Delta Corps of Louisiana is a non-profit organization the recruits, trains and places individuals (17+) in positions of full time service. It is an umbrella branch of AmeriCorps and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).Delta Corps partners with community based organizations in the Baton Rouge, New Orleans and northeast areas of the state.

They recruit 45-55 members each year for an 11-month service year. Members provide direct service for non-profit organizations in exchange for work experience, guidance, a small living stipend, insurance and an education award of $5000.

Delta Corps of Louisiana can be described as a “domestic Peace Corps” and like the Peace Corps, members choose to give back by building houses, tutoring children, feeding the community or assisting with project managment for little financial remuneration.

Since 1992, Delta Corps has been actively supporting several service projects within Louisiana through funding and member recruitment. They have placed over 1,050 full time members in public schools, non-profits, grassroots, faith-based and community organizations to provide direct service and build capacity in those organizations.

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Dear Friends of Delta Corps:

In 2010, Delta Corps of Louisiana will mark its 20th year of service to the people of Louisiana. We count among our service recipients over 100 different hosting agencies including non profit organizations, schools and faith based groups. The families, children and students and others served by these groups have also benefitted from the service of our members. Most of all, over 900 AmeriCorps members have served through Delta Corps by building houses, teaching financial literacy, mentoring young students and a host of other activities.

Delta Corps is proud to present our stakeholders with this overview of the invaluable service provided by our members in 2009-2010. In addition to some of our more traditional partnerships, Delta Corps members also serve with several new and creative social entrepreneurs such as the Edible Schoolyard in New Orleans’ mid-city and the Blair Street School and Grocery in the Lower 9th Ward. Members increase the capacity of established non profits such as Volunteers in Public Schools and the YWCA of Baton Rouge. Members address critical education and health problems of children and their families through their service with faith based projects such as Hagar’s House in New Orleans and Hope Ministries in Baton Rouge.

Delta Corps of Louisiana is proud of our 55 full time members and the service they provide. Together with our host partner agencies, we want to highlight our members’ service accomplishments, tell their stories of renewal and rebuilding in New Orleans, and applaud them for being the creative, energetic and committed servant leaders in our state.

Elizabeth Irvine, Executive DirectorDelta Corps of Louisiana

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4 DeltaCorpsMemberRecruitment

5 MemberBenefits

7 RecruitmentStrategiesfor2010

8 PerformanceMeasures

9 CommunityOutreachandEducation

10 VolunteerRecruitmentandManagement

11 MemberDevelopment

13 ADelta’sExperienceinNewOrleans

14 ADelta’sExperienceinRuralLouisiana

15 CorporationStrategicInitiativesandActivities

16 QuarterlyNumbers

18 2008-2009HostSites

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RECRUIT thebest

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OURMEMBERS

A diverse group of members is often what makes the AmeriCorps experience so enlightening and engaging. We strive to have a group that can learn from each other, and learn with each other, as they interact with people of all creeds and colors. We recruit our members through Craig’s List, as it reaches such a wide range of people from across the nation. We also use local resources, such as volunteer agencies, social work programs, and universities to locate potential members. Our AmeriCorps team will often consist of members that have traveled here from as far away as Maine to members already residing within the state, or the city they serve in. Members usually come to us with a wide

variety of experiences and academic successes; it is not unusual for us to have members serving together that have a master’s degree, a bachelor’s degree, or a GED. It is not necessary for members to have attended college, or obtained a degree, but all members must have completed high school.

Our members don’t need to have experience in the position they are interested in, but we look for volunteer opportunities and experiences that they have taken advantage of. We are most interested in those who have a willingness to serve others, a desire to have new experiences, and a willingness to take in and learn from all aspects of the AmeriCorps experience.

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▪ Serve 11 months full-time in a non-profit, public school or grass roots organization

▪ Earn just enough money to live on - $11,700 for the year

▪ Receive health insurance

▪ Receive child care reimbursement if eligible

▪ Student Loan forbearance

▪ Extensive personal and professional development training

▪ Be a part of a team and learn how to create sustainable service projects

▪ Upon successful completion of the program earn a $4,725 education award to use to go back to school or to pay off student loans

▪ Attend two out of town retreats and monthly team meetings

▪ Network with other non-profits and local organizations

▪ Build your resume and make friends for life!

MEMBER BENEFITS

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NEW RECRUITMENTSTRATEGIES FOR 2010

S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G

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Louisiana Delta Service Corps focuses on three main areas: Community Outreach and Education; Volunteer Recruitment and Management and Member Development. We have chosen these three areas to base our reporting on because they are the most quantifiable aspects of our program and because they speak to the main goals and values of our organization.

Delta Corps is a leadership development program first and foremost. We strategically plan our trainings (for our members) to increase their awareness of their communities and their roles within them. We bring in speakers

and community leaders to talk with the members about the populations they are serving and to investigate the root causes of their needs. We discuss institutional racism, causes of poverty, how policies are made and how members can be actively engaged in their communities. The trainings are also designed to enhance the members’ working skills in order to maximize their service terms and to prepare them for life after AmeriCorps. Members receive soft skill training such as conflict resolution, time management, wellness and team building.

OVERVIEWbriefa

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INITIAL PERFORMANCE MEASURE GOAL:35 corps members will plan and implement outreach programs in the areas of volunteerism, community safety, adult financial literacy programs and rural capacity building. They will educate at least 20,000 community members during the course of the year.

ACHIEVEMENT DATA:Program has achieved and exceeded the performance measurment target.

Members have provided outreach, education and assistance to 52,518 individuals this service term.

CHALLENGES AND FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS:The Louisiana Delta Service Corps did not retain 12% of our members in 2008-2009. Although we have a strong network of team support and individual coaching aimed at supporting the members in their service; attrition is almost always due to financial considerations of the members (they leave to pursue more lucrative employment). Since many of our members are the sole wage earners for their families, this is a challenge that we will continue to face.

In 2009-2010, LDSC has encouragedour various service site organizations to supplement corps member stipends with additional support (such as housing and travel reimbursement) so as to lessen the financial burden on those members who are serving in high rent areas such as Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

COMMUNITY OUTREACHAND EDUCATIONP E R F O R M A N C E M E A S U R E S

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INITIAL PERFORMANCE MEASURE GOAL:45 members will recruit and/or train or supervise at least 4,000 non-AmeriCorps volunteers who will serve at least 15,000 hours.

ACHIEVEMENT DATA:Program has achieved and exceeded the performance measurment target.

Members have worked with 6,876 non-AmeriCorps volunteers which served 481,757 volunteer hours this year.

VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT AND MANAGEMENTP E R F O R M A N C E M E A S U R E S

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INITIAL PERFORMANCE MEASURE GOAL:Output: Members will receive at least 90 training hours during their service. This will result in higher retention rates and greater reported satisfaction in their service experience. This will be the catalyst towards creating alumni who continue to be engaged in service and their communities after graduation.

Intermediate Outcome: Having completed adequate orientation (at least 15 hours) and site specific training, members will report satisfaction with their service experience and will be adequately supported to aid with their successful completion of the year.

End Outcome: 95% of members and alumni will report a greater understanding of citizenship upon graduation and will subsequently continue to serve their communities after graduation.

ACHIEVEMENT DATA:Program has achieved and exceeded the performance measurment target.

From September 1, 2008 to July 1, 2009 members have received an average of 121.9 training hours each. We have held monthly team meetings, and two and three day retreats. The workshops included: Understanding Poverty, Life After AmeriCorps, reflection of service, Citizenship, teambuilding, non-profit management, volunteer management, Community Asset Building, Myers Briggs Personality Indicator, Goal Setting, Service Project Planning, and one day long community dialogue on race.

Midterm evaluations and site visits revealed that members received adequate orientation to report a favorable service experience.

Final evaluations, reflection activities and site visits revealed that members had a better understanding of volunteerism and citizenship. 100% of members stated that they would continue to serve their communities even after their service year was complete.

MEMBER DEVELOPMENTP E R F O R M A N C E M E A S U R E S

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MEMBER INnewORLEANS

wrote:One of the most gratifying experiences that I have had this quarter was working with two volunteers from Harvard University. During the week they spent here, one of the projects I had them working on was identifying residents in the neighborhood who had unhealthy or unsafe sleeping arrangements for themselves and/or their children.

They were able to identify several families who had infants sleeping in bed with the adults, which is a huge health risk for the child. However, we were able to locate a warehouse that had cribs to donate and, by the end of the week, the volunteers were able to go into a young mothers home, who had just brought home her 4lb. preemie twins, and set up a crib - an item that would have otherwise been financially out of reach for that household.

It was a wonderful experience for me to have additional people working in my department. The volunteers also expressed how meaningful and eye-opening it was to them, as well. They both mentioned that they now had a better understanding of the recovery process in New Orleans and a better understanding of the Social Work fields.

One of the volunteers, both of whom were sophomores in college, said that she enjoyed her experience so much that she was thinking of looking into social justice and social services as a possible career/education path. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to set up projects for the volunteers that had such an impact on our community members and, additionally, on their experience in New Orleans.

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Adeltacorps

MEMBER INruralLOUISIANA

wrote“Like I have said many times before, I never imagined that I would have impacted the lives of the young adults I’ve encountered at Vidalia High School. The students gave me so much grief in the beginning, of my tutoring and mentoring, by not allowing me to help them. I knew that they [were] only afraid to let me get close because of their rough lives.

Once I explained to them that I was once in their shoes they began to open up to me. The relationships I’ve built with the students really help me regain focus on my life. I now know my purpose in life is to uplift as well as encourage others to never give up. Always believe in yourself and never give up no matter how hard it gets.”

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CORPORATION STRATEGIC INITIATIVES AND ACTIVITIES

MOBILIZING MORE VOLUNTEERSThe church network that we are partnering with in New Orleans had done a phenomenal job in recruiting their own volunteers. Most come after hearing about someone else who had come to New Orleans and had a great experience.

ENGAGING STUDENTS IN COMMUNITIESDelta Corps has partnered with the Broadmoor group in New Orleans. They engage undergraduate and masters level students from Harvard, Yale and Bard University who are interested in Community and Urban and want to come to New Orleans. Their AmeriCorps members receive internship hours through their schools and have a chance to serve in New Orleans for 1-2 terms.

HARNESSING BABY BOOMERS’ EXPERIENCEMany of our host sites in New Orleans harness volunteers from National church groups. Our surveys show that about 30% of our non-AmeriCorps volunteers are Baby Boomers.

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSEOur single site placement model is quite adept to handle disaster preparation and for rebuilding after a disaster. Members, who are easily trained and can assist on all levels of preparation, serve in local non-profits. The response part is a little trickier. Take, for instance, when Katrina hit. Members prepared by packing, evacuating and some even stayed with their site to help with its evacuation. Most AmeriCorps members are not in a position to respond readily to a disaster because of housing and family issues. Right after Katrina, there was an influx of AmeriCorps funding to help in the response but because most housing was unavailable and the infrastructure to manage long-term volunteers was not in place the “response” had to be delayed. Once housing was established and the non-profit sector had secured funding and had supervisors it was well equipped to start the rebuilding effort with the use of AmeriCorps members. The bottom line is that our typical members are best utilized to prepare citizens for disasters and to help with the rebuilding after a disaster. Members can help prepare with community education programs, cpr, first aid classes and hurricane preparedness kits. They can help rebuild by managing volunteers, coordinating service projects and providing the direct labor.

We place corps members with agencies and non–profits that can benefit most from the energy and creativity of a full time national service member. It is important that AmeriCorps members NOT be considered as staff or as replacement personnel. Their service is designed to enhance capabilities or allow a program to explore new ways of delivering a service which they are unable to do with restricted staffing structure.

Since 2005, Delta Corps has been at the forefront of national service programs helping to rebuild and restore the schools, homes and non-profit sector of greater New Orleans. Delta Corps made a strategic decision to place the majority of members with organizations dedicated to rebuilding homes of low income citizens and working to rejuvenate shattered neighborhoods and abandoned schools. Over 150 Delta Corps members have dedicated their service to hurricane recovery activities.

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QUARTERLY NUMBERSP E R I O D : S E P T E M B E R 1 , 2 0 0 8 - J U LY 3 1 , 2 0 0 9

DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION FIRST SECOND THIRD FOURTH QUARTER QUARTER QUARTER QUARTER

AmeriCorps Applicants 39 6 0 0 NumberofindividualsthatappliedtobeAmeriCorpsMembers

Total Leveraged Volunteers 0 2025 3399 1452 Numberofvolunteersofallageswhowererecruited,coordinated,orsupportedourprograms. Leveragedvolunteersdonotinclude:AmeriCorps,Learn&ServiceorRSVPdirectprogramparticipantsorFGP/SCPvolunteers.

Leveraged VolunteersDisadvantagedchildrenandyouth 20 0 285Collegestudents 399 737 244BabyBoomers 620 1031 151

Disaster Preparedness and Response Program ParticipantsParticipatingindisasterservicesprojects 20 837 625Certifiedindisasterpreparednessandresponse 116Availablefordeploymentinsupportoflocal,stateorotherdisaster 2 11

Populations ServedDiasadvantagedchildrenandyouth 2260 37,715 13,705Childrenofincarceratedparents 2 10Individualsmentored 276 40 10Independentlivingservices 20 24DISASteRPRePAReDNeSSANDReSPoNSe LocaldisasterstowhichAmeriCorpsmembershaveresponded 1 1 1DISASteRPRePAReDNeSSANDReSPoNSe CommunitymemberswhoreceiveassistancefromAmeriCorps membersand/orleveragedvolunteersrespondingtodisasters andparticipatingrecovery 209 193

ENROLLMENT AND RETENTION FIRST SECOND THIRD FOURTH QUARTER QUARTER QUARTER QUARTER

AmeriCorps Members Enrolled 9 6 0 0 oftheenrolledmembers,howmanywerestill servingattheendofthisrepportingperiod? 39 43 39 3

SERVICE HOURS SERVED BY CORPS FIRST SECOND THIRD FOURTH QUARTER QUARTER QUARTER QUARTER

SERVICE 13,672.00 12,450.75 *TRAINING 2,245.25 817.5 *FUNDRAISING 29.25 3 **-Duetoswitchingofon-linereportingsystemsthisdataisunavailable.Whatwedoknowisthatfrom9/1/2008to7/31/2009membersservedatotalof65,035hours(includingtrainingandfundraising).

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20082009

HostSites:

DeltaCORPS

New Orleans Host Sites▪ ^Communities In Schools

▪ ^First Grace United Methodist (Emergency shelter for woman and children)

▪ ^Presbyterian Community Outreach

▪ **Project Homecoming

▪ ^Unitarian Universalist Association

▪ Edible School Yard

▪ Each One Save One

▪ Teaching Responsible Earth Education (TREE)

▪ BLAIR School and Grocery

▪ Art Spot Productions

▪ Greenlight

▪ Broadmoor Redevelopment

Baton Rouge Host Sites▪ Southeastern Louisiana University – Family Resource Project

▪ Urban Restoration Enhancement Corporation (UREC)

▪ Volunteers in Public Schools

▪ HOPE Ministries

▪ Louisiana Association of Non Profit Organizations (LANO)

▪ Women’s Community Rehabilitation Center

▪ Youthbuild Team Leader

▪ Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation

▪ Mid City Redevelopment Alliance

**-theHostSitewillprovideadditionallivingallowance.^-theHostSitewillprovideactualhousingand/oradditionallivingallowance.PleasecontactLDSCortheHostSiteforspecifics.