Final Report on Youth Coordinator Position at the Manitoba Indigenous Cultural Education Centre

Jolene Shepherd
2217 Gallagher Ave.
Winnipeg, MB
R3E 1T7
(204) 632-6292

August 19, 2014

To Whom It May Concern:

I recently completed my summer term as Youth Coordinator at the M.I.C.E.C. I am submitting this
document to you in order to explain my duties and experiences while employed under the Canada
Summer Jobs Grant. I had two general areas of responsibility at the Centre; I filled in for our Library
Technician for three days every two weeks, as well as whenever I was needed in the Library, and I
assisted my co-worker Natalie Scofield-Singh with Summer Programming duties. Below are the various
tasks I performed in each area.
The Peoples Library

I became competent with the Librarys OPAC/IPAC, L4U, and used it to do the following: search
for materials, check out and return materials, enter new client data, receive payment for fines,
and add material to the collection via the Acquisitions function.
In Acquisitions, I practiced working with the various aspects of cataloguing used in the Library,
including Dewey Decimal, Canadian Subject Headings and MARC coding, in order to provide a
completed record for each new book.
I physically processed books with stamps and labels in addition to cataloguing them in L4U.
I helped patrons find materials, assisted our Library Technician in creating a comprehensive
spreadsheet for 2014 book orders, re-shelved items, and occasionally assisted patrons with the
public access computers.
I assisted several patrons with information requests such as crafts for children, and easy readers
in Indigenous languages, researching the Internet and our print collection to provide sources.
I answered the phone and checked emails at the Circulation desk.

Summer Programming

I became acquainted with the Centres staff, mandate, outreach capability, contacts and prior
summer programming.
I added to existing contact lists and began email and phone outreach to get in touch with groups
in the community.

I did an inventory of existing craft supplies and drew up a list of arts and crafts activities Natalie
and I could comfortably facilitate, plus others that would require outside assistance from
teachers or elders.
I became acquainted with the easy readers section of The Peoples Library and, with Natalie,
hosted many story times for children over the summer. We usually combined story time with
show and tell, using artefacts and Indigenous crafts to explore First Nations culture with kids.
With Natalie, I worked to fund-raise for our 2nd Annual Summer Kick-Off BBQ as well as our
Literacy Carnival, and tracked all monies received, plus created thank-you cards sent to all donor
organizations.
In total, I helped to organize and facilitate 34 distinct group activities including 6 large
community events, doing jobs such as sign making, communicating with other organizations,
providing crafts supplies and instruction, offering educational games, giving away free books
and M.I.C.E.C. promotional materials, explaining the Centre, showcasing books from the Library
and representing the Centre publically. In total, we connected with over 1300 people during our
events at the Centre and in the community.
I liaised with teachers and elders and arranged for at least eight to lead group activities.
I spent many hours before planned activities shopping for groceries and supplies, and rearranging the Centres main space to accommodate our groups. With Natalie, I came up with
creative ideas for introducing children to the subject of First Nations culture and history. These
included Seven Teachings art canvasses and clay crafts, Dreamcatchers, beaded keychains,
bannock demonstrations, animal spirit tipis, and more.
I attended staff meetings and tried to the best of my ability to fulfil the expectations of
management, such as I understood them to be.
I created budget spreadsheets and wrote many pages for the purpose of reporting our activities,
exploring outreach options for the future, and assisting future summer students. With Natalie, I
put together a comprehensive binder documenting our work and reporting all outcomes and
recommendations for the future.

These lists represent the work I did this summer at the M.I.C.E.C. If you require further details, please do
not hesitate to contact me at the phone number or email address provided above.
Sincerely,

Jolene Shepherd