December 2010 News

In This Issue

Tax Season at ESC

Leadership Training

Garden Projects Prep for 2011

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December 2010 ESC News

Hello!

Tax Season at ESC

January will be here before you know it, so ESC is seeking Volunteer Income Tax preparers for our service area! If you or someone you know is interested in getting certified to file taxes and volunteering as a preparer for one of our VITA sites, we want to know! The sites are located in Joplin, Carthage, Pineville or Neosho, and interested individuals should contact Suzanne Becker for more information (417-451-2206 ext. 103).

Session One: This session is for new and less experienced volunteers. It will be held at MSSU Plaster Hall on January 3rd and 4th 9am-4pm.

Session Two: This session is for more experienced volunteers and will be held at MSSU Plaster Hall, Room 303 on January 5th, 6th and 7th from 9am-4pm.

Special training by the State of Missouri will be held on January 6th from 9am to 11am.

People who plan on volunteering and getting the tax certification training must contact Suzanne Becker no later than December 29th.

Note: A light lunch will be provided on each day of training.

Step Up to Leadership Training

Be the change you desire to see in the world.

Get the skills you need to work well in groups, serve on boards and be a good leader.

Step Up to Leadership is a twelve-week training that culminates in your certification and graduation on the twelfth week. Some of the topics covered during the training include: how to plan your passion, setting goals, collaborating with others, understanding diversity, the legalities of serving on a board, Robert's Rules of Order, dealing with conflict effectively, public speaking and grant writing.

Those who complete a minimum of ten classes are eligible for certification and also for applying for a mini-grant for up to $500. This grant can be used to do something in your community that would improve how low-income populations are served.

The training is free to the public. Classes begin January 25th with a light meal at 5:30pm, followed by class which runs from 6-8pm.

For more information or to sign up, please contact your nearest ESC outreach office.

Garden Projects Prepare for 2011

It may be getting colder, but ESC's Community Garden Projects are in full swing preparing for the 2011 planting season!

The programs offer gardening space, tools and education to members of our community. Community gardens are places where people that do not have space for a garden, or just enjoy gardening, can garden with other members of the community. The project was developed to help low-income families improve their nutrition and self-sufficiency... this truly is a project designed to strengthen community ties.

McDonald County's garden project is seeking interested volunteers to join their committee or help with the gardening in the spring. For more information or to sign up, please contact Marcia Denny at ESC's Outreach Office in Anderson (417-845-6011)

The City of Lamar has recently granted use of a second lot for the Barton County garden project. The Barton program also received a donation of seeds valued at $1100. The FFA instructor in Lamar has also agreed to the task of checking the donated seeds in preparing them as starter plants for the upcoming planting season.

Other projects are scattered throughout Jasper, Newton, Barton and McDonald counties. If you are interested in the program, please contact your nearest ESC outreach office for more information.

These programs had great success in 2010 and we look forward to seeing how they GROW in 2011!

Is there anything interesting going on in your department that you would like to share with our staff, board members and supporters? To have your information included in an upcoming issue of News from ESC, please contact Andrea Osiek at aosiek@escswa.org.

Economic Security Corporation of Southwest Area (ESC) is a private non-profit Community Action Agency, which was created in October 1965 to serve the needs of low-income individuals and families. The mission of the agency is "to help families currently caught in poverty to find a way out, and to work in our communities to prevent the conditions of poverty from affecting future generations."