Get involved with VISION

VISION is currently seeking team members to join our service planning committe for National Make a Difference Week.  Please e-mail us at vision@emich.edu to get involved!

Sign up for Community Plunge!

Help local service oganizations paint a swing set, stock shelves at a food bank, take inventory of supplies at the women’s shelter or plant, garden and clean-up grounds at the senior center. It’s an opportunity to feel good and take pride in our community. It’s also a great way to learn about the world we live in.  Sign up here:  Community Plunge 2009

AB – Fundraiser – Game Night!

With Spring Break fast approaching, The students and volunteers of Alternative Spring Breaks in the VISION office are making the final preparations and raising funds for this years plans.  A student owned & operated organization will be running a day of games & events to help ASB raise funds.  Please Join the “Gorilla Tactics Gamer’s Union”  on Jan10th in the Student Center Grand Ballroom.  100% of all the funds raised will go to ASB! Please view the attached word document for more details.

asb-fundraiser-flier

To contact Alternative Breaks: vis_asb@emich.edu or 734.487.1313
–
gtgamersunion@gmail.com
Need a game? Have some questions?
We got you covered like orbital blast!
(734) 217-2677

Alternative Spring Break

Recently the students of EMU have begun to prepare for the upcoming Alternative Spring Break program. Last week the students who would be participating met for the first time in the Student Center to prepare for their journeys. This first large group meeting had everyone introducing themselves and getting familiar with the people they will soon be spending their spring breaks with.

While this may have been the first time the groups would be meeting, the coordinators for the program have been working nonstop all year to insure that this years ASB runs as smoothly as it has in the past at EMU. These wonderful volunteers at EMU are the core of the ASB program and without them these trips would not be possible.

Alternative Breaks, if you do not know, is a program that provides students with a fun and educational alternative to the typical spring break options. Instead of jetting off to some tropical location with friends to party, the students of ASB will be productively using their time to help impact the lives of other in the country. The trips are completely alcohol and drug free and for good reason, these are EMU students going on these trips, and of course they must represent the university to the fullest. This means staying completely sober the entire time, however, some things about a spring break will never change and you know these students will be having an incredible time.

This year the students will be traveling to different locations around the country to participate in different activities designed to benefit the communities the students will be in. These trips include; two disaster relief locations, an environmental, animal rights, and AIDs awareness and education trips.

The room on the first day everyone met was filled with eager anticipation as the students waited to find out where they would be going. All that can be said about the reveal process is that it was quite amusing. This year also will see the introduction of a new idea: two completely all fraternity and sorority trips. The campus Greek community has always been represented well on these trips so not surprisingly this new idea has been put in place.

The individual groups will continue to meet throughout the year until the time of their trips and some of these meetings start as soon as this week. We wish all the students the best of times as they learn new things and bond while providing much needed services, and of course there will be many updates.

By John Fenton

Tree Planting

Just like the postal service, snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night would stop the very dedicated group that came to the North End Street Tree Planting event Saturday November 15th, 2008. It was a cold, rainy day and you could see the pride and excitement for the group of volunteers that came out for the event, even with the weather, these volunteers sacrificed their Saturday morning to plant 62 trees on along Chandler and Smith Street in Detroit, MI. There were about 65-70 people at the event total, which includes volunteers and staff from the Greening of Detroit.

Also in attendance State Representative Coleman Young came to watch the demonstration of how to properly plant a tree. He spoke before the volunteers broke off into teams, saying how much he loved the effort by everyone present, and that he appreciates everyone for their hard work to help make Detroit a more environmentally friendly place. After the volunteers were properly shown how to plant a tree so it will survive and last, I was able to speak with Anthony Todd, representing Greening of Detroit. He mentioned this would be the last planting of the season due to the weather, and that he was extremely happy with the turnout of staff and volunteers to help with the project, and hopes to see more come next planting season.

From EMU, I was able to speak with Robin Miller who represents GREEN, and mentioned there were 12 volunteers from Green present and four from Urban Planning came to help. In addition, she was very impressed with the turn out of 16 total volunteers from EMU even with the bad weather. While talking with Robin, she elaborated on more projects that GREEN will be working towards. GREEN tries to participate in at least one outdoor activity a month, they work towards recycling on campus, the Luna Lake Restoration Project, Eco-Arts, and GREEN week at EMU. We should be looking forward to GREEN Week during the Winter 2009 semester.

If you are interested in working with GREEN, you can contact Robin Miller at miller.is.robin@gmail.com,  in addition if you would like to work with Greening in Detroit, you can contact Anthony Todd at Anthony@greeningofdetroit.com, or you can call 313-237-8733 and his extension is 239. They are always looking for people interested in environmental issues or would like to volunteer to help for the cause. In closing, the event was extremely successful and even with the rain and cold, there are people extremely dedicated and passionate about environmental issues here at EMU, and if you are someone who would like to get involved, there are opportunities for you!

By Debbie Ray

EcoChat Reminds Students to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

By: Angi Becker

GREEN held their latest EcoChat in the stairwell lounge at the student center later last week. The Eco-Chats are a relaxed, conversational forum that allows concerned citizens to discuss topics related to environmental causes and concerns.

Tuesday’s EcoChat, facilitated by GREEN student coordinator Chris Halliwill, focused on the “3 Rs”: reduce, reuse, and recycle. Halliwell, along with fellow student coordinator Robin Miller and the other students in attendance, discussed the definitions of reducing, reusing, and recycling, and brainstormed ways to incorporate the 3 Rs into everyday life. Ideas for reducing waste included not buying a daily coffee in a disposable cup, buying staple items in bulk to cut down on packaging, and choosing multi-use over single-serve products.

The group also discussed reducing energy use by doing simple things like unplugging electrical chargers and appliances when not in use and hanging clothes to dry rather than using a dryer.

On the topic of reusing, the group discussed buying reusable water bottles rather than disposable plastic—stainless steel water bottles were said to be the most environmentally friendly—and using reusable totes instead of plastic grocery bags when shopping. Halliwell read the group some statistics about plastic grocery bags: over a billion per day are given out worldwide, and they will take at least a thousand years to degrade.
When it came to recycling, the group discussed the various products that can be recycled: food, paper, plastic, aluminum, glass, scrap materials such as metal, and electronics (or “e-waste”). The group talked about the importance of recycling these materials, and where to find specific recycling drop-offs in the EMU area.

The EcoChat also included discussion of a few additional “Rs”: re-buying by shopping at thrift stores for previously owned products, refusing to buy things containing Styrofoam and other wasteful packaging, restoring the environment, and rethinking the way we consume.

For more information about upcoming chats and other GREEN events, contact vis_green@emich.edu.

VISION – Volunteer Center

VISION (Volunteers Incorporating Service Into Our Neighborhoods) is dedicated to helping students and staff become actively involved in service, address social justice issues and meet community needs.  VISION is a great resource to help meet your program and Learning Beyond the Classroom requirements, earn your pre-student teaching hours, become involved at EMU and meet other great people.  Stop by your office in 346 Student Center to learn how you can make a difference though volunteering.