During September, the Duke Center for Civic Engagement interviewed almost 130 new Duke students for our America Reads/America Counts program. We had a steady stream of work study and volunteer college kids coming through our office on any given day. My desk, which is out in the open on the floor was constantly surrounded with new tutors signing up for times. It was a fast month.
Because our program is well-known on campus and because we are federally funded, I didn't have to recruit heavily. However, I still put out an e-flier on campus and made an appearance at a volunteer fair that was hosted by my office. That fair, put together by my supervisor and the AmeriCorps*VISTA in our office went really smoothly, drawing hundreds of Duke students and Durham community partners together.
We also hosted several trainings, some for returning tutors, some for our Head Tutors who are small group leaders within the program. Our Head Tutor Training was particularly enjoyable because we began the training at the Scrap Exchange on Foster Street in Durham.
The Scrap Exchange was a great host and the creative exercises helped the Head Tutors to get to know each other better. They also had some tangible manifestations of the work they did together, including one tutor who they dressed as a robot and who remained dressed up for almost the entire training session!
This month, AmeriCorps members participated in the September 11th Day of Service. For our service, we went to the Food Bank of Durham. In the morning shift, our main role was to throw out a ton of moldy bread donations which could not be given away in time before they went bad. This was quite a task and it took about 14 of us to throw away all that waste. 
Patrick is the manager at the Food Bank. He gave us our tasks and was very helpful and enthusiastic.
AmeriCorps 9/11 day of service at Durham Food Bank from Pilar Timpane on Vimeo.
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