GC Moretown: Blueberries and Boating!

Todays Global Campus crew gathers at Blueberry Lake for some fun in the sun. The class begins with everyone bringing their own lunch to picnic down by the water. Melissa brought her truck and two of her kayaks. After lunch we all went out and picked as many blueberries as we could find. When we were done collecting we retreated back to the base of the lake and prepared to eat while others armed themselves for fun in the water. By 3:00p.m. the day came to a close and we went our separate ways, berries and belongings in hand and smiles on our faces.

By Lee Willsey Potter, GC Moretown participant

Global Campuses Foundation Prepares for its Second Decade

Global Campuses Foundation to launch a major funding campaign in the Spring of 2011.

Spring 2011 represents the conclusion of ten successful years for the foundation. The campaign entitled: “Global Campuses Foundation the 2nd Decade”, will bring financial support and underwriting to enact the Foundation’s next five-year growth plan. The final target for this campaign has not been determined, however it is anticipated that the campaign will run for about 24 months. The funding goal is intended to assure the strength and sustainability of the Foundation for the continuation and advancement of its mission.

Seed Campaign Underway

A seed campaign is currently underway to provide financial support to position GCF for success in meeting the major campaign goal of “GCF The 2nd. Decade”. The seed campaign goal is $100,000. To date GCF has realized $35,000. These funds will be used to directly support the material, programmatic and organizational expenses to develop and administer the major funding campaign. There are many levels at which one can support the Seed Campaign, through individual donations or corporate underwriting. For further information about the GCF seed Campaign please request information from donate@globalcampuses.org.

GCF Thailand Site Visit 2010

The annual GCF site visit to Chiang Mai, Thailand took place from January to March 2010. As always the time is filled with many exciting educational activities sponsored by the Global Campus participants there. For example, the Director of Global Campus Chiang Mai, Yutthaphon Damrongchuensakun, lead a dynamic project for which he had written and received a grant of 190,000 baht ($6,000) from Thai organizations. The project focused on assessment of accessibility at major recreational and cultural venues in Chiang Mai province. The campus participants designed an educational approach in which different groups of 8-10 campus participants with varying abilities (across the spectrum of disabilities including aging) traveled to 9 sites and noted accessibility challenges. For many, this was their first opportunity to visit Thailand’s famous places such as the highest mountain, royal gardens, hot springs and temples, so the excitement was very high. After touring each site, they then immediately met in a prescheduled seminar to present to directors and staff members at each venue. The participants presented a historical perspective about societal attitudes and behaviors toward persons who experience disability to educate and raise awareness of their audience and then proceeded to address the specific accessibility issues at each venue. This proactive approach was very well received and appreciated by the directors and staff and lead to their affirmation to make changes in a timely manner. All agreed that not only will persons who experience disability benefit from updated accessibility, but every visitor, Thai and foreign, will also. A daylong culminating conference in March was held where all involved shared their findings and planned for future educational projects as a follow up. Yutthaphon has since reported that the sponsoring organizations reviewed his grant report and findings and identified the Global Campus Chiang Mai project as the best practices model. It is hoped they can apply the GCC Accessibility Model in other regions of Thailand and make a major difference.

Another outstanding project that Global Campus participants influenced was a Disability Short Film Festival and Awards Event. Students from various universities in the Northern region of Thailand competed in short film making about the issues related to experiencing disability. Kachakorn Thaveesri, GCF Regional Coordinator for Southeast Asia, served as a film judge and co-organizer of this impressive event. Chiang Mai University graduate and undergraduate students involved in a club, Friends Beyond Physical, were the major sponsors of this event. Global Campus participants served as panelists and assisted with the various tasks related to such a big event. The short films were aired for a week at a large public venue in Chiang Mai so that a large population would have the opportunity to view the films and raise their awareness. The culminating event was the award ceremony for the outstanding filmmakers.

During this site visit, GCF administrators and Global Campus Chiang Mai administrators fulfilled an important goal in securing a university-wide memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Chiang Mai University. Since 2006, GCF had formalized its long standing collegial relationship with this university in a MOU with the Faculty of Education; however this new agreement makes it possible for Global Campus participants to extend its ground breaking, influential work to more students and faculty in CMU’s 20 Faculties (Colleges). We look forward to sharing the impressive details of their educational activities in future newsletter articles and blog entries. Stay tuned!

GC Moretown: Annual Softball Game

A happy raucous crowd from Global Campus joins together today for fun and games. Todays event...softball. For most it is simply a time to have fun and hit the ball, however, some bring their competitive nature to the field. Teams are formed, pitches are thrown, and laughs are had, and assistance given to those who need it. Even the few on the bench are having such fun they begin to play as well. When the six innings are over everyone gives a friendly congratulations, makes plans for next week, and goes their separate ways. This game was a project of Global Campus and all participants involved in an effort to display the importance of fitness and fun games.

-Lee Willsey Potter, Global Campus Moretown participant