When I tell people I’m an AmeriCorps alumna who’s working to open doors to higher education for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated youth, headed to Harvard graduate school in the fall, they make certain assumptions about my life up to this point.
Jaiden Liggett, an AmeriCorps member serving with PowerCorpsPHL, was finishing high school when he first heard about PowerCorpsPHL and its national service program. Julia Hillengas, co-founder and executive director of PowerCorpsPHL, spoke with Jaiden about why he chose to come to PowerCorpsPHL and what he found most valuable about his experience. He kept coming back to this idea of the power, the beauty, and the peace that comes from “completing the cycle”. In Jaiden’s words:
Emily M. Dickens is a licensed attorney and human resources management professional. She works for a cause, or several causes, in higher education, public policy, local government, business and community affairs.
At the beginning her career, like many service alumni, Emily was seeking an opportunity to make a difference. Below she tells her story about finding service accidently, and the meaningful ways it prepared her for a career in helping others find their passion.
Using her experience as a service alumna and expertise in public health to answer Governor Jared Polis (Colo.) call for service-based contact tracing program, Heather Baily was instrumental in leading the public health needs for the Colorado COVID Containment Corps. To date, her efforts have reached 900 members and volunteers from all four AmeriCorps signature programs (State and National, VISTA, NCCC, and AmeriCorps Seniors) and served more than 50,000 Coloradans.
New appointees Mary Tobin, Senior Advisor for Wounded Warrior, Veteran, and Military Family Initiatives and Atalaya Sergi, Director for AmeriCorps Seniors, discovered their passions for national service taking different paths to their new leadership roles. Tobin and Sergi join 11 total new appointees selected in January by the Biden administration.
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.
Mandy’s Farm – VAMOS Program – 2019 Excellence in AmeriCorps Award for Engaging More People with Disabilities
This annual celebration of outdoor activities and their benefits has grown from a week-long celebration in 1998 to cover the entire month of June. Whether you are into fishing, camping, hiking, biking, or other outside pursuits, there are plenty of places to enjoy them. You could spend all summer exploring some of the 419 locations in the National Park System, or visit some of the thousands of state and local park facilities near you.
The following vignettes come from a sample of CNCS staff members who served in AmeriCorps and were transformed by the experience and lasting impact of service.
Dina Manco
Dina Manco served as an AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps member from 2016-17 on disaster preparedness and response efforts in Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina, and Mississippi.
Each year during March, the Corporation for National and Community Service celebrates AmeriCorps Week to highlight the accomplishments of our members and alumni in the communities they serve. And the stories are as diverse as the members and the thousands of ways they volunteer to serve their nation. Every day we hear stories about how AmeriCorps service transforms communities — and also has a transformational effect on our members.