 vacation days per year also receive time off for all holidays CAP employees receive.
What if you get sick? With the rising cost of health care, few people can afford to be uninsured, and many CAP volunteers are going off of their parents' insurance or losing insurance by leaving a job to volunteer. Long-term volunteers are eligible to receive health insurance benefits, and volunteers who already have insurance may also be able to receive assistance from CAP to pay their premiums.
How are you going to pay for your loans/grad school? Most lenders allow those serving in a full-time volunteer program to defer their students loans during thier service time. Additonally, CAP partners with AmeriCorps to provide the Educational Award, which can be used to pay student loans or tuition. Depending on length of service, a volunteer can receive up to $9,452 to used for past or future education epenses, which is often more than a person working in a paid position could save in the same amount of time. AmeriCorps also pays interest on student loans during one's volunteer time.
To learn more about AmeriCorps and CAP's other volunteer benefits, visit our questions and answers page.
Summer Camp is almost here!
Though it may seem a long way off, CAP knows that summer camp is just around the corner. CAP is seeking energetic volunteers who love children and the outdoors to staff its two summer camps, Camp Andrew Jackson and Camp Shawnee. Counselors, lifeguards and medical personnel (nurses, EMTs) are needed.
CAP summer camps are designed to provide campers (ages 6-17) with physical, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual challenges in a reacreational camp environment. For many children, their week of camp is their only vacation for the year.
In 2006, more than 35 volunteers from 19 different states took the plunge and made a difference. Will you brighten a child's summer?
Get your application for summer camp in by April 15 for priority placement.
Contact the Volunteer Program at 1-800-755-5322 or volunteer@chrisapp.org for more details.
Road Warriors
CAP representatives are back on the road after the holiday break. Check out our travel schedule to see if we'll be visiting your area.
Volunteer Spotlight
“I truly believe I left part of my heart down there in Owsley (County), Kentucky”—Jennie Tonkin, WorkFest 2003
Jennie at a glance...
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois Alma Mater: Xavier University College major: Theology Service placement: Child and Family Development Volunteer Community: Rockcastle Volunteer House
In Spring 2003, Jennie Tonkin was preparing to spend her spring break in Cancun. But at the last minute, she decided to cancel her plane ticket and jump into a van heading to rural Eastern Kentucky. Jennie spent that week with other college students repairing a home in Owsley County, Kentucky as a part of WorkFest, CAP's alternative spring break. Since that impromptu week of service, Jennie had always felt a desire to return to Appalachia.
"I learned so much about the people of Appalachia and I truly believe I left part of my heart down there in Owsley (County), Kentucky," Jennie said about her WorkFest experience. Jennie now makes her home just 60 miles west of Owsley in Rockcastle County, Kentucky, where she has served as a long-term volunteer at the Family Life Child and Family Development Center since August 2006. Though volunteers are encouraged to explore many CAP programs when deciding their service placement, Jennie knew right away that the Child and Family Development Center was the place for her. "My true passion has always been with children," she said.
As CAP prepares for WorkFest 2007 this March, we pray more students like Jennie will be touched by the people of Appalachia and moved to action.
Urgent Volunteer Needs application process required
Attention College Seniors: For those interested in beginning service immediately following graduation, you are strongly encouraged to submit your application by March 15, 2007. Though CAP review every application received, preferred service placement will be given to those applying by March 15.
CAP has immediate openings in the following programs:
Housing: Work with crew leader and other volunteers to repair substandard housing and/or build new homes for low-income families. Must be able to work on roof and work outside when necessary.
Elderly Services: Provide services such as home visitation, transportation, social activities, prescription assistance and various other services which decrease isolation and increase socialization of homebound senior citizens.
Respite Services: Provide therapeutic, social and recreational activities for children and adults with disabilities. Respite Services provides both in-home and center-based care.
“I have shown you all things, how that your laboring ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of our Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Do you have a friend who might be interested in CAP's ministry in Appalachia?
If so, please click here to fill out and submit a request and we will send them one of CAP's inspirational books as an introduction to our work in serving those in need in Appalachia. The book is our gift and comes without any cost or obligation. The book is of life in Appalachia, of those that suffer in the remote hills and valleys of central Appalachia in severe conditions of poverty, and how a grass-root organization like CAP can help people overcome nearly impossible odds.
CAP’s Prescription Assistance Program helps struggling families receive the medication they so desperately need. At no cost! The money they save can be used to feed their hungry children and provide adequate shelter.
It sounds unbelievable, but your 7 cents can help provide A FULL DOLLARS worth of lifesaving medicine.
A supporting chapter for Kentucky Self - Advocates For Freedom, Inc. A statewide organization directed by Kentuckians with disabilities committed to working in partnership with all interested parties to promote equal right, inclusion, self-advocacy, support and education in all realms of life.
“I truly believe I left part of my heart down there in Owsley (County), Kentucky”—Jennie Tonkin, WorkFest 2003
