Got Grants?

As Cohort V begins work on the grant writing aspect of Otto Koester's Applied Skills course, we thought it would be good to take a look at some of the funds that IYFD students and professors have secured in the past. Several proposals submitted by students in Otto’s grant-writing class have been funded in the past two years, providing needed support for a variety of community agencies. These include:

Julie Schillreff (Cohort III) - $5,000 training grant from the Montana Law Foundation to support the efforts of the Community Dispute Resolution Center of Missoula County.

Kendra Jimenez (Cohort IV) - $5,000 training grant for the Community Dispute Resolution Center of Missoula County.

Lynn Debilzen and Laura Corcoran (Cohort IV) - $8,400 grant from the Sliver Foundation, to be used for playground equipment for the Missoula YWCA.

Erin Anderson (Cohort IV) and Elizabeth Murphy (Cohort II) - $42,000 grant from the Llewelyn Foundation to Missoula Youth Homes.

Joshua Lisbon (Cohort IV) - 19,500 grant for a wilderness program he has designed for at-risk youth he has worked with through WORD in Missoula.

In addition, Lynne and Nancy were successful in obtaining UM Faculty Development Visiting Scholar funds to bring Dr. Martha Erickson to campus in April 2008. Dr. Erickson is Co-Chair of the President’s Initiative on Children, Youth, and Families at the University of Minnesota, where she also directs a certification program in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health. She specializes in linking research, practice, and public policies in the areas of parent-child attachment, child abuse prevention, and children’s mental health concerns. Dr. Erickson and her colleagues have developed the STEEP program (Steps Toward Effective, Enjoyable Parenting) which is an outgrowth of more than 25 years of longitudinal studies regarding early prevention/intervention with families and young children living in high-risk circumstances. She has also developed a video feedback strategy for working with these families, and oversees training for people implementing these programs both nationally and internationally. IYFD students were able to attend Dr. Erickson’s workshop as well as a luncheon discussion of recent efforts on behalf of young children in Tanzania.

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Welcome, Cohort V

Cohort V has arrived!

The fifth IYFD cohort arrived on campus August 23, 2008 for orientation. Fall semester is off to a great start with a bunch of fresh faces from all over the country and all over the globe! The group was welcomed in traditional Missoula style with a potluck during the first week at the Koester's home (see photo). A visit by Peace Corps Master's International manager Eric Goldman on September 8 already has people thinking about applications and what's in store for next year! Stay tuned to see what adventures Cohort V encounters...!

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Kyrgystan NGO Executive Director Visits IYFD

In mid-March, IYFD was honored to host Garth Willis, the founder and executive director of The Alpine Fund. Garth was brought to Missoula by Jess Lewis and Lukin Murphy (both of Cohort III), who applied for funding through the Office of International Programs after meeting Garth in Minneapolis. The Alpine Fund is a small, locally based, non-profit, non-governmental, secular organization that uses the incredible mountain resources of Kyrgyzstan to help the country’s most vulnerable youth challenge themselves for future success. For more information, check out www.alpinefund.org and the article that was featured in the Missoulian.

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Peace Corps Lessons

Arianna Robinson, a member of Cohort III, recently shared some great lessons for Cohort IV and future cohorts from Peace Corps Peru. A little bit about Ari and what she is doing:

Arianna Robinson began her internship June 2007 as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru working with youth. She spent three months in culture, language and technical training while living with a host family in Chosica, Peru. Arianna will spend the next two years working in Catilluc, Cajamarca, a small rural town in the northern highlands of Peru, with a youth center and the local health center. She will be responsible for classes on health, women’s rights, and vocational training. Arianna was selected as a member of the Peace Corps Peru Women and Gender committee where she works to establish educational tools for volunteer use in the field. Her primary goal for her time in Catilluc is to make the youth center sustainable, but she also hopes to teach computer classes, create a group of youth health promoters, as well as teach Yoga. Arianna already is starting to see success in her early projects in Catilluc and with the Women and Gender committee.

Ari's lessons on internship:

Dear IYFD Cohort IV,

Greetings from rainy Catilluc, Cajamarca in the mountains of Peru. I hope this letter finds you all doing well and enjoying this very busy but rewarding year in the IYFD program. I can’t believe it was just a year ago I was sitting on the same chairs you all are wondering where life was going to take me, if I would ever complete my internship, and if I would ever use this Master’s degree, if I did in fact graduate. And now, I’m in beautiful Peru with the Peace Corps, and I have in fact graduated. No word on the future usage, although in the Peace Corps this degree has taken me further than I could ever imagine, but more on that later.

So I had the opportunity to talk to Nancy yesterday and she told me that many of you are frustrated, confused, or annoyed with Peace Corps at this point. Let me start by saying, “I have been there.” In fact, at the height of my frustration last year, I wrote a comic Yahoo! post about the crazy and slow Peace Corps application process. And if you are feeling down, realize that you are following a long line of Peace Corps Volunteers. There is not a person in my group (Peru 9) that doesn’t have a story about the craziness of the application process. The good news, it gets better. The bad news, not without a lot of sleepless nights and wondering what the crap Peace Corps-Washington is up to. As the only representative of IYFD Cohort III in Peace Corps, and one of the few in the entirety of the IYFD program that went Peace Corps let me just write a little bit about my experience and why I truly believe Peace Corps is a viable and valuable option (Peace Corps-Washington not with standing).

I decided to apply for Peace Corps at the same time I applied to the IYFD program, and in spite of knowing and continually learning the negatives of overseas work and development as well as the Peace Corps program, I barely wavered in this decision. I had just met so many people who found Peace Corps to be such a rewarding experience, I had to trust their experiences and hope that mine would be similar. That’s not to say I didn’t struggle with the decision, but all in all, even in this difficult moment of transitioning to a Spanish speaking small rural community I don’t have any regrets.

When I was applying I heard a bunch of things from Peace Corps that I later learned to be untrue or at least over exaggerated. I was told that I had very little option as to where I would go. I was told that I didn’t have enough Spanish to go to Latin America. And I was told that once an offer was made, that was the only one you would receive. I have since learned that those sentiments are not necessarily the case. First, I had only a year of University Spanish, but they sent me to Latin America anyway. During the call I received about my initial placement, I was told that if I wanted to, I could go to Africa which I was thinking about for more HIV/AIDS research, and since joining the Peace Corps I have met people that have no Spanish and are here with me in Peru, and two such people that turned down their initial offer. So don’t fret. I think if you get either a decent recruitment officer or a decent placement officer, you have more say in what happens to your life than you think. And one of the reoccurring themes in Peace Corps, is if they are going to spend all of this money on you (and trust me its around 80,000 dollars per volunteer), they want you to get the best fit and a placement that works for you. This was also the case when they looked for our two-year sites in country.

I also want to let you know that I receive a lot of support and encouragement from Peace Corps-Peru and the staff that works here. I feel very fortunate. I have heard good things about other programs in the world, and the truth is I have heard bad things from certain countries also. It’s partly the luck of the draw and your Country Director. My Country Director is a cool guy and very supportive. He, himself, is a RPCV (returned Peace Corps Volunteer) has been very positive with my group during our time here. The same can be said for our Associate Peace Corps Directors (APCDs). I have had extended conversations with my APCD about my fears. She is also a RPCV so she undertands, but not all of them are. The other good news is many (probably over half) of the staff members are Peruvians. There is a good blend of people who help with language and culture and those that understand life in the States. I feel very, very supported.

Another thing that I appreciate about Peace Corps is the extensive training process. I spent three months before going to site learning about culture, language, and the technical aspects of my job. The other day I was in Lima and I met a volunteer from another organization (couldn’t tell you what at this point), but I was talking with him about his time in country so far and he said the new language overwhelmed him even though he had plenty of experience with Spanish. I then spoke about some of the cultural norms and about working with the people, about some of the history of Peru, and some of the problems I encountered at site. His eyes bugged out of his head, and then he proceeded to sleep for two days. I thank Peace Corps for preparing me to face development with a realistic idea and ways to avoid cultural insensitivity (although I make mistakes anyway). You might not realize this, I didn’t, but we are practically getting a Master’s Degree in Peace Corps. I often was one of the few that understood what development work could look like, both the good and the bad. And I was more prepared than most to face the ambiguity that comes with going to a new culture. Our degree program is excellent partnered with an internship with Peace Corps.

Upon arriving at site, all alone, but well-prepared for the task ahead, I was given three months to do no work, but spend time getting to know people and research my community. As I’m sure you’ve talked about, before starting any development one needs to research. Peace Corps not only gave me three months to do this, they held me accountable by requiring a paper and a power point presentation at our reconnect (three months after training you return to your training class to talk about your research as well as you joys and struggles). Going to reconnect had a renewing effect for me as my research uncovered a lot of major and disappointing problems in my community.

Plus, I have the amazing support of 28 other Volunteers who are all in the same “class” or group. We have lost six people that weren’t up to the task, or were very sick, or need care in the States for other reasons. Yet, the 28 that are left, and even some that are now in the US, have been amazingly supportive. I have made life-long friendships in the States. We have cell phones in Peru, and we can call each other for free. My group set up their own Google group so daily we receive emails of new ideas, research, tips, and funny stories. It is much like my IYFD cohort, many of whom I still keep in touch with as well.

So I want to encourage you in this time, and say, it gets better. Peace Corps-Peru is often just as frustrated with the bureaucracy of Peace Corps-Washington. Please know that I am thinking of you, and wishing you a great year in classes and awesome internships in the future.

Cuidase,

Arianna Robinson

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Cohort III Student Earns AmeriCorps Ideals Scholarship

Jessica Lewis, a Cohort III Student, was recently the recipient of an AmeriCorps Ideals Scholarship. Jess is an AmeriCorps*VISTA at the YWCA of Missoula, where she works directly with the GUTS! (Girls Using Their Strengths!) program focusing on girl empowerment. Jess wrote an essay to win the scholarship, and she was kind enough to share. Congratulations Jess!

Adlai Stevenson wrote, “It is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them.” In your experience, how do staff and/or volunteers of your organization live according to the principles of the organization? How well do the ideals of your service site and its mission translate into everyday living?

Living up to principles is like walking a mountain ridge, some days you are a little more balanced than others. Sometimes you have to double back around an obstacle in order to move forward. It requires a constant consciousness and awareness of where you are and what your doing- of how each step affects your balance and how it will affect the course of steps to come. At the YWCA the ridge we walk seems often to be an uphill climb as we tread steadily toward the twin goals of the elimination of racism and the empowerment of women. For the organization as a whole, as well as for the staff and volunteers who execute it’s mission daily, looking ahead at how far we have to climb can be daunting and discouraging. However, looking behind at how far we have come, at the lives and legacies of those who made it possible for us to have come as far as we have, is hopeful and helpful in regaining balance and continuing to climb, step by mindful step.

The ideals of the YWCA, eliminating racism and empowering women, the principle of equality, can seem lofty. It is tempting to look to grand figures and preeminent presences, saints like Theresa and martyrs like Martin, as those who effect real change in moving institutional mountains like racism and poverty. I’m guilty of viewing myself, on occasion, to be a woman less capable of combating sexism than Sojourner Truth or Virginia Woolf, or in possession of a weaker voice in speaking as an ally of the LGBT community than Coretta Scott King. In these moments I step off course, undermine my own potential, and fail to take responsibility for opposing systems of oppression. In these moments I need to remember that Virginia Woolf doesn’t live in Missoula; I do. It is my responsibility to translate the goals of eliminating racism and empowering women into my daily life and my community. In this endeavor I have the help and support of an amazing organization and the encouragement of a dedicated team of staff and volunteers.

To personalize and ground organizational goals in the reality of daily life, we open our weekly YWCA staff meeting with a reading selected by a staff member. The topic of the reading is racism, sexism or homophobia and is often a piece of news or section of a poem or prose of local authorship or significance. Following the reading we break into small groups and discuss our thoughts and reactions, as well as instances demonstrating the presence of racism, sexism, or homophobia in our lives and community. I have grown tremendously from the honesty with which my colleagues share their stories.

The topic this Wednesday was racism. I sat back in my chair and looked a around the room at the faces of the YWCA staff while Caitlin read a poem by Chrystos, a Native American lesbian poet from Seattle. She describes watching White children playing on their family’s private beach- how, though they are children, she cannot celebrate their joy as they shriek and run around on ground that was taken and is kept from her. How there is a fragile shell around her- shiny and hollow where their laughter echoes. I let her words wind their way into my mind and choose their own reactions to pull out. We split into small groups of three or four, each of us sorting out which of our thoughts we were ready to share, and which thoughts were too tender and entangled in pride or bias to extract and expose, yet. Through her poem and her honesty, Chrystos carried me a step forward by allowing me an opportunity to reflect on how my White Privilege, even as a child, was gained from her loss. I need another week to reflect on this before sharing my feelings with next Wednesday’s small group discussion.

Though Wednesday is but one day, I often find myself thinking about the readings and discussions throughout the week. I reflect on them by trying to be more conscious of my actions and my words, my intent and motivation. Sometimes I am brave enough to deeply examine the bias the readings stir within me. Other times the images and words expose me to bits of Missoula to which I had turned a blind eye- or to which my eyes had never opened and now can’t close. And sometimes I fail to think or challenge myself at all, too busy floating irresponsibly through my day in a bubble of White Privilege. I’m not proud of these days, but they do happen. When they do I’m glad there are Wednesdays and a group of people who expect more from me.

Between Wednesdays the staff of the YWCA works with countless amazing and dedicated volunteers to bring services to the community aimed at eliminating racism and empowering women. This endeavor is a fight for principles. If one is honest, it is impossible to fight for principles that one does not put every effort towards living up to oneself. There is hollowness to a quest for principle fought by one who does not struggle to further that principle within himself or herself. The quest is empty like the shiny shell of echoes Chrystos describes in her poem. The training program YWCA volunteers go through before they begin work with the organization is like a week of Wednesdays designed to encourage internal struggle- a week of encouraging forthrightness with oneself and honesty in interactions with others.

In Adlai Stevenson’s 1952 and 1956 bids for presidency he built his campaigns on a platform of honesty and forthrightness. They were the twin principles upon which he endeavored to live both his political and personal lives. Both of his presidential campaigns occurred during the formative years of the civil rights movement and in both of his campaigns he promoted perseverance and steadiness of course in combating the inequity of institutionalized segregation. His wisdom and principles drew the support and friendship of former first lady and champion of the principle of equality, Eleanor Roosevelt. He said of her “she would rather light a candle than curse the darkness.” The YWCA staff and volunteers, in an effort to live up to the principles for which we fight, seek to emulate visionaries before us by lighting our own candles and fanning the flames.

I am grateful for the Theresas and Martins, Truths and Woolfs and Kings of the world, the Stevensons and Roosevelts. Their speeches and stories struck sparks that set the world ablaze. I am most grateful for the time between the speeches and stories, the everyday living that made them great. Eliminating racism and empowering women is not often thrilling, immediately gratifying, or showered with recognition and praise. It is pausing, and replaying a racist or sexist thought that crosses your mind and experiencing the discomfort of your own bias as you explore its root. It’s hands and knees on the carpet scrubbing at the site of a butter cream frosting disaster after an end-of-semester party for sixth grade girls graduating from an empowerment group. And it’s looking up and down that mountain ridge and facing where you are, forthrightly and honestly, and being thankful for the opportunity to climb. Living up to principles is not glamorous or shiny, but in each of those things- in deepening the understanding of your own prejudice as you move to release yourself from it, in the sticky, sugary smiles of sixth-grade cup-cake bakers, and in the conviction that each step you take towards living up to principles carries meaning- there is reward. There is a sense of purpose that lasts while the veneer of glamour flakes away and a steadiness of course that burns like a candle, lighting the way while what is shiny tarnishes. I am in the company of lofty people doing daily things, and I aspire to be more like them.

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Meet Cohort IV!

Cohort IV graced us with their presence late last August for orientation, amongst a tizzy of anticipation, excitement, and of course, nervousness. Read a little bit more about the members of Cohort IV and their backgrounds here.

Erin Anderson is from Billings, MT, and has a degree in history from UMass-Amherst. Erin spent a few years in Denver working for ArtReach. Her interests lie in Native American populations and the special challenges they face. Erin is currently a youth advocate at YouthHomes in Missoula.

Laura Corcoran grew up in Chillicothe, Ohio, and attended The Ohio State University, where she studied International Studies, East Asia. Laura spent a year in Japan completing an internship and also a year in Korea where she studied and interned at Soonchunhyang University in Asan, while teaching English for children in low-income housing and an orphanage in Seoul. Laura is currently a Children’s and Women’s Advocate at the YWCA of Missoula.

Lynn Debilzen joins us from Wisconsin, where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work and a Youth Work Certificate from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Lynn spent a semester in Ireland and two summers in Guatemala and Honduras, where she volunteered for a multi-faceted social services agency. After spending a year working with AmeriCorps in AODA prevention with at-risk youth in a junior high school, she decided she wanted to broaden her knowledge base and youth work skills. Lynn hopes to work in the areas of reproductive health and youth work, specifically in prevention and health education.

Kendra Jimenez grew up in Spokane, Washington, and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services from Western Washington University. Her passion for learning about new cultures has been a driving force in her life, where she has found herself in such places as Nicaragua and Tasmania. After receiving her undergrad, Kendra spent a few years in non-profits in Seattle serving refugee and immigrant families. Kendra would like to continue working with Latino populations in the US, advocating for the well-being of families.

Joshua Lisbon spent his early years exploring the fields and wood lots of Pennsylvania where he developed a deep fascination with primitive wilderness skills and an abiding love for the natural world. Though he tried to avoid it, the family propensity towards art eventually got the better of him and he attended Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia where he majored in sculpture, ceramics and education. Joshua student taught at a magnet school for special needs and ESL students in North Philadelphia. Following graduation Joshua took a position at an alternative middle and high school and ran their adventure/ experiential education program. As an avid climber, back packer, mountain biker and general outdoorsman, this provided an opportunity to work with youth and explore more fully those interests as programming. After three years it was time to move on. Joshua spent several months living as a vagabond traveling around the U.S., Canada and Central America before moving to Missoula. He now works for Women’s Opportunity and Resource Development (WORD) working with at-risk and homeless youth in the Missoula Public Schools. He also runs the Summer Arts and Leadership Camp for the same population.


Julia Richards graduated from Michigan State University in 2004 with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Humanities, before spending a year teaching English to French middle school students in France. After working in the classroom for a year, Julia became a wilderness therapy field instructor in Salt Lake City, where she spent almost two years working with students and families from many different backgrounds. Julia continues to broaden her skill-base in youth development and truly has a passion for working with young people and helping them discover their own personal strengths.

Rebecca Stumpf was raised in Colorado and later moved to Indiana, where she earned a degree in Psychology. After spending a year volunteering with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps for a mental health counseling center in Washington, Rebecca earned her Master’s Degree in Photojournalism at UM. Working for a year as a photographer at the Ravalli Republic in the Bitterroot Valley helped her realize her desire to combine photography with youth work.

Lindsay Theo has spent the last several years working as a theatrical designer in Chicago and New York City. Lindsay also spent a year in India studying, travelling, and teaching at Tekra Primary School in the Thar Desert. She has a passion for working with high school students who are exploring self expression. Lindsay has to desire to work with community centers to help give people a voice to tell their own stories, as well as working with NGOs focusing on second wave disaster relief community development.

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