It takes an important commitment to community and others to put service before self. Recently, AmeriCorps CEO Barbara Stewart and Retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Earl Gay, the AmeriCorps advisor for veterans and veteran-service organizations, had the honor of meeting a special cadre of AmeriCorps members who chose to do so twice.
For decades, our agency has engaged people of all ages and backgrounds in getting things done - improving lives, strengthening communities, and expanding opportunity. Today, service is needed more than ever. To meet current and future challenges, it is essential that more individuals know how they can serve their communities and country. But all too often, the public doesn’t know what national service is, the benefits, or how to get involved. That’s why we are taking steps to increase awareness and ensure more people know about opportunities to serve.
When Jessica Bulling went for an interview at the Phenix City Housing Authority (PCHA), she felt completely out of her comfort zone. She hadn’t worked in housing before, and it wasn’t her goal to become an AmeriCorps VISTA, but a relocation to Benning, Georgia had made it necessary for Jessica to look for a new job. She was drawn to the description of the role at Phenix City Housing Authority. Her belief that education is the key to unlocking the chains of poverty fit perfectly with the work of PCHA’s Resident Services team.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency for service, awarded the annual Excellence in AmeriCorps awards to five alumni, grantees, and advocates for their outstanding service. From California to Puerto Rico, COVID-19 response to mental health awareness, this year’s award recipients go above and beyond every day to make our country safer, smarter, and healthier.
Jillian Maynard is helping the aging Jewish community in Youngstown, Ohio tell their stories. From surviving the Holocaust to making a new life in the United States, the Life Stories Project serves as a form of narrative therapy while also helping to strengthen the connection between participants and their children and grandchildren.
Kurtis Edwards can’t recall how he found the AmeriCorps VISTA program, but after almost two years of service, he feels lucky that he did. As he completes his second year of service, he is even more resolute in his determination to “work tirelessly at a career in human service and community building.”
All around the country, AmeriCorps members are taking the lead in helping communities transition to online learning. These efforts come at an especially critical time for the country, while states and school districts are still making decisions about instruction in the fall.
Tribal economies have taken hard hits too. Communities that rely on tourism, gambling revenue, or other businesses operating on their land have had their tax base effectively cut to zero, making it infinitely more difficult to run health clinics and provide other services crucial to the vitality of their communities.
Governor Reynolds served alongside AmeriCorps members, learning about new initiatives in Iowa to address rising food insecurity as a result of COVID-19 and the economic recession.
Last week, I visited an AmeriCorps program at Chicago’s Northwestern Settlement. Visiting AmeriCorps members in Illinois is always special for me because of my own Prairie State roots – and a rare treat in this age of social distancing.