It's here - the Summer, 2017 Kickoff edition of the PSP Jotter! 

This summer, PSP's VISTA Members, Summer Associates, and staff will be busy working on summer programs, conference presentations, service projects, and more! Congratulations to PSP VISTA Member Karen Washburn, serving at the Northern UT Native Connection, for being awarded PSP's Good Role Model Award in this round of PSP's VISTA Recognition Program.

Click here to download the newsletter, or view the newsletter below.

The April, 2017 edition of the PSP Jotter is here! Featured in this issue is the annual Mayors, County Officials, and Tribal Leaders Day of Recognition for Volunteer and National Service (read below):

     Local Mayors and Officials Gather to Recognize Volunteers and National Service Members

   April is National Volunteer Month. To celebrate, PSP and the Cache Valley National Service Alliance hosted its annual Mayors, County Officials, and Tribal Leaders Day of Recognition for Volunteer and National Service on April 4th. Local officials from two counties participated in the event by signing a proclamation, declaring their support and appreciation for community volunteers and National Service program members. Several local officials – Cache County Council Chairman Greg Merrill, Cornish Mayor Joseph Hansen, Hyde Park City Council Member Sharidean Flint, and River Heights Mayor James Brackner – attended the event. Chairman Merrill and Mayor Hansen also spoke to those in attendance about the impact service has had on them and the communities where they serve.
Also in attendance were National Service program directors, staff, and members from local AmeriCorps VISTA, AmeriCorps, National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), Senior Corps RSVP, and Senior Corps Senior Companions programs. We wish to extend a very sincere thanks to all who joined us in recognizing and celebrating the invaluable work that volunteers and National Service members do in our community!

Also, congratulations to Jason Jensen, PSP VISTA Member at Mountain Crest High, for receiving the Determination Award for our monthly VISTA Recognition Program! Updates from our Senior Volunteers program are included in this issue as well. 

​View the entire newsletter below, or click here to download and print it. 

The March, 2017 edition of the PSP Jotter is here! Congratulations to Jessica Westover and Taylor DeVilbiss for receiving VISTA Member Recognition Awards this month! Download the newsletter here, or view it below: 

Check out the February, 2017 edition of the PSP Jotter for updates on our VISTA and RSVP programs! Congratulations to the following PSP VISTA Members for receiving awards for the monthly VISTA Member Recognition program:

• Shayley Warner - Above & Beyond Award
• Laura Higgins - Above & Beyond Award
• Courtney Stumph - Good Role Model Award
• Jenni Allred - Determination Award

Click here to download and print the newsletter, or you can take a look at it below:

We hope you enjoy the January, 2017 edition of the PSP Jotter. This edition highlights various service stories from the VISTA program, the importance of focusing on improving school attendance, and how RSVP volunteers are working to improve attendance rates. 

Also featured is our recipient of January's VISTA Member Recognition Award - Dawna Webb, PSP VISTA Member at Mountain Crest High School! Dawna received the Good Role Model Award this month, and she previously was awarded the Above & Beyond Award in September, 2016. We love Dawna and are so grateful for all she brings to PSP and her site!

Click here to download the newsletter, or you can view it below:

On Monday, January 16, 2017, PSP's VISTA members and RSVP volunteers as well as several community volunteers, spent the day out in the community asking for donations to support local food pantries that serve youth/students, families, and seniors. Local AmeriCorps America Reads volunteers assisted in the days leading up to the event by promoting the drive and preparing for the My Young Mother donation project. Here are our numbers for the entire MLK Day 2017 project:

• 755 total items collected
  • 496 food items (518 lbs!)
  • 71 baby care items (13 packages of diapers and 20 packages of wipes!)
  • 77 school supplies
  • 111 hygiene items
• 86 total volunteers engages
  • 217 total volunteer hours

A HUGE thank you to the following organizations and businesses for their support of this project, several of whom have supported our MLK Day service efforts multiple years in a row:

• UServeUtah
• Lee's Marketplace in Logan
• Lee's Marketplace in Smithfield
• Walmart in North Logan
• Walmart South
• Macey's in Providence
• Adam's Elementary

We can't believe we are already sharing our FINAL newsletter of 2016! December's edition of the PSP Jotter is filled with PSP announcements from our VISTA and RSVP programs, including our MLK Day project coming up in January, 2017. Congratulations to Jaclyn LeBlond, PSP VISTA Member at Ridgeline High School, for receiving the Determination Award and our final VISTA Member Recognition Award of the year.

Download the newsletter here, or read below...

PSP recently received word that it has been awarded UServeUtah's annual MLK Day grant for the second year in a row. PSP joins 7 other organizations to receive the mini grant that support service projects occuring on MLK Day throughout the state of Utah. PSP will partner with other Cache Valley National Service Alliance programs such as Cache County's America Reads AmeriCorps program and Senior Corps RSVP. To read the article and find out how you can support MLK Day service initiatives across the state of Utah, click here: https://heritage.utah.gov/userveutah/mlk-day-projects

National service and community volunteers will be out in local grocery stores requesting food, hygiene, baby care, and household items to support local school and community pantries. The America Reads AmeriCorps members will be coordinating diaper drives at local schools up until MLK Day to support the Cache County-based My Young Mother program, which was created by a PSP VISTA alumna. Volunteers will also be set up at Adam's Elementary in Logan, UT throughout the day on January 16 accepting, weighing, and sorting donations. If you have a donation you wish to give, you can visit one of our grocery store sites or Adam's Elementary from 9am-3pm on January 16 or contact Shonna or Cameron at 435-797-0633.

More details TBA, and a flyer will be posted soon!

The Herald Journal recently published a story on PSP's Senior Corps RSVP program and the service experiences of some of the RSVP Volunteers. We are so grateful for our Senior Corps RSVP Volunteers and the countless hours they have dedicated to serving others in their community!
Check out the story below, or visit the link here: ​http://news.hjnews.com/allaccess/oriented-toward-service-rsvp-program-helps-seniors-volunteer-in-community/article_af3cb99a-7796-52a6-a037-3f99f3c49e79.html