Courtesy Photo | Connie Sprynczynatyk, from Bismarck, and Edna Blay, from Ghana, address attendees at...... read more read more
BISMARCK, N.D. - The North Dakota National Guard Service Member and Family Support Division hosted the Advanced Volunteer Academy Leadership course April 16-18. Approximately 25 volunteers from around the state arrived on Friday evening to register and get to know one another. The academy kicked off with team building activities and presentations about healthy eating habits.
"The purpose of the academy is to provide leadership skills to volunteers of the program and to enhance the skills the members already have so they can bring their experience back to the communities they volunteer in," said Staff Sgt. Jessica Clark-Woinarowicz, lead of the Family Readiness Team.
During the three days of the academy, volunteers learned effective communication skills, proper ways to handle conflict within a family support group, and team building exercises.
Throughout the process, the volunteers shared stories about tactics they use in the communities they work in. They shared stories about the Guard, the family support program and how they volunteer within the community. Through this personal perspective method, others were able to learn by listening to stories of their peers' trials and errors.
"I stand behind our men and women overseas and their families who also need support and love," said Trudy Dura, a volunteer from Fargo. Dura, who has no immediate family in the military, has been volunteering for nearly 10 years. Volunteers range from having sons, husbands, daughters and wives in the military to having no family in the military at all.
On the second day of training, Edna Blay of Ghana shared with the group how Ghanaian family support groups work in her country, which gave volunteers insight on new strategies that they could incorporate. North Dakota has a State Partnership Program with Ghana that builds understanding, skills and knowledge as the two share ideas through a bilateral partnership.
As part of the SPP, Connie Sprynczynatyk, Rob Keller and Spc. Tonya Sigl traveled to Ghana last July to lead a weeklong workshop on how to set up Family Readiness Groups. The Ghanaian military have been conducting peacekeeping missions for over 30 years, with six-month and one-year deployments being very common. Now it was the Ghanaian's turn to lend their perspective to North Dakota's version of family support.
The NDNG offers two types of Volunteer Academies. The Basic Volunteer Academy brings commanders and Soldiers together to work as a group on unit family readiness, while the Advanced Volunteer Academy is focused on Family Readiness Groups and equipping the volunteers with knowledge about the available resources they can utilize within their communities.
"Being a leader is having a lot of resources at your fingertips and knowing where to go to get things done," said Rob Keller, director of the Service Member Family Support.
Anyone is allowed to register to attend the Advanced Volunteer Academy. For more information on upcoming academies, register as a member on the Joint Services Support website at www.jointservicessupport.org.
| Date Taken: | 04.18.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 04.19.2010 13:36 |
| Story ID: | 48363 |
| Location: | BISMARCK, ND, US |
| Web Views: | 142 |
| Downloads: | 126 |
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