Christian Appalachian Project

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CAP Volunteer E-News - January 2008

Happy New Year!

CAP volunteers at the October Volunteer Retreat

The 56 long-term and short-term CAP volunteers wish you a happy 2008!

The year 2007 marked many achievements for CAP's Volunteer Program. Below are just a few highlights:

March: CAP welcomed 400 college students for the WorkFest alternative spring break program. Volunteers came over the course of the month for a building blitz that provided hope and needed home repairs to many Appalachian families. Several WorkFest volunteers returned to volunteer at summer camp.

June: CAP partnered with The Ichthus Christian music festival in Wilmore, Kentucky. More than 60 volunteers and employees served behind-the-scenes at Ichthus and promoted volunteering to crowds of more than 20,000 youth. Camp counselor Megan Goble was selected to sing onstage after winning a singing contest at the festival.

June-July: Close to 60 volunteers served as counselors, lifeguards and medical personnel at CAP's two camps serving more than 1,000 children from low-income families.

September: CAP's long-term volunteer orientation commissioned 25 new volunteers, CAP's largest orientation group in recent history. In 2007 the Volunteer Program grew from 30 to 55 long-term volunteers.

We hope you will be a part of our Volunteer Program in 2008!

Now accepting summer camp applications

wanted: counselors, lifeguards, medical personnel
and applesauce connoisseurs

The Volunteer Program is now accepting volunteer applications for Summer Camp 2008! Camp Andrew Jackson and Camp Shawnee serve children from low-income families in eastern Kentucky. CAP charges families only $10 per child for a week of swimming, hiking, arts & crafts and other camp activities. CAP would not be able to provide such an affordable opportunity for families without the generous service of our volunteers. Counselors, lifeguards and medical personnel are needed. Camp dates are June 1 - August 1 and time commitments vary by position. Room and board is provided.

This summer, CAP will also have a limited number of minimum-time AmeriCorps Education Awards ($1,000) for camp volunteers who serve at least 300 hours. These awards may be used for future tuition and qualified student loans. Applicants interested in receiving the minimum-time award must apply by Friday, April 18, 2008. Please note that applying by this date does not guarantee acceptance into CAP or AmeriCorps. Request an application today!

Volunteer Spotlight

"Summer camp=a blast. It's a summer of complete and utter insane fun. It's a chance to get over yourself and to give some awesome and deserving kids the best week of their summer."

--Sarah Fackender, Housing

Sarah Fackender at a glance...

Hometown: Tallahassee, Florida
Alma Mater: Florida State University
Service placement: Housing
Volunteer Community: Johnson Volunteer House

For many considering a long-term commitment to volunteering, just the thought of spending 9 months or longer in a strange and new place can be intimidating. For Housing volunteer Sarah Fackender, having a short-term experience at summer camp helped get her "feet wet" in the world of volunteering.

"For as long as I can remember, I had wanted to do some kind of post-college mission work," Sarah says. "I love kids, wanted to serve within the U.S., had heard only good things about CAP and figured because I am kind of scared of commitment, the camp commitment was a good start in pursuing long-term service."

After a rewarding summer camp experience in 2006, Sarah returned to Florida for a teaching job, but found herself "feeling extremely unhappy and unsatisfied."

"The last place I had felt content, happy and at peace was in Kentucky--I took that as God pushing me back to where I knew I needed to be." Sarah applied as a short-term Housing volunteer in early 2007 with an intent to return to camp for the full summer, but enjoyed her service experience and community so much that she decided to make a long-term commitment to Housing instead. "After a month or so I finally got over my fear of commitment and signed up long-term--there was really no question that this was where I wanted and was supposed to be."

Long-term volunteers are encouraged to volunteer a week or two as camp counselors, so Sarah did get the chance to return to Camp Andrew Jackson last summer, and she recommends camp to anyone who loves direct service with children.

"[Camp is a chance] to positively impact and encourage kids to dream big, be bold, be themselves, regardless of where they come from or what they have been told. [I love] to watch kids change, grow and come out of their shells over the course of the week."

Upcoming recruitment events

CAP reps will be visiting colleges in Kentucky and elsewhere in the coming months. Check out our travel schedule to see if we will be visiting your area.

Urgent volunteer opportunities
application process required

Although we accept applications for all of our volunteer positions throughout the year, CAP has immediate or upcoming openings for long-term (serving 9 months or longer) volunteers in the following programs:

Elderly Services: Provides services such as home visitation, transportation, social activities, prescription assistance and various other services which decrease isolation and increase socialization of homebound senior citizens.

Outreach Services: Provide emergency assistance (utilities, household goods, materials for emergency home repairs) and on-going needs assessment for a large caseload of families facing financial crisis and long-term poverty. Outreach caseworkers also organize School Readiness and Christmas Basket programs for one or more counties. Must be able to work independently. Great position for someone with an interest or background in social work.

Child and Family Development: Offers birth to five-year-old children experiences in all areas of child development: cognition, communication, social, physical and emotional development, as well as creative expression. Encourages participation of the whole family through home visits, parenting classes, and involvement in the center. Program also includes a family literacy program called “Families Growing Together” which includes both parents and children. Components cover early childhood education, adult education, parent-child interaction, and parent groups. Must be energetic and flexible, as well as love children.

Adult Education: Provides GED and literacy instruction, job readiness, vocational and college preparation and testing in the home (School-On-Wheels) and in the Adult Learning Center to individuals ages 17-80.

Interested? Apply or request an information packet today!
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