DEEPSERVICE May/June 2011

A Bi-Monthly Newsletter of the Siena College Franciscan Center for Service and Advocacy’s Office of Academic Community Engagement

In This Issue

• ACE Banquet Highlights

• Bonner Endowment Celebration
• Siena Celebration of Academic Excellence
• VISTA Service Stories
• Siena Civic Engagement Camp
• Upcoming Partner Events
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DEEPSERVICE MAY/JUNE 2011
Contents Upcoming Happenings for ACE
Activities and classes are winding down with the end of the
2011 ACE Spring semester here at Siena College, but this time of year is the
Banquet busiest time of year for the Office of Academic Community
Recap Engagement. All of our programs are in full swing preparing for a
new cycle of service and civic engagement.
Page 3
Our Summer Service Associates Program recruited and hired
positions for this summer. With almost all of our indirect positions
$1 Million filled, we are looking forward to be partnering with the Boys &
Girls Clubs of Albany, Grand Street Community Arts, Music
Dollar Mobile, Office of Academic Community Engagement, and U.S.
Bonner Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. We are very excited to
welcome them to the team!
Endowment
Page 4 The AmeriCorps*VISTA Fellows Program has been actively
VISTA Leader Nefisah Sallim recruiting new Fellows for the 2011-2012 service year. At the end
and VISTA Fellow Victoria of April, candidates went through preliminary interviews and then
Malaney during a VISTA speed interviews with community partners. We are excited to
recruitment tabling event atAcademic
report that we had another high quality group of applicants this
Skidmore College.
Celebration year. Fellows will start their service year July 25 with national
training in Philadelphia and return for local training at Siena
of Excellence College the following week.
Page 5
The Bonner Service Leaders Program is busy planning the
Summer Leadership Institute, which will be held May 31-June 1,
2011. Over 60 colleges in the Bonner network will be
Siena VISTA participating and workshops will be offered to faculty,
Spotlight: administrators, and students. Many of our program participants
will be leading workshops and facilitating a two-day service track
Girl’s Day for Bonner students in attendance.
and More
ACE is offering a Civic Engagement Camp for local area high
Page 6 - 9 school students interested in service-learning. Sessions will be
held in July and registration is currently open on our website.
We’re planning to provide a fun summer of opportunities that will
engage and open the minds of high school students looking to
ASL Spotlight make a difference in their communities.
& Civic
Engagement Our newsletter is full of stories and more happenings within the
Office of Academic Community Engagement. Please enjoy and
Camp thanks for reading.
Page 10
- Jennifer Simek, AmeriCorps*VISTA Leader

Upcoming
Stay in Touch with ACE Online!
Partner www.siena.edu/ace
Events
Page 11

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DEEPSERVICE MAY/JUNE 2011

2011 ACE Banquet

Type to enter text

The 2nd Annual DEEP Service
Banquet a Night to Remember
By Nefisah Sallim, AmeriCorps*VISTA Leader
On Monday, May VISTA
2nd,Leader
2011 the Office of Academic
Community Engagementand
Nefisah Sallim hosted its 2nd Annual DEEP
VISTA
Service Banquet. TheFellow
purpose of this banquet was to
Victoria
bring together Malaney
all the players who have made this year’s
during a
DEEP Service commitment VISTAcome true. The event was
recruitment
hosted in the West Roomtabling
on the Siena campus, where
event at Skidmore
over 75 participants came together to eat, honor great
accomplishments, and College.
reflect on the year’s work.
The evening’s festivities were joined by 40 Bonner
Service Leaders, 22 VISTA Fellows, and a number of
community partners, Siena College faculty and
administrators along with Albany public officials. The
event started off with a nice prayer led by Fr. Mathias
which was quickly followed by an opening speech from
Fr. Ken about the value of service. Guests were then
transitioned to a lovely buffet spread organized by both
the ACE Banquet Committee and Norm Kvam, Director
of Dining Services on campus.
As guests continued to enjoy their dinners, the
evening’s agenda resumed with an insightful speech
from Albany County Executive Michael G. Breslin. Mr.
Breslin took this opportunity to recognize the unselfish
commitments that everyone in the room has made to
give back to their larger community. He gave thank
you’s and highlighted the importance of change and the
impact that has been made.
As the evening continued no event would be complete
without an awards segment. This year three faculty
members were honored for their outstanding
commitment to the DEEP Model. Dr. Paul Thurston, Dr.
Johanna Horowitz, and Dr. Mary Anne Egan worked
diligently with VISTA Fellows this year to facilitate
Academic Service Learning connections with their
classes. Students embarked on unforgettable
opportunities to take applications learned in the
classroom and gain practical experience by working
with local community partners.
Quickly following those awards was the community
partner recognition, which went to Interfaith Partnership
for the Homeless. Interfaith this year was one of the
partnering organizations amongst many which helped
establish a deeply rooted relationship. With the support
of a VISTA placement, to tech support and Interfaith
serving as a recipient of the Halloween Extravaganza
fundraiser for 2010, it is evident that the partnership is
not only sustained but will continue to grow.
The last segment of the evening’s agenda prior to the
closing remarks were dedicated to specialized awards
devoted to members of the Bonner Service Leaders and
VISTA Fellows. Bonner individuals received awards for
Team Player, Rookie of the Year, Unsung Hero, Ms.
Congeniality and Embodies Bonner the Most. VISTA
Fellow individuals received awards for Emblematic of
VISTA, Team Player, Community Partner Builder, and
Best VISTA Video.
As a phenomenal evening began to come to a close, it
was true that the accomplishments of every player and
stakeholder in that room were recognized and
appreciated.

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DEEPSERVICE MAY/JUNE 2011
SIENABONNERLeaders Spotlight

VISTA Leader
Nefisah Sallim and
VISTA Fellow
Victoria
Siena CollegeMalaney
Bonner Servicea VISTA
during
recruitment
Leaders celebratetabling
event at Skidmore
$1 million
endowment from College.
the Bonner
Foundation and
Siena Trustee John
Dawson ’68.

$1 Million Dollar Endowment for Siena Bonner Leaders Program

By Jennifer Simek, AmeriCorps*VISTA Leader

On May 2, the Siena Bonner Service Leaders Program
celebrated a $1 million dollar endowment from the
Bonner Foundation and Siena Trustee Jim Dawson ’68
which will provide annual financial support for 60 Bonner
Service Leaders.
The endowment funds will support future students
financially by helping them attend Siena College and
participate in the Bonner Service Leaders Program. As a
part of the Bonner Program, students will have the
opportunity to participate in weekly leadership and
professional development opportunities, academic
cornerstone activities such as service trips, national
conferences, internships, and research projects. At the
end of their four year college career, Bonner Service
Leaders will have a solid four-year record of real-world,
non-profit work experience.
Dr. Mathew Johnson, Director of Academic Community
Engagement, and from Siena Bonner Service Leader,
Amanda Simone.
Amanda Simone gave a personal account of the impact
that the Siena Bonner Service Leaders Program has had
on her experience at Siena College. She related to the
audience that without the Bonner Service Leaders
Program and its financial help, she may not have been
able to continue to attend Siena after her father’s
business was required to close. Now Amanda is
graduating at the top of her class and will move on to one
of the top medical schools in the country in Buffalo, NY.
The Office of Academic Community Engagement is
excited to see the Bonner Service Leaders Program
continue for years to come at Siena College.

The event was celebrated in the Sarazen Student Union

Maloney Great Room and was attended by Siena faculty,
staff and administrators, Siena AmeriCorps*VISTA
“Building a world that is
Fellows, and Office of Academic Community Engagement
community partners. more justice, peaceable,
A portion of the event included key remarks from Ariane
Hoy, Senior Program Officer from the Bonner Foundation, and humane.”
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DEEPSERVICE MAY/JUNE 2011
Celebration of Academic Excellence
VISTA Leader
Nefisah Sallim and
VISTA Fellow
Victoria Malaney
during a VISTA
recruitment tabling
event at Skidmore
College.
Four Siena Bonner Service Leaders Present Their Research at the
Celebration of Academic Excellence
By Jennifer Simek, VISTA Leader
The Academic Celebration is Siena’s yearly Harvest Fair
that showcases a variety of engaging research projects of
Siena’s students from many different departments and
majors. This year the Office of Academic Community
Engagement was proud to have the representation of four
Bonner Service Leaders: Abigael Rourke, Amanda
Simone, John DeCirce, and Kendra Perro. They presented
their research during a one-hour poster session in the
Sarazen Student Union Maloney Great Room.
John DeCirce created two posters that connected his two
most memorable service opportunities to his Economics
degree coursework. One poster featured his work in a
summer garden project in which he taught children from
the City of Albany about nutrition and healthy living. His
other poster featured the club he created on campus that
focused on making meals for a local soup kitchen.
Kendra Perro’s poster featured her involvement in the
design, development, and sustainability of the Trailblazers
Program, a leadership program for at-risk youth in North
5
Siena Bonner
Service Leaders
present their
research at this
year’s Celebration
of Academic
Excellence.
Top Left to Bottom
Right: Abigael
Rourke, Amanda
Simone, John
DeCirce, Kendra
Albany Academy. She played a significant role in
organizing and evaluating the program and creating
lessons.
Abigael Rourke’s poster featured her research on the
history and values of Girls Scouts of America and how
those values have impacted both Siena students as well
as the Girls Scouts of Northeastern New York Girl Scouts
Troop 1430. Siena College students act as troop leaders
to girls in Albany and provides girls from kindergarten to
8th grade with opportunities to better themselves and
their communities.
Amanda Simone’s poster captured the professional and
personal developmental experiences she had as a Siena
Bonner Service Leader throughout the course of her
college career. She included information about her service
experience, national service trips, and personal
challenges. Additionally, the poster examined the ways in
which her service experiences have helped her prepare for
a career in medicine.
DEEPSERVICE MAY/JUNE 2011
SIENAVISTAFellows Spotlight
What Happens When a Girl Has Her Day
By Ariel Palter, VISTA Fellow
Saturday, April 9th, 2011,
over 25 volunteers, including
students, faculty, and staff
from offices all over campus,
came together to provide
middle school girls an
opportunity to develop their
leadership skills, focus on
self-empowerment, provide
them with exposure to a
college campus, and overall
inspire them to achieve their
dreams.
The way the campus came together to support this event
was tremendous. The Bowman Women’s Center
sponsored the whole day and provided help with
organization of the event. Students volunteered as student
leaders to help oversee smaller groups of girls (Girl Packs)
for the whole day. Dr. Rachel Stein’s Body Politics class
organized and facilitated a workshop on body image.
Kathryn Ramsey, Siena VISTA Fellow, and her Trailblazers
Program organized and facilitated a workshop on self
defense. Jolene Johnson, Assistant Women’s Basketball
Coach, spoke to the participants about self empowerment
through sports. Norm Kvam from Sodexo Dining Service
donated lunch and dinner for all the volunteers and girls.
Yalitza Negron and Gretchen Mielke from the Office of
Academic Community Engagement provided help with
training students and doing team building activities. Other
activities included a campus scavenger hunt created by
Jess Farnan ’12, team cheers for the Girl Packs, and ice-
breakers to help the girls and students get to know each
other.
6
“I’ve learned that people will
forget what you said, people
will forget what you did, but
people will never forget how
you made them feel.”
- Maya Angelou
But why Girl’s Day? What is so important about bringing
the middle school girls to Siena’s campus? Girl’s Day was
inspired by the students and girls who participated in the
Women of Wisdom Mentoring Program (WOW) organized
by the Bowman Women’s Center. Through WOW, Siena
students volunteer at least two hours per week working
with young girls at Girl’s Inc. of the Capital Region and
Grow Girls at the Addictions Care Center of Albany. Since
the students were going into Albany to provide mentoring
to these young girls, they wanted to find a way to bring
the Albany youth they were working with to Siena’s
campus for a day. There was already an amazing event
held on campus for high school girls (Girls Take Charge)
but not much in the community for middle school girls.
There was a need for an event like Girl’s Day and Siena
students wanted to provide!
Girls came from schools and organizations all over the
Capital Region to attend this event. Schools included
North Albany Academy, Albany Prep, Kipp, Albany Free
School, Myers, and Guilderland, just to name a few.
Organizations included Girls Inc., Grow Girls, Girl Scouts,
Boys and Girls Clubs of Albany, Big Brothers Big Sisters
of the Capitol Region, and more!
Overall, Girl’s Day achieved its goal of uniting Siena
students, faculty, and staff from across campus together
to empower low income, at risk girls from the local
community. New friends were formed and community
relationships fostered and strengthened. Girl’s Day...
Because Every Girl Should Have Her Day. And every girl
did.
DEEPSERVICE MAY/JUNE 2011
Reflections on My Service Year at
Catholic Charities of the Diocese
"e Ame#Corps Pled$
of Albany
By Victoria Malaney, VISTA Fellow
I will get things done for America -
As I sat down to reflect to make our people safe,
upon the past nine
smarter, and healthier.
months as a
AmeriCorps*VISTA, much
has occurred at my two I will bring Americans together
service sites: Central to strengthen our communities.
Office of Catholic
Charities and their program site the Roarke Center. Since Faced with apathy,
January 2011, the Roarke Connection Life Coach I will take action.
Program has been in full swing. We have welcomed 11
trained Life Coaches to the Roarke Connections (RC)
team and matched 8 of them with participants. Faced with conflict,
I will seek common ground.
Although our participants and Life Coaches realize that
their relationships can be challenging we have already Faced with adversity,
seen successes occur within our Life Coaching teams. I will persevere.
One of our participants has made the Deanʼs List as
Bryant and Stratton College. Another participant has
I will carry this commitment
secured new housing and is looking for employment.
With the support of their Case Managers and with me this year and beyond.
nonjudgemental Life Coaches, our participants in the Life
Coach Program are gaining new perspectives on life. I am an AmeriCorps member,
and I will get things done.
As a VISTA and Life Coach Coordinator, my work this
year has been especially meaningful because I have
seen the tangible impact of the Life Coach Program on
participants. Just recently, we held a Finance 101 class
for the RC Program and Steven Bouchey of Bouchey
Financial Group Ltd. taught our participants the
fundamentals of finance. Participants were inspired to
look into their credit score reports and save money. The
Roarke Center also held our annual Roarke Connections
Graduation Ceremony on May 18th. Program participants
received a Certificate of Completion from the Roarke
Connections that acknowledged their achievements of
completing drug and alcohol or mental health treatments
while also abstaining from new criminal convictions
during their time in the RC program.

For more information about the Roarke Connection

Life Coach Program please contact Victoria Malaney.

E: vmalaney@siena.edu
W: www.roarkeconnectionlifecoachprogram.pbworks.com

7
DEEPSERVICE MAY/JUNE 2011 Assessment of Service and Civic These results made me curious. Why are over half of
students not volunteering? Are they just too busy, as they
Engagement: Student Volunteering report? What do students who do volunteer get out of the
experience? I turned to a few helpful college students who
Results answered my questions during filmed interviews.
By Christy Allen, VISTA Fellow
One common theme among the students I interviewed
One of my main projects was the idea that college can create a “bubble” culture.
this year at the Siena One student believes that often, “College campuses can
Research Institute is the be these closed communities where you have everything
Assessment of Service there, and you start to forget the needs outside of that
and Civic Engagement community.” Additionally, a lack of structure for
study. This web-based opportunities and poor time management on the part of
survey primarily students can impact the decision to volunteer. Clubs and
investigates academic service learning are great vehicles to volunteer
undergraduate while in college and still maintain a balance between
experiences with community service. The survey has been coursework, extracurriculars, and fun.
administered at twenty-five colleges and universities in
eight states, with a total of over 11,000 responses. Out of So what are some good things that came come of
a dataset of approximately 8,000 only 49% of students volunteering? One students said, “it helps me generally
report volunteering one or more times. Additionally, 87% with my life and my personal goals.” Some students may
had reported volunteering in high school, a drop of 38% in even find a calling. One senior remarked, “It was through
the transition to college. volunteering that I found what I wanted to do with my life.”

National and Global Youth Service
Day 2011
By Carly Smith ’09, VISTA Fellow
On April 16th, the Boys &
Girls Clubs of Albany
participated in National
and Global Youth Service
Day 2011 by planning a
trip to Victory Church’s
Feeding Center
downtown with Paster
Charlie Muller. In order to
help his organization prepare for a 25,000-egg Easter Egg
Hunt, we set out to stuff the thousands of plastic eggs
with candy. The kids, although naturally distracted by the
buckets of gum and massive bags of nerds and
chocolate, created an assembly line of candy sorters, egg
stuffers, egg snappers and egg collectors. In all, we
managed to finish about three thousand eggs!
The members of the Boys & Girls Clubs are generally “the
served” population. Most come from underprivileged
circumstances and are all too familiar with hand-outs and
government aid. This Service Day we hoped to instill in
our members a sense of pride and usefulness and to
encourage our youth to be positive influence in their
community.
To reward all of the youth that served that day, Albany
County Youth Bureau hosted a BBQ and celebration at
Lincoln Park. There was a lot of food, activities,
presentations and best of all, karaoke! We were happy to
reward our young volunteers after a day of hard work.
Because the day was a big success we are making efforts
to provide more service opportunities to our members and
their families. Already, the members that attended GYSD
made plans to send cookies to the Feeding Center’s
Lunch Program of Victory Church that gives food to
families in need.
Service is contagious. Pass it on.
Participants
filling eggs for
the 25,000-egg
Easter Egg
Hunt.

8
DEEPSERVICE MAY/JUNE 2011

Children at the
Capital District Y in
North Albany
posing for a picture
in the shape of the
Y’s logo.

Reach Out For Youth: Make a Difference in Your Community

By Meghan Dunn, VISTA Fellow

The start of May finds all
of us at the Albany YMCA
hard at work on many
new projects and
programs for our
members and local
community. As we look
forward to the many new
opportunities that spring
provides, we cannot help but be grateful for one of our
largest accomplishments in the last couple of months -
the 2011 Reach Out For Youth Campaign. The Campaign
provides financial assistance to those who would
otherwise not be able to benefit from the programs and
services the YMCA provides. During this year’s 2010-2011
Reach Out For Youth Campaign, numerous staff,
volunteers and members at the Albany Y came together to
create unique ways to help us reach out goal.
This year, we had an intimidating goal of $295.000, which
we knew would not be easy by any means. However,
everyone who worked on the Campaign was determined
to succeed. After all, we all knew that Reach Out For
Youth is one of the most important aspects of the YMCA
since it directly impacts many of the people we serve. We
had some very exciting events taking place inside our
building and at our school site in order to help us raise as
many dollars as possible. In total, we were able to raise
$296,852.00, which will remain within the City of Albany.
The Y does not believe that anyone should be turned
away due to their inability to pay. The programs and
services that we offer are necessary and everyone can
benefit from them, regardless of whether you are 1 year
old or 100. The fact that we were able to not just make our
goal, but to actually surpass it, means that we were able
to continue to provide programs and services at a
discounted rate to those who qualify.
Every dollar of this campaign goes directly to our families
in need and more than 50% of all of our students that
attend After School and Early Learning Center depend on
this scholarship funding that Reach Out For Youth
provides. The need for our scholarships is higher than
ever before, especially when funding is being cut for other
important local programs and services. We are so proud
of everyone who dedicated the last few months to this
campaign and it will make a huge difference in the lives of
the people we serve.
For more information about Albany YMCA, visit their
website at www.capitaldistrictymca.org.

9
DEEPSERVICE MAY/JUNE 2011
SIENAASL Spotlight
From the Assistant
Director
By Ruth Scipione

Graduation is done, the semester is over,

and summer is finally on its way! Academic
Service Learning activities here at ACE,
however, are far from being over. We have a
new cohort of faculty designing ASL
courses for the Fall and Spring semesters
and this year’s cohort is quite an impressive
group of faculty ranging from Creative Arts
and Languages to Sociology and Women’s
Studies. The faculty connection to service is
a crucial part of ACE’s mission to creating
DEEP partnerships. It connects hands-on
student experiences to disciplinary-based Siena College Civic Engagement Camp
learning in a way that not only builds the Starts This Summer
skills that students need to thrive in their
By Patrick Gruber, VISTA Leader
field of study but also makes a real
difference in the community.
The Siena College Office of Academic Community Engagement will play
host to a summit of local high school leaders this summer. For three
Also happening this summer: weeks from July 11-July 29, students from throughout the Capital Region
will meet on the Siena College campus for one-week sessions of
Engaged Scholarship and Teaching leadership development and civic activism. Students across the Capital
Symposium: May 31-June 3 (Siena District are welcome at this commuter camp to learn more about
College) themselves, their community, and their world; while working with local
leaders and non-profit organizations to imagine the possibilities of
A national conference featuring workshops,
roundtable sessions and networking change.
opportunities for faculty, community
partners and students. The conference is In cooperation with our undergraduate leaders and post-graduate
fellows, students will spend each morning in a variety of leadership
open to faculty and community-based
development opportunities including the Siena Project Adventure Ropes
organizations.
Course. Afternoons will be spent on site at local non-profits and
educational organizations working with community specialist to bring
Problem-Based Service Learning measurable and sustainable change to the Capital Region. Additionally,
Workshop: Two days in August students will receive a certificate of completion of service to fulfill
(TBA) graduation, club, and other scholarship opportunities.
A two-day workshop for faculty who are
creating ASL courses. “We are excited to extend our academic and community based
programs. Bringing the energy and experience of local students together
If you are interested in learning more about to tackle the challenges in our community was an easy decision,” stated
some of the existing and developing ASL Dr. Mathew Johnson, a ’93 Ph.D. Associate Professor of Sociology and
projects please contact me or check out the Environmental Studies and Director of Academic Community
new “Academic Service Learning Resource Engagement with the Franciscan Center for Service and Advocacy.
Guide” found on our webpage.
Students, family, and friends are invited to learn more about the 2011
E: rscipione@siena.edu Civic Engagement Camp and how to get involved at www.siena.edu/ace
W: www.siena.edu/ace or contact Ruth Scipione at rscipione@siena.edu. Visit our website and
click on “Civic Engagement Camp” to register your child online!
10
DEEPSERVICE MAY/JUNE 2011
UPCOMINGPARTNER Events
“Homeless: Motel Kids
of Orange County” &
“Motel Kids of Albany
County”
Homeless and Travelers Aid Society
June 2, 2011, 7:30 PM
HATAS is showing “Motel Kids of
Orange County” followed by a
short film on Albany County at
WAMC’s The Linda (339 Central
Ave, Albany, NY). Free with
reservation. Call (518) 463-2124
ext. 203 or email lhitt@hatas.org.
23rd Annual Freihofer’s
Community Walk
Music Mobile, Homeless and
Travelers Aid Society, Grand Street
Community Arts
June 4, 2011 from 12:30 PM to
1:30 PM.
The 23rd Annual Freihofer’s
enables hundreds of not-for-profit
organizations to raise money and
awareness. Three of ACE’s
partner organizations, Music
Mobile, Homeless and Travelers,
and Grand Street Community Arts
will be participating in the
community walk. Register to walk
at www.freihofersrun.com and
click on “Community Walk.”
Art on Lark
Grand Street Community Arts
June 11, 2011
Visit the Grand Street Community
Arts booth! GSCA will be selling
some of the past years
BoardedUP boards, along with
Running On Your Empties
11
work from local artists. They’ll
also have homemade treats from
the Youth Organics garden. All
proceeds will benefit the GSCA
summer youth programs. Don’t
forget to check out the other
terrific vendors too. Visit
www.larkstreet.org for more info!
HATAS Annual Golf
Outing
Homeless and Travelers Aid Society
July 11, 2011
Save the date for the Homeless
and Travelers Aid Society Annual
Golf Outing at Van Pattern Golf
Club. Contact Liz Hitt, (518)
463-2124 or lhitt@hatas.org for
more information. All the proceeds
from the Golf Outing go to
support Homeless and Traveler’s
Aid Society’s programs and
services.
Father Peter G. Young
Saratoga Gala
Fr. Peter Young Housing, Industries,
and Treatment
July 18, 2011
Join Fr. Peter Young Housing,
Industries, and Treatment for an
evening filled with fellowship and
food. Silent auction items and
raffle tickets will be sold and all
proceeds will support Fr. Peter
Young Housing, Industries, and
Treatment’s programs and
services. The cost is $75/person,
$150/couple, and $50 for 35 and
younger. For more information,
contact Margie Reilly at (518)
463-8109 or marger@pyhit.com.
“Running On Your Empties” is a fundraising initiative of Music
Mobile to turn your donated bottles & cans into environmental
programs for children. Check out http://runningonyourempties.org
for information on collection locations.
Partner Event Recaps
By Jennifer Simek
Music Mobile Anniversary
Celebration
On March 24th, the Music Mobile celebrated
its 33rd Anniversary at WAMC’s The Linda on
339 Central Avenue in Albany, NY. Siena
VISTA Fellows were on hand to help out with
the evening’s festivities, working behind the
scenes to help sell raffle tickets, serve drinks
and food, and take video and photographs.
The event featured an amazing array of
talented singers who entertained the guests
throughout the night. It was truly inspirational
to see all the supporters of Music Mobile
come out and celebrate the 33rd Anniversary
of Music Mobile.
Interfaith Partnership for the
Homeless Annual Fundraiser
On May 12th, Interfaith Partnership for the
Homeless held their annual A Taste of
Albany. Local restaurants from around the
region came and shared their signature
dishes with event goers and raffle and
auction prizes were up for bid. VISTA Fellow
Samantha Tymchyn played a key role in
helping plan and facilitate the event. She
recruited other Siena VISTA Fellows on staff
to help make sure all the restaurants had
their needs taken care of during the event. A
Taste of Albany was a great success and all
proceeds will benefit the homeless.
 Our Mission
The Franciscan Center for Service and
Advocacy AmeriCorps*VISTA Fellows
Program provides help to build, sustain,
and promote civic engagement by
fostering reciprocal DEEP relationships
between students, faculty, administration
and our local community in need.
Our program focuses on assisting
faculty, students, and community
partners to work with all walks of life.
Our actions commit to our core values of
St. Francis and allow our students,
faculty and administration to seek direct
actions towards academic excellence
through their civic engagement and
participation in programs that help to
increase capacity in areas of our
community that need it most through
DEEP Partnerships.

Our Partners
Peter Young Housing, Industries and
Treatment/Schuyler Inn
Homeless and Travelers Aid Society
FOCUS Churches
Boys and Girls Club of Albany
Unity House of Troy
Catholic Charities/Roarke Center
Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless
U.S. Committee for Refugees and
Immigrants
North Albany Academy/SNAP
Grand Street Community Arts
Trinity Alliance
Music Mobile
Capital District YMCA
Green Tech Charter High School
Siena Office of Enrollment Management
Sr. Thea Bowman Center for Women
Siena College Franciscan Center for Service and Advocacy Siena Research Institute
Office of Academic Community Engagement Compassion in Action/Koinonia
515 Loudon Road | Loudonville, NY 12211
P: (518) 783-6886 | F: (518) 786-5080 Capital District Habitat for Humanity
E: sienaace@siena.edu | W: www.siena.edu/ace Albany Housing Authority

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