First Day (version 1.0)

Today was my first day back in AmeriCorps. I'm calling it "version 1.0" because tomorrow is the official first day. Today was a "group leader" orientation, for those of us who have been in the Northwest Washington Reading Corps before. Most everyone else was on the team last year, so they all know each other, and then there's me. I did this three years ago. Wow.
We did a brief review of what we will be doing during the remainder of the week, because as small group leaders we will be facilitating some of the training. There are something like 80 members on our team, which is crazy and awesome at the same time. So small groups are pretty necessary.
We discussed the "Pillars" of the Washington Reading Corps. These 5 pillars describe what we as WRC members do. It's easy to say "I'm a reading tutor," but tutoring is only one of the five pillars.
We briefly went over the other four pillars, and we will be going over them in more detail with our small groups tomorrow.

The Five Pillars of the Reading Corps are:
Tutoring
Sustainability
Community Partnerships
Volunteering
Family Involvement

Although we can easily describe our jobs as "reading tutor," the other four carry just as much importance as the actual tutoring.

-Sustainability: We are trying to create programs in the schools that will last much longer than our year (or two) of service. Ideally, we want to create a system of volunteers so the program can continue without AmeriCorps support.

-Community Partnerships: Our goal is to create a strong connection between our schools and the local community. This includes training volunteers, creating community partnerships such as sponsoring events, and having events such as literacy nights at our schools. This is a big part of being in the WRC. My first year I spent a lot of time talking to community organizations and businesses, getting them to take part in one event or another. I hope to have even more success this year.

-Volunteering: We are, essentially, volunteers in the schools. We are lucky enough to participate in a program where the government supports us while we do this, but we are still volunteers. No one is getting rich in AmeriCorps. In addition to working in our schools, we do a lot of other service projects in our community. We also recruit volunteers to come into our schools as tutors and mentors.


-Family Involvement: According to The National PTA, when parents are involved, students achieve more and have a more positive attitude towards school, regardless of socio-economic status, ethnic/racial background, or the parents’ education level. Often, low-income and non-English speaking parents are unsure of how to become involved in their child's school. As WRC members, we organize family events, provide reading materials for children to take home (often in their native language), and many other things to include families in the education of their children. 
During my first year, my team was very successful in the Family Involvement Pillar. We organized some of the best family events our school had ever seen, and had a great time doing it. I hope to have similar, and better, events at my school this year.


So, tomorrow is the first "official" day of training. I'm looking forward to meeting my team members and learning more about how my year is going to go.

Yes we can!

On February 24th, President Obama gave his first address to congress as the 44th president of the United States. After watching that speech, I wrote this note on my Facebook:

Dear President Obama,
I listened to your speech tonight. Good job.
You make me want to join AmeriCorps again and make sure that kids go to college. You make me want to go back to school and become a scientist and create a car that runs on methane or something similar. You make me want to make this country a better place.
So, thanks for that. I'm excited to live in the USA at this moment in time.

So I can trace back to this exact date the moment I decided to sign up for AmeriCorps again. Pretty cool.

Here's a short part of that speech, the beginning of the section where he spoke about education reform:

Tips for Frugal Living

A lot of websites and articles about saving money give advice like "give up your morning latte," "cut your own hair," and "buy in bulk." I already do these things. I paid for a haircut in February, for the first time in over a year. I cut my own bangs. I rarely buy coffee. I don't get manicures. I buy in bulk not only because it is much less expensive, it also reduces the amount of waste I create.

So, what's a girl to do when she's already following these "tips," and trying to save even more money?

I've found some websites that have pretty decent advice, and I think the best advice can often be found from other people living on a strict budget. The internet is my greatest resource. (It's not even a remote idea that I will cut my internet bill out of my budget. I'd rather give up drinking. Hopefully it won't come to that.)

First of all, this is a fantastic article on eating "ethically" on a food stamp budget. I have a wheat allergy and don't like to eat meat or many fruits/veggies that aren't organically grown, so I do most of my shopping at our local food Co-op. It's nice to know that it is possible to eat organics on a food stamp budget.

Can We Afford to Eat Ethically?

The British government published a book called "Mend and Make Do" during WWII, when supplies were short. It's being reprinted with some modern touches, but the sentiment is still the same. There is no need to throw away a sock or a shirt just because it has a hole - Mend and Make Do! Read about it here.

The great thing about going "green" is you often end up saving money in the process. Just like buying in bulk, many green tips are about reducing your waste and consumption, which is why we end up saving money. Some of my favorite green living sites are:

Green is Sexy

Eartheasy

The Green Guide - National Geographic's green living website!

Green Living - the online version of the magazine

Some more websites and other blogs with good frugal living tips:

How to save money when you don't have much to begin with

Hillbilly Housewife

MSN's article on eating well while using coupons

There are several forums out there for living on the cheap, and here's a list of my favorites

Frugal Village Forums

Frugal Mom Forums - good even for those of us who aren't moms.

Budget 101 Forums - has coupons, budget tips, recipes and more

That's all for now! Please let me know if you have any good websites to add to the list.

Welcome!

So it begins.

In four days I start my second year of service with AmeriCorps. I am looking forward to it, but it will be a challenge. One of the most challenging parts will be living off of my AmeriCorps stipend - $1050 a month.

I will be writing about my experience as a member of the Washington Reading Corps, what I learn about the education system and myself as an educator, as well as how I survive off of $1050 a month.

Making $12,600 annually will put me slightly above the federal poverty line, which is $10,830 per year, but not by much. That extra $148 a month will mostly be going to my car payment, which is something I'm not willing to give up at this time (well, getting rid of the payment would be great, but I'm keeping the car), and which is an expense I doubt many people living below the poverty line have. Luckily in my new position it looks like I will be able to bus to work every day, but living in my town without a car could be very difficult. Who knows, maybe I'll try it eventually.

Luckily, the AmeriCorps stipend does not count as income to qualify for food stamps from DSHS. I will be getting $200 a month in food benefits, which I can use for anything but hot food and alcohol.

Also, I am cheating just a little bit - my parents pay my car insurance and my cell phone. Without them, I would not be able to afford my awesome apartment (which will be difficult anyway, but I will manage!)

So, my basic budget looks like this:

Income: $1050

Rent: $575

Car Payment: $132

Money Left for expenses: $343/month

It's going to be interesting! Thanks for your support.