When COVID-19 derailed her post-graduate plans, Alison decided committing to a year of service seemed like a great way to gain valuable work experience, while also satisfying her desire to make an impact. Now an AmeriCorps member with the VISTA program at Vermont Works for Women, she helps women and girls recognize their potential and explore, pursue, and excel in work that leads to economic independence.

For more than two centuries, America has called on us to unite through service

This month we mark America’s birthday. As Americans celebrate the Fourth of July, it is a good time to consider what’s at our core as a country, and how can we strengthen the spirt of service we hold dear.

This vision of service for the greater good is core to who we are as a nation. When we serve, with honor and in unity, we bring out the best of America—and find solutions to many of today’s biggest challenges.

AmeriCorps and its members reflect the wide range of cultures found throughout America. Immigrant innovators, workers, entrepreneurs, and community leaders help us, feed us, and care for us, advance our thinking, and break new ground. These leaders are at the heart of AmeriCorps. These leaders are made in AmeriCorps. 

"It was my dream that one day I could be here and help people.” 

For Christine, Mia, and Hannah the biggest benefit of participating in national service is the future they get to help build. Something they share with fellow AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serving for better tomorrow by building homes, rebuilding communities, restoring natural habitats (and the list goes on).

But their service doesn’t require a hardhat, steel-toed boots, or a shovel. That’s because instead of houses or parks, they’re helping build brighter futures. 

The death of George Floyd hit me incredibly hard. For me, it was the breaking point of years of unjust and racist treatment toward Black people. I wanted to do something. I wanted my voice, and other voices, to be heard, but I quickly realized that there weren’t any peaceful protests or demonstrations planned in my community.

tell me your names, tell me your bashful names, and I will testify 
Writes Lucille Clifton in her poem “at the cemetery, walnut grove plantation, South Carolina, 1989.” 

AmeriCorps is indispensable to meeting our nation’s challenges

Watching President Biden take the oath of office last week reminded me of an inauguration from a different time. I was 15 years old when President John F. Kennedy became president. Growing up in Boston—the birthplace of our democracy and home to the Kennedys—this was a big moment for our community. 

It was in his inaugural address that President Kennedy made his famous call to service: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”  

After his successful application to VISTA, Christian spent his first two assignments developing and implementing program lessons for afterschool programming with the Let’s Get Movin’ program at the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center and creating resources and discount lists for veterans and military families during his service with the Veterans’ Holistic Healthcare Initiative. 

Emily Ward’s passion for serving her community began long before she made the decision to become an AmeriCorps member in the VISTA program. She served with friends and through church opportunities throughout middle and high school and continued volunteering while in college. The opportunity to begin her AmeriCorps journey came once she graduated from undergrad. She was set to attend graduate school for philosophy but decided that she wanted to do something more tangible and less removed from being helpful to others.