NYLC Thanks Its Outgoing AmeriCorps Members

Hallie Goodman, AmeriCorps*VISTA outreach and development assistant, and Mason Fong, AmeriCorps Promise Fellow professional development assistant, have both ended their years of service at NYLC. We thank them for their contributions to NYLC and the greater service-learning movement.

Hallie Goodman’s year of service focused on increasing NYLC’s social media outreach and cultivating partnerships to help sustain NYLC. To this end, she researched, wrote, and coordinated 10 grants to support NYLC programs; coordinated NYLC’s annual campaign — which broke recent records — and the 2010 National Service-Learning Conference Sponsorship Dinner; and implemented new fundraising technology through GiveMN.org. She also researched and prepared briefings on foundations, corporations, and government entities, and helped NYLC reach a new level of contact with potential supporters, setting up a slate of cultivation meetings to introduce NYLC to new partners. Hallie increased NYLC’s virtual outreach by facilitating communications activities with e-newsletter and NYLC’s Facebook presence. Finally, Hallie created systems that will sustain NYLC’s work for the next VISTA and beyond, assessing database needs and workflow, creating and maintaining activity tracking spreadsheets and grant templates, and serving as liaison with NYLC’s Youth Advisory Council sustainability committee. She has also been unofficially named “most resourceful web surfer” at NYLC.

During Mason Fong’s two years at NYLC he facilitated and co-facilitated more than 40 service-learning trainings for elementary-, middle-, high school-aged youth, as well as teachers and community-based audiences locally, nationally, and internationally. A few of these sites include the East Side YMCA, HandsOn Twin Cities, YouthCARE, PeaceJam, WISE Charter School, Barack and Michelle Obama Service-Learning Elementary School, and Augsburg College. He’s also been instrumental in the creation of the following trainings: CSI: Community Solutions Investigations; Get Your Service-Learning SWAG ON; and Discovering the Achievement Gap. As an NYLC representative he’s traveled to Philadelphia, Pa.; Nashville, Tenn.; Doha, Qatar; San Jose, Calif.; Washington D.C.; and Orlando, Fla. Additionally, Mason has helped manage the Summer Fellows program, reviewed Project Ignition grant applications, served as a staff member during National Youth Leadership Training, participated in monthly Youth Advisory Council meetings, helped create the great youth rooms at the National Service-Learning Conference in 2010, helped organize the Minnesota and Metro-wide Dropout Prevention Summit, and created the Service-Learning Action Plan. He also managed to squeeze in being the most creative chef at NYLC and having the best 80s costume during the Youth Room 80s Night at the National Service-Learning Conference in 2010.