TEAM Mentoring Youth selected as Joymaker Ambassadors for 2014!

This holiday season, in partnership with Hasbro, we're asking kids of all ages to give joy and Be a Joy Maker by turning acts of service into donations of toys and games to kids in need. Sign-up your group or school to volunteer and enter for a chance to win a $1,000 grant, an AWESOME party, and $10,000 worth of toys or games to distribute locally. From November 10th through December 10th, for each action a child or teen takes to help others, Hasbro will donate a toy or game to Toys for Tots- up to 1 million dollars' worth of toys and games. that's a lot of joy! Ask your friends and classmates to join other kids and teens in giving joy through service this holiday season. Go to givejoy.generationOn.org for details on how to make your action count. The website offers a range of project ideas as well as an easy way to download a holiday card and send it to a child needing joy this season.

Groups and schools can register their projects and report what they do to be eligible for fun prizes and awards! Join the facebook event page.

Share your Story before December 10th to win additional prizes, including a $1,000 grant, holiday party, or $10,000 in toys to distribute locally.

TEAM Mentoring was again selected to be JOYMaker Ambassadors for the 2nd year in a row. They will be wrapping Hasbro toys and then distributing them to children at the Loaves & Fishes meal on December 6th.

Family Volunteer Day 2014

Family Volunteer Day is a day of service that demonstrates and celebrates the power of families who volunteer together, supporting their neighborhoods, communities and the world.

Points of Light created the day 23 years ago to showcase the benefits of family volunteering and provide opportunities for families to help communities create supportive environments for their children and each other. This year Family Volunteer Day takes place on November 22 and is being sponsored by Disney Friends for Change and powered by generationOn.

Family Volunteer Day is strategically held on the Saturday before Thanksgiving to “kick-off” the holiday season with giving and service. It also signals the start of National Family Week, sponsored by the Alliance for Children and Families and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Families that volunteer together not only address community social problems, but also strengthen themselves. Volunteering together as a family provides quality time, strengthens family communication and provides opportunities for family members to be role models. To see additional benefits of serving together as a family checkout the KidsAllAround blog.

For ideas on projects you can do as a whole family check out the Service Project Ideas on the Cache Valley Volunteer Center. Be sure to visit the Event Page on facebook to register your project and we will reserve a t-shirt for each member of your family (available on a first come first serve basis). We also hope you will take pictures of your event and share them with us in the facebook group to help inspire others.

GET INVOLVED!

MAKE A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE!!

By Dianna Tamayo
Staff member
Cache Valley Volunteer Center

On Saturday November 15, 2014, I served as one of the volunteers at the Loaves and Fishes
Thanksgiving dinner put on by the community and held at the Logan Presbyterian church. The volunteers also included some from the LDS Young Single Adult wards at Utah State University [please see the notes below for clarification/correction on the group who volunteered at this particular event]. Kudos to all the volunteers for their time and helping hands, and especially George and Julie Whitney for all the hours and work that they put in to this event.

We want to thank the many people and organizations who made this event so successful. Special thanks to JBS for donating the beef, the Bishop’s Storehouse of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for their donation of the turkeys, and the local food bank for providing the rest of the trimmings.

The I Lead I Serve 4H club had a corner set up for the children with projects just for them. The Westminster Bell Coir under the direction of Kathy Bullock performed a variety of selections including some holiday favorites.

“This is awesome!” said a mother of seven whose husband had recently lost his job, “I think this
brings families together and gives others a chance to serve” When  I expressed my concern for her and her family, she smiled and said,” I am not worried, because the Lord always provides and does not let us down.”

I cannot express in words how it made me and the other volunteers feel to see the joy on their faces as we served them. I want to express my gratitude to Sharilee Griffiths for giving me the opportunity to be a part of a team that made a difference in people’s lives.

A Veterans' Day Follow-up

By Dianne Tamayo, VC Staff

I had the privilege of interviewing veteran Spec 4 Maurice Wiberg on November 11, 2014.

In 1966 he was drafted into the United States Army at age 19. Maurice left his wife behind when he was sent to Fort Bliss Texas where he received orders to train at Fort Hood Texas. Maurice received his basic training and advanced technical training in the 2nd Armor division know as "Hell on Wheels". This included the training in all the responsibilities of a tanker. Maurice received expert tstatus in firing all weapons.

1966-1967 was a time that Fort Hood was utilized as a deployment center. Within one year Maurice's company of 180 soldiers was reduced to 80 soldiers at Fort Hood.

Maurice was told by his 1st Sargent that he would be deployed to Vietnam, but to his surprise his orders were for Schweinfurt Germany where he served in the 3rd infantry division as a tanker.

Maurice was one of eight in his battalion who qualified as a tank gunner at Range 42, which is the most difficult tank range in Europe.

I say "Bravo Maurice"!

In the winter, Maurice learned the ins and outs of traversing the snowy hillsides of Germany. In the Spring he had to learn to traverse the muddy hillsides and experience the joys of digging out 52 tons of tank. ugh!!!

Maurice had the opportunity of being on the pistol team & had the privilege of being on the swimming team which competed in Berlin Germany.

Then the day came that he had completed his 2 years of service in the Army. He returned home to Logan, Utah. Thanks to the military funding that he received he started and finished his education at Utah State University and became a wonderful high school teacher.

I asked Maurice what he learned from serving in the military. Maurice said that he gained a greater appreciation for America and our flag and those men who have given their lives for our country.  Maurice now serves in the American Legion.

It was a privilege to interview Maurice whom I have known for 7 years.

Thank you, Maurice. 

Please Lend a 'Clicking' VOTE!!

This has got to be the EASIEST Volunteer Opportunity EVER!!

All it requires is 5 seconds per day for 12 days, a finger, and a facebook account!

TEAM Mentoring can win $1,000 just for getting the most VOTES on their Lights On After-School picture in the Bright House Photo Contest.  The $1,000 will be used for scholarships and supplies for the TEAM Mentoring program. Everyone with a facebook account can VOTE once per day between November 4 and November 17th. It's as simple as that, and . . . 

We Need EVERY VOTE we can get!!

So . . . please

• VOTE yourself
• SHARE the link on your facebook page, and
• Be Proactive in inviting your friends and family to VOTE

One word of caution . . . please be sure that you are actually VOTING and not just 'Liking' the photo. 'Likes' are nice, but they don't help us win the money!!

One final note-- the first time you VOTE you will be notified that voting allows Bright House to see your 'friends'. Keep in mind that this does NOT allow them to violate any of your friends security settings, so you really aren't giving permission for them to see anything that they couldn't already see from going to their pages anyway. After the first vote you will not see the notification.

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who gets involved and helps us win the money!!