If You're Gonna Be Poor, You Better Be Crafty

My entire life my mother has told me, "If you're gonna be stupid, you gotta be tough." 

See how tough I look? Exactly. I learned not to be stupid quickly. 

Now that I am an adult(ish-like person) I have taken my mother's wisdom and adapted it to fit my current situation. Last night, I was sitting on my living room floor and I was painting, really patting myself on the back because I was making something that you would normally get charged at least $30 for, when it hit me: I am being crafty because I have no money. 

Don't get me wrong. I like being crafty, but it is much easier to purchase a cute painting than to paint it, no? Well yes it is, but it is also much more expensive. I spent $30 and got 4 18x24 canvases, spray paint, stencils, and a new bottle of paint. I will get 4 pictures for the cost of one if I had let someone else do the work. Boom. It hit me again - I have to do the work.

More things are going to get accomplished if I - really, we - put in the man hours. I have spent the past 2.5 weeks searching for people to just give us money. I want to type up a little paper explaining the woes of a low-income school and community and just have someone feel bad and hand over a check.

FYI: In this economy, you have to be a 501(c)(3), one-woman operation feeding hungry kids in the US, Uganda, and Guatemala, while also running a foster home for orphans in Chicago that somehow benefits the elderly, disabled, and another minority population to even be an eligible corporation. 

Needless to say, grants haven't been rolling out and checks haven't been rolling in. 

So, time to get crafty. Pancake breakfasts, penny drives, art shows, and dare I say...car washes?! (I will make a personal donation to the school to prevent this from happening).

Anyway, there is a point to this post (other than to give my brain a break) and that point is: Think outside the box. Put in the foot work. Don't get discouraged when people aren't ready and willing to give you money. 

Last, but not least - my favorite quote of the day thus far...

"I just can't have her flippin' the bird in class."   

The Land of Dreams...If You're White. And Wealthy. And Educated.

"To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi." - William Faulkner 

This comes as no surprise to any of you, but Mississippi, as a whole, is poor. And unhealthy. And uneducated. And nothing more than a landmass (if you don't know why that's funny, search "The Landmass Between NOLA and Mobile" and you'll understand). And all of that is frustrating because, compared to the rest of the country, Mississippi seems to be forgotten despite the fact they need a lot of help. 

Don't know why they need help? Here is why:

(These statistics came from the Mississippi Delta Project, A Portrait of Mississippi: Mississippi Human Development Report 2009, and America After 3pm) 

1. Mississippi's high school graduation rate is 61%, lower than the national average. The county in which I work is one of the top five counties in the state with the highest dropout rate. 

2. Mississippi has approximately 168,000 high school dropouts on Medicaid. This costs the state more than $208 million a year. 

3. In 2009, a survey conducted found that 25% of K-12 children supervise themselves after school. They are without adult supervision, on average, 9 hours a week. 

4. Mississippians living in Panola & Coahoma counties (I work in Panola) live like the average American lived in 1975.

5. In Mississippi, the white residents that are the worst off are still better off than the vast majority of African American residents. 

6. The infant mortality rate for nonwhites in Mississippi is nearly two times higher than the overall rate for the United States. In some counties it is three times higher. That is comparable to Libya and Thailand. 

7. In the Delta, the average Mississippian earns less than $19,000 a year. 

8. In Mississippi, the average white resident outlives the average African American resident by four years and earns an average of $10,000 more per year.  

9. Mississippi ranks in the top five of states with the highest teen births. 

10. Last, but not least - my personal favorite: Mississippi is spending twice as much per prisoner as it it on education per schoolchild.   

So there you have it. The state in which I am living and working to make a better place. The odds are against me in almost every way possible, but I suppose it wouldn't be fun if it was easy. That is what I am going to keep telling myself. Just go with it. 

If anyone has suggestions, pass them my way. Words of encouragement? I'll take 'em. If you're going to hate on Mississippi (especially if you've never been here), keep it to yourself. I need solutions, not uneducated opinions. With that said, I will leave you with this because I like it...

"A child born to a black mother in a state like Mississippi has exactly the same rights as a white baby born to the wealthiest person in the United States. It's not true, but I challenge anyone to say it is not a goal worth working for." -Thurgood Marshall  

I'm Movin' and Shakin'!

Ok, it is time to admit that I am not a blogger. I am more of the "experience your emotions as you move through them as quickly as possible" type, so writing things, especially for public eyes, is just not my thing. However, I'm passionate about my job and the people I am working with and for. With that said, I am going to give this a shot.

Anyway, I have completed week 1 and started week 2 of my AmeriCorps VISTA position. Week 1 - Rough. I brought it on myself, though. The school was great, the administration was great, and, aside from the gawking high school boys, the students were great. I, however, was nuts (don't worry, I hid it well). I was so frustrated by the third day. Yes, day 3. I don't know why, but I wanted to have 235749857293 things accomplished by the end of the first week and when I didn't, I was pissed. HOW was I going to save the world in a year if I didn't have anything done in 3 days?!

Then week 2 arrived and so did my sanity. Week 2 has been great and I am actually making progress. These are the things I have in the works:

1. The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation: After submitting a pre-qualification form, my school was invited to apply for a grant for some new instruments and instrument repairs. These children better be ready to make the best music you've ever heard.

2. Baseball Fields: There are some baseball fields in town that, with the proper renovations, would be perfect for Little League or school teams. With the help of Mr. Hebert, a baseball-loving middle school teacher, there could be an awesome fundraiser with Ole Miss in the future. A fundraiser that involves wiffle ball and crawfish. Count. Me. In.

3. Adopt-A-Classroom: As soon as the teachers can get their classrooms loaded, Crenshaw Elementary School needs your help. They are operating on a tiny, tiny budget and tiny, tiny kids need some school supplies!! If you're reading this blog, you're probably reading it on your computer. If you own a computer, you just might have 25 bucks to spare. If you have 25 bucks to spare, go to www.adoptaclassroom.org and hook some people up with markers, crayons, and construction paper, oh my! (But don't do it yet! The classrooms aren't up!)

Ok, I've typed too much. My fingers are about to fall off and if they do that, I can't keep them crossed for all the good things to come (or write grants), making me useless.    

Soooo What Do You Do?

"What exactly do you do?"

I get that a lot when I tell people that I am an AmeriCorps VISTA and, fortunately for them, I don't mind explaining my job because it is something I think is necessary and something I can be proud of. So, these are the basic facts about my job:

1. My main goal is to build capacity. Basically, I don't do the hands on work. I do the behind the scenes work. I help to develop, organize, and implement programs that will continue to exist (hopefully) after I leave. I also do things like research and write grants or meet with influential members of the community to discuss concerns and potential projects.

2. Even though it says "Volunteer", I get paid. I think? Kidding. I do get paid, but it is such a minimal amount that sometimes I don't even notice my checking account balance has changed. There is, however, a reason for this. While working as an AmeriCorps VISTA, they want you to understand the living conditions of the people you're serving. With that said, they pay you, but you fall below the national poverty line. You can't be a VISTA and be fancy.

3. I work full-time (at least) for one year. At the end of my year I get an education award that will be used to pay off student loans and I will have non-competitive status for federal employment for one year. Not a bad deal.  

Live extremely cheaply for a year while you serve a community in need and get a little somethin' somethin' at the end. That is what it means to be a VISTA in a nutshell.

If you have the opportunity to be a VISTA, do it.