At the May 1, 2006 BICO Meeting, there were several seasoned as well as a couple of new volunteers. Below are the minutes from this meeting. PLEASE be sure to READ these minutes if you attended the meeting, and especially if you didn't as there were quite a few important matters that were discussed, as well as one change to the van contract information (after further discussion with the van rental place). Thank you. 

Thank you to all who attended, and to Bob Burchard for hosting the meeting. 

NEXT BICO MEETING - THURDAY EVENING June 15, 2006 at Bob Burchard's home at 7:30 pm. We are scheduled to receive the "Leave No Trace Principles" Training by the Suzuki Foundation. 

I hope to see everyone there. 

Sincerely, 
Bob Iacovazzi, Vice Chair 

General BICO News:

NEW ICO LEADER TRAINING MANUAL: A brand new ICO Outings Leader Training 101 (OLT 101) manual is now available on the following extranet http://clubhouse.sierraclub.org/outings/ico/ - thanks to your National Steering Committee members and Outings staff. If you are interested in accessing these materials, please write Bob Iacovazzi ( bicobob3@copper.net) for the username and password to the site. 

ANSWERS to RECENT QUESTIONS REGARDING FORMS and LIABILITY: 
1) Do we need to be HIPPA compliant? 
NO, according to BICO Training Coordinator Gwen Bergen. Also, in OLT 101 it is suggested that we handle sensitive participant information in the following manner: 
Emergency Contact Information and Participant Medical Forms - Emergency contact information should be obtained from all outings participants (ICO and agency) before the outing begins (the Liability Waiver/Permission to Participate includes a page for this). Leaders should review this information before the outing and, and if appropriate and with discretion, make other leaders and volunteers aware of any potential issues. Leaders should carry the completed forms with them on the outing at all times. If the participants are traveling in multiple vehicles or divided into separate groups for part of the outing, the designated leader for each group should carry their respective forms.
2) What exactly are we covered for through the Sierra Club insurance? According to OLT 101 ... Sierra Club Insurance and Liability - When Are You Insured? ICO insurance coverage begins when ICO trips officially begin: when the group first assembles for the Sierra Club-sponsored event or activity. If you meet the group in the parking lot of the local McDonald's, the outing officially begins on the urban asphalt. Sierra Club Leaders and other Sierra Club members acting on behalf of the Sierra Club are covered from a general liability standpoint at this time, and accident/medical insurance is activated too. (Note: If you lead local or national outings for adults, the outing begins at the trailhead). 

Summary of Types of Coverage 
1) Sierra Club's General Liability provides coverage for leaders acting on behalf of the Sierra Club against claims from third parties for negligence for bodily injury, death, damage to property of others, or infringement on others' personal property rights. . 
2) Sierra Club's Accident and Medical insurance supplements medical coverage for leaders and all participants for hospital and doctor bills in the event of an ICO-related accident, excluding some activities. This coverage kicks in after an individuals personal medical insurance is exhausted, or immediately if the victim does not have any personal medical insurance. 
3) Sierra Club's Real and Personal Property covers loss of Inner City Outings equipment. Equipment cannot be loaned or rented to other users except in special cases requiring pre-approval and a co-insurance policy from the user as described in the Sierra Club's Risk Management and Insurance manual. 

FAREWELL: As many you now know, Alan Newman is leaving the metropolitan area. We would like to thank Alan for his many contributions to BICO through the years, including serving as BICO's co-gearmaster and co-leading BICO's one and only backpacking trip. Alan's enthusiasm for sharing the outdoors with kids has been much appreciated. Good luck and best wishes, Alan. 

Financial Section: 
VAN RENTALS: When vans are picked up, please check to see if they are clean, have all seatbelts, and all seats! If for some reason a van does not satisfy these requirements, please notify Jeannie and Bob Iacovazzi immediately after your outing. If you are encouraged to rent a second vehicle because the original van is missing seats or is unavailable, the total charge of the two vehicles should be no more that the price of renting one 15-passenger van. Please let us know if this happens! 

VAN CONTRACTS: Please keep all van contracts in the van (unlike what was stated at the meeting), as the van rental company will send the signed and completed contract indicating the person's name and price to Jeannie's attention for invoice purposes. There was one issue in the past where BICO was invoiced for a van that was not rented, and we want to be sure that this doesn't happen again. 

CHECK FIRST AID KITS: There was a question at the April first aid and CPR training about purchasing Laerdal face masks, gloves, and first aid and CPR laminated information cards. These items should be in your teams first aid kit already. The information card should be in one of your first aid books. If your team doesnt have any of these items, please notify Jeannie Iacovazzi at bicobob3@copper.net. 

PATC CABIN RENTALS: Teams no longer have to call for cabin rentals through the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. Cabins, such as Blackburn Cabin, can now be reserved on-line at www.patc.net under the Rental Cabins Availability page. NOTE- You need to be a PATC member to complete this outing. 

GRANTS: Thanks to Bob Burchard, and of course all volunteers that dedicate their time to BICO, for the new and continued grant funding that we are getting! 

THANK YOU: Thank you to everyone who donated toward Alan Newman's REI gift certificate. The REI gift certificate donated by his BICO friends was given to Alan this past Sunday. 

MARCH 2006:

Dear BICO Volunteers, 
I would like to thank those who came to the meeting hosted by Digital Harbor High School (DHHS) on Monday night (March 6). We saw many new faces, including several DHHS students, at the meeting! Enjoy your outings and I hope to see you all at the next general meeting on May 1, 2006 (Details to follow in a reminder e-mail). 

Cheers, 
Bob Iacovazzi 
BICO Vice Chair 

MARCH 6, 2006 BICO MEETING MINUTES

Chair's Report - Walter Jones 

• Sierra Club Calendars - Sierra Club calendars are still available for sale. Wall calendars are $12.55 and engagement calendars are $13.60. Walter is the contact person for the calendars, and can be contacted via e-mail at tinawalter.jones@att.net . 
• Fundraising Coordinator as Steering Committee Member - A new BICO Steering Committee position has been created for the Fundraising Coordinator. The position is currently filled by Bob Burchard. 
• "Leave No Trace Principles" Training - Depending on the response, BICO volunteers could have the opportunity to partake in a "Leave No Trace Principles" training on Thursday, June 15. The lecture will be given by a team from the David Suzuki Foundation. The web site for the Foundation is http://www.davidsuzuki.org/ . Walter plans to send an e-mail regarding the June 15th evening training meeting soon, so please be on the lookout for it. If agreed upon by the majority, this training would replace the normally scheduled July meeting date. 
• First Aid/CPR Training - Many BICO volunteers have, or soon will have, expired First Aid/CPR training. An e-mail containing upcoming training dates is planned for the near future. PLEASE update your First Aid/CPR training. Our bylaws require that a Certified Leader keep updated First Aid/CPR training; and without Certified Leaders, we cannot run outings. 
• Health and Liability Waivers - It is essential to have the Health and Liability Waivers filled out as completely as possible by the parents. There was an incident on a recent BICO outing where this information became critical to a youngster's health. Also, it is less time-consuming in knowing where the nearest medical facility is before an outing, than it is trying to figure out where the nearest medical facility is located during an emergency. 
• Outing Schedules - Please submit outing schedules to Bob Burchard at rpburchard@att.net . This is important for attracting new volunteers. 
• Next General Meeting - May 1, 2006. 

Digital High Student Introductions - For the first time, several BICO participants (DHHS students) were present at a BICO general meeting. Since it was their first time attending a meeting, each of the DHHS students introduced themselves and spoke a little bit about why they enjoy BICO. One student also shared with the group the fact that he enjoyed making charm bracelets during a recent outing as a reminder of the pleasant experiences that he has had. Furthermore, it goes without notice that the DHHS students provided a marvelous slideshow of recent outing pictures as a backdrop to the meeting. Many thanks to them for their efforts. 

JANUARY 2006

Chair's Report - Walter Jones 

• Dickey Hill Elementary School (grades K-8), the fourth BICO team, is now up and running. Brian Green, BICO's former Treasurer, is the agency contact for Dickey Hill. Dave Barry commented that the team has been to Gwynn Falls/Leakin Park. On this outing, they took a hike at the Carrie Murray Nature Center and a tour of the Carrie Mansion. There were 7 kids on that outing. 
• Pickering Creek Audubon Center is an option for an outing. They offer fossil hunting, canoeing, and a challenge course. Lisetta Silvestri is the Volunteer Coordinator, and can be reached at lsilvestri@pickeringcreek.org or (410)822-4903. 
• The outing s schedule must be posted on the web site. These need to be submitted to Bob Burchard by Wednesday, January 11th. These outings postings are important for attracting new volunteers as well as fundraising purposes, so please submit them asap. 
• The Washington DC ICO has invited the Mid-Atlantic ICO groups to participate in its leadership training on Sunday, January 29th. Additional information can be found at: http://www.eteambuilder.org/17254 or by contacting Peter Kaplan at pjkbb@yahoo.com. If you wish to fulfill one of your requirements for becoming a certified leader, this is a good opportunity to do so by signing up for this training. 
• Just a reminder that there is an agreement with Baltimore City's Department of Parks & Recreation to conduct one service outing per team per year. In exchange for the service outing, BICO has access to the Dominic "Mimi" DiPietro Family Skating Rink at Patterson Park or one of the city pools. The community service outing and the access to the skating rink or pool do not have to occur during the same outing. Jennifer Morgan is the contact person, and can be reached at (410) 396-7837 or at jennifer.morgan@baltimorecity.gov. If there is a problem with scheduling this, please let Walter know. 
• Erin and Bob Klasen sent a thank you letter to BICO volunteers for their gift certificate due to their recent marriage. They look forward to volunteering with BICO as the Klasen family unit. We wish them all the best in 2006! 
• Donations are still being received on behalf of the marriage of Shannon Jeffords, a former BICO volunteer. Thank you so much Shannon! * Please send in any pictures or youth writings from your outings, so that these can be placed on BICO's web site for posting by Ann Burchard. 
• Sierra Club calendars are still available for sale. Wall calendars are $12.55 and engagement calendars are $13.60. Walter is the contact person for the calendars, and can be contacted via e-mail at tinawalter.jones@att.net . 
• The next BICO General Meeting is on Monday, March 6, 2006 at 7:30pm at Bob Burchard's house. Please mark this date on your calendars. 

• This past year, BICO had 27 outings in which 301 kids participated. This included 22 day trips, two one-night overnight camping trips, and three two-night overnight camping trips. These efforts took 2,160 volunteer hours, which is more than a person works in a year. During this time, we transitioned two new teams - from CHOICE to Dickey Hill Elementary School and Learning, Inc. to Franciscan Youth Center. 
• The leadership administration logged about 650 volunteer hours. Grants were written in which monies were received, agenda items were brought to resolution, new volunteers were attracted and retained in the program, web site expansion has begun, everyone received their reimbursements timely, books were balanced, bills were paid timely, and proper reports were submitted. 
• Thanks to Dave Barry for tracking leadership certification. 
• There was a discussion about Sierra Club requiring only one certified leader per outing. It was recommended by administration present that we keep with the minimum of two certified leaders per outing. 
• Living Classrooms shipboard education outing may be available again. Digital Harbor High expressed interest in this outing again, as did Franciscan Youth Center. 

We need to discuss BICO's goals. Where do we want to go as an organization? More teams? Same teams? More volunteers? It's our group and we have the power to guide it. What we provide to Baltimore youth is largely unique in this area. Thanks for your efforts! 

• BICO has approximately $16,000 in its treasury. 
• Many thanks to Bill Roberts for his monetary contribution to BICO through the Sierra Club Foundation. 
• This month, Jeannie will be preparing two financial reports. Jeannie will be preparing the Sales & Use Tax Report based on calendar sales from June 2005-December 2005 for reporting to the State Comptroller of Maryland, as well as the year-end fiscal report due into the Sierra Club national headquarters. 
• If sending in checks to Jeannie, please note what the checks are for on the bottom left-hand line of the checks, i.e. "calendars", "donation", etc. This is important as calendar sales need to be reported into the State Comptroller of Maryland, and we don't want to report any unnecessary dollar amounts that aren't associated with calendar sales. 
• Thanks to the different BICO teams for saving money wisely. Thanks go to Digital Harbor High for reducing its food costs significantly for their latest weekend outing, Gwen Bergen for purchasing a personal Smithsonian membership so that College Gardens Community Center could get discounted IMAX tickets for their November outing, and to Franciscan Youth Center for asking about $1 discount for each of the participants at the Dominic "Mimi" DiPietro Family Skating Rink at Patterson Park. Franciscan Youth Center also found out that there is "A Day with Santa" outing on the Saturday before Christmas, this year being December 17, 2005. This involved Santa Claus being present, craft ornaments, and balloonmaking. Free hot chocolate and a wide assortment of cookies was provided for everyone present at the skating rink between 3pm-5pm, which are the available public hours. There may be other teams that could enjoy this particular outing in the future. Bob Wall is the individual who provided the discount. He can be reached at (410) 396-9392. Just a reminder that skating is free if combined with a community service project arranged through Jennifer Morgan at the Department of Parks & Recreation. 

Just a reminder to everyone regarding the Maryland State Parks Pass. This will expire in September, and can't be used on weekend days between Memorial Day and Labor Day, so please plan an outing at one of the parks so that this pass can be utilized. 

SEPTEMBER 2005:

Dear BICO Volunteers, 
Thank you to all who came to the September 12, 2005 BICO general meeting. Several agenda items were covered, and there was a great deal of discussion regarding a few of the items. 

Best Regards, 
Bob Iacovazzi 
BICO Vice Chair 

NEW PARTNERSHIP NEEDED 
After several years of service to the CHOICE kids, the BICO partnership with CHOICE has ended. Many thanks go out to the CHOICE Team Members for their time and effort in maintaining this partnership! Currently, BICO is soliciting suggestions for a new fourth partnership. Please e-mail Walter Jones at walter_jones@troweprice.com with these suggestions. 

PROPOSED BYLAWS CHANGES BICO
Volunteers are deliberating the following change to the Bylaws: 1) Required background checks for all BICO Volunteers after participating in a set number of outings. Some Comments : Most present at the meeting agreed that the background checks are a good idea. On the other hand, there was not a consensus regarding who pays nor the number of outings after which the background check would need to be done. 

TREASURY REPORT
Currently, BICO is operating with about $18,000, due to receiving some recent grants that have now been recorded with the Sierra Club Foundation. Many thank you's to Bob Burchard for his continuing efforts to maintain BICO's relatively large funding base. Also, thank you to Jeannie for securing the ICO $1,000 transportation grant. 

FUND RAISER ====> SIERRA CLUB CALENDAR SALE BICO is NOW holding its annual sale of Sierra Club calendars. Many thanks to Chris Seremet for taking over this important BICO fundraising activity. Please consider selling these calendars, as BICO gets 60% of the money earned with each calendar sold. Also the money earned from the calendars represents funds that are accessible to BICO without having to go through the Sierra Club Foundation. Chris can be contacted via e-mail seremetcc@yahoo.com Please write BICO Calendar Sale in the Subject line. 
COMMUNITY EVENTS Jones Falls Watershed Association Celebration, September 18th from 9am  2:30pm: We appreciate Lesley Kane for volunteering for this event, as well as for representing BICO at the Sierra Club table at the recent Tori Amos concert. 

ICO NATIONAL TRAINING CONFERENCE
Walter Jones, Bob Iacovazzi, and Liz Devoss went to the ICO National Conference held at the Appalachian Mountain Club Lodge at Crawford Notch, NH. The conference revealed that we are not alone in our efforts to serve inner city youth. About 40 of the current 48 ICOs around the country were represented. Major sessions at the conference related to 1) recognizing child abuse, 2) working with youth, 3) working with other adults, 4) the process of leader certification, 5) outing safety, and 6) environmental games. Some of the material from this conference will be covered in our own ICO Leader Training in October at Assateague Island National Seashore. 

BICO LEADERSHIP TRAINING
BICO plans to hold its annual leader training at Assateague Island National Seashore on Saturday, October 29 and Sunday, October 30. Please attend if possible, as it gives us a chance to enrich our understanding of ICO, as well as to get to know each other. This will be an overnight camping trip, and will be both informative and alot of fun for all those who attend. This training would fulfill a portion of the BICO leader certification process, so we encourage anyone interested in becoming a certified leader, and even if you're not, to attend this overnight camping outing. 

UPCOMING LIVING CLASSROOMS OUTING
BICO kids from Digital Harbor High and Franciscan Youth Center are slated to learn more about the Chesapeake Bay through a Living Classrooms shipboard education program, scheduled for Saturday, October 15th. The program was offered to BICO free of charge through a generous contribution given to the Living Classrooms program. Bob Iacovazzi was responsible for coordinating this free education program. 

OUTING IDEAS
Danielle Max made the group aware that the Irvine Nature Center in Baltimore has nature-related programs for children. CONGRATULATIONS Congratulations to Bob and Erin Klasen on their recent marriage! A gift certificate and cake was presented to them by Liz DeVoss, CGCC team members, and other BICO volunteers.

NEXT BICO GENERAL MEETING: Monday, November 14, 2005 at 7:30 pm. Please note that this is the second Monday of the month. Bob Burchard plans to host this meeting at his house. 

Hello BICO Volunteers, 

Walter, Jeannie, and I would like to thank those volunteers who attended Monday night's meeting, and Bob Burchard for hosting the meeting. What follows this short message are the meeting minutes. Note --- The next general meeting is planned for Monday, September 12, 2005, and Walter or I plan to send an e-mail reminder before that meeting. We hope to see you there. 

Best Regards, 
Bob Iacovazzi 

JULY 11, 2005 BICO MEETING MINUTES
 

BICO TEAM HAS NEW PARTNERSHIP OUTING: Our new Franciscan Youth Center (FYC) team started on June 4 with a great deal of enthusiasm. Bob and Jeannie Iacovazzi and Yolanda Neale of BICO, and Alvarez Dixon of FYC, gathered at the Avalon area of Patapsco State Park with nine kids from FYC. There were many highlights of the trip. According to the FYC team, the kids really enjoyed doing skits regarding the Leave No Trace principles. In fact, collectively the kids were able to remember all seven Leave No Trace principles in the closing circle! A tent setup activity was also done at the outing, which would be helpful in upcoming camping trips, and fostered some teamwork amongst the kids. After lunch, the FYC team ended the outing with a hike on the Cascade Trail. The kids immensely enjoyed the stream and wallowing in the cool refreshing waterfall. 

TREASURER'S REPORT:
--> The sales and use tax report was submitted into the Comptroller of MD on 6/30/05. 
--> Jeannie is in the process of applying for a $1,000 ICO transportation grant for application specifically for transportation costs, such as van rentals, gasoline, bridge tolls, and other associated transportation costs. She will need the upcoming team outings schedules before she can send this grant application in, so please submit your outing schedules into Bob Iacovazzi as soon as possible. 
--> Bob, Walter, and Jeannie will be revising the outings spending guidelines for eventual submission and approval by Steering Committee. Bob will be discussing this below. --> New duplicate checks were ordered. 
--> Jeannie plans to renew a Maryland Youth Group Pass for general BICO use. The Maryland Youth Group Pass costs $50 for the year, and entitles youth groups to free day use admittance to Maryland State Parks and free camping in those parks that have designated "Youth Group" areas, subject to site availability . This pass is not valid for day use entry on weekends and holidays from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Please note that there would be free day admittance to any of these state parks after Labor Day and before Memorial Day, as long as you can show the pass. Attached is the link to this web site on the parks in which this pass could be used: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/campinginfo.html
--> NOTE!!! Please keep each and every receipt from outings for submission into Jeannie, due to necessary financial accountability into Sierra Club for different financial reports.
--> Jeannie does check the financial accuracy of outing receipts received, so if there is a discrepancy, she will note the change on the receipt(s) and send a copy back to you with the reimbursement check. 
--> $125 in donations have been received on behalf of the marriage of former BICO volunteer Shannon Jeffords and Michael Cortigine. Congratulations to Shannon and Michael, and thank you!! --> The balance in both the Sierra Club Foundation and BICO checking accounts amounts to just over $10,000. 

VICE CHAIR CORNER: 
BICO Budgetary Consi! derations - It has come to our attention that BICO expenditures would be exceeding our income from grants and fundraising, were it not for the cancelled outings we've had this year. With the start of our new fourth team, we have currently started the process of redrafting our guidelines for group expenditures based on the type of outing. More about this in future e-mails. 
HELP WANTED: 
1) Jones Falls Valley Celebration, Sunday, September 18, 2005 - Walter brought up the idea of having a BICO table at this annual event that is designed to raise awareness of, and money for, the Jones Falls Watershed. There was positive response from the attendees. Samantha, a new BICO volunteer, brought up the idea of giving away T-shirts and/or hats to donators. Volunteers to work at the BICO table at this event are needed. The event is from 9am - 2:30pm. 
2) Calendar Sale to start soon - BICO's annual calendar sale is an important source of funds for the group. The sale will be getting underway shortly so look for the email announcing it and starting spreading the word to family and friends. 

LEADER TRAINING at ASSATEAGUE ISLAND: Leader training is slated for the weekend of October 29th-30th at Assateague Island National Seashore. Thanks to Jeannie Iacovazzi for coming up with this idea, due to the FYC team being unable to use their campsite reservation. This two-day event promises to be fun, as well as a great learning experience, for all. REGARDLESS IF YOU NEED THE TRAINING TO BE CERTIFIED, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COME TO THE TRAINING IF YOU CAN. The training is a great opportunity to share what we have learned, and to get to know each other better. 

NEXT BICO GENERAL MEETING: Bob Burchard plans to host the next meeting at 7:30 pm on Monday, September 12, 2005. This revised date is due to the Labor Day holiday falling a week earlier. Please mark Monday, September 12, 2005, on your calendars now as we'd be happy to see you there!!

MAY 2005:

Thank you to all who attended the May 2, 2005 BICO meeting! Below are the minutes from this recent meeting. 

NEXT BICO MEETING  July 11, 2005 ... Please mark this date on your calendar ... Details to be announced by e-mail. 

Sincerely, Bob Iacovazzi, 
Vice Chair 

General BICO News :
Learning, Inc. (LI) Partnership - As many of you know, the LI Partnership was mutually ended in April by LI and BICO. Now the BICO LI Team is looking for a new partnership. Bob Burchard is currently soliciting agencies for a new partnership, and we all are hoping that the process will be completed early enough to have a June outing. The agencies that have currently responded to our questionnaire include Education Based Latino Organization, Inc. (EBLO), Franciscan Youth Ctr., and St. Ignatius School. 

Hats Off! - We took some time to honor last year's outgoing BICO officers: Bob Burchard, Chair, and Brian Green, Treasurer. Beth Ruekberg, BICO Co-Founder, presented Bob with a memento book which included many letters from BICO volunteers and youth. Walter Jones, Chair, presented Brian with a Great Sage restaurant gift certificate. Thank you, Bob and Brian, for your service to the children of Baltimore! Thank you to all of you who wrote letters or contributed donations towards the gift certificate! 

BICO Speaker: Jennifer Kirkbride, Patterson Park Educator of Audubon Maryland-DC - Jennifer had a great deal of advice to share with our group about working with kids: 

1. Relate your lessons with what the kids know - It builds confidence in a child if they see that they can associate their old knowledge with something new to them, and it is also easier to engage a child if there is something interesting to them in the lesson. 
2. Keep kids active - Bring kids' attention back to an activity. Jennifer says that she uses scavenger hunts quite often to do this. Also, giving kids a "Title" can bring them into a lesson. For example, make the kids "Nature Detectives" for the day, and even give them a badge and a cheap magnifying glass. Jennifer also mentioned that teenagers need more space than elementary or middle school kids. Also allowing teens to socialize or to disassociate with the group a little can actually be healthy.
3.  Get to know your kids - To do this, talk with the agency counselors to get student background and special needs. Also, knowing how the agency disciplines the kids can be helpful. 
4. Team-building exercises - This lets kids get to know that they have things in common. Also, they can be used to integrate into the group a child who does not feel comfortable with other kids. 
5. Linking fun with learning - Linking ecosystem lessons with boating and fishing can be easy, since the kids are engaged in an activity that they like.
6. Games - Predator/prey game tends to be a favorite, especially amongst older kids. 

MARCH 2005:

At the March 7, 2005 BICO Meeting, there were seasoned, as well as many new, volunteers. Below are the minutes from this meeting. Thank you to all who attended. 

General BICO News:
New Assistant Gear Master - Carmella Stiebing , a new volunteer, has agreed to be an Assistant Gear Master to Bob Klasen and Alan Newman. She plans to help Bob and Alan to coordinate gear needs when two or more teams have outings simultaneously, as well as to maintain, replace, and inventory gear. Thank you, Carmella !

NEEDED!!!! Writing Samples From BICO Outing Participants - Besides helping kids to sharpen their communication skills, writing samples are essential to attract money to the BICO program. A recent example of creating opportunities to gather writing samples comes from Nicole Veltre of DHHS. She created a questionnaire that was used to select youngsters for the February Blackburn Cabin trip, which unfortunately had to be cancelled. 

Scholarship Opportunities for the Kids We Serve - Jeannie Iacovazzi sent an e-mail to Walter that he had forwarded to all BICO team leaders for distribution to the volunteers on March 8th. This e-mail lists scholarship opportunities that are largely being unclaimed, and which could be useful to the kids we serve. Please read the e-mail and ACT. 

Training Funds for Wilderness First Aid (WFA) - The Outdoors Activity Training Program (OATP) of the Sierra Club has approved funds in the form of a $50 reimbursement for active Outings Leaders who take a WFA, Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA), Wilderness First Responder (WFR), or Wilderness EMT (WEMT) course. The reimbursement is $50/person and is open to all active Outings Leaders. Reimbursements are issued on a first-come, first-served basis. This is a great opportunity so if you're interested in obtaining a higher certification than first aid p lease let Walter or Bob Iacovazzi know if youre interested in receiving this training by e-mailing at wjones@icmarc.org or bicobob3@copper.net respectively. 

Financial Section: Treasury Report - Jeannie Iacovazzi says that BICO has about $11,000 to work with at present. She also reported that BICO received a $250 Eastern Mountain Sports gift certificate from the winner of a frog-racing contest at the Jones Falls Valley Celebration last summer. 

BICO Funding - Bob Burchard has been working to secure new funding avenues for BICO. He says that we have a growing number of potential donors, and that money is not an issue. On the other hand, Bob says that having a base of committed Certified Leaders is a more pressing issue for BICO at this time. 

Cost-Saving Initiative - Walter brought up the idea of each team having its own stock of plates, cups, and utensils, so that team members don't have to travel to the locker for the sole purpose of obtaining these materials. He also thought that this may cut down on the purchasing of paper products, which are not recyclable. Please respond to Walter with your comments on this idea. 

Tax-Deductible Donations - Please encourage donors to BICO to make checks payable to The Sierra Club Foundation. If a contribution is made to Baltimore Inner City Outings or ICO, then the contribution is technically not tax-deductible since BICO is not a 501c3 organization. The basic assumption by most of us is that contributions to ICO are deductible and that they can be itemized for tax purposes, BUT if the IRS ever conducted an audit, ICO contributions would not qualify!

NEXT BICO MEETING - May 2, 2005 ... Details to be announced by e-mail. 
Sincerely,
Bob Iacovazzi, Vice Chair