As the most severe flooding in 15 years hits the Midwest, hundreds of AmeriCorps, Senior Corps and Learn and Serve America participants are working alongside tens of thousands of volunteers in battling the raging floodwaters, piling sandbags, running shelters and hotlines, and assisting evacuees.

The weather has caused massive damage to homes, businesses, and crops, with more than 36,000 people evacuated in Iowa alone and large parts of Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and other cities under water. While most of the flooding has peaked in Iowa and residents are turning to the task of assessing damage, residents in Missouri, Illinois and other downriver states are feverishly placing sandbags to raise up levees. Throughout the Midwest, volunteers have been putting in heroic efforts to save lives, homes, and entire towns, with strong support from the programs of the Corporation for National and Community Service.

In Des Moines, the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service worked with the state and county emergency officials to establish a volunteer reception center to handle the outpouring of more than 2,000 volunteers, from high school students to RSVP volunteers. Members of Iowa AmeriCorps programs – who are trained in first aid and CPR – managed three large-scale sandbagging operations around the city.

“It’s been amazing and heartwarming to see the rush of volunteers, many who have homes that were flooded but who came to help out anyway,” said Kristin Honz, AmeriCorps Program Officer at the Commission. “AmeriCorps members were out there from early in the morning until late at night, sandbagging and overseeing other volunteers. They wanted to make a difference and be part of the action. All Iowans are proud of the way our people are coming together.”

In Cedar Rapids, where 24,000 people were evacuated when floodwater covered about 1,300 city blocks, AmeriCorps VISTA announced it will be recruiting 200 summer associates to serve full-time for 8-10 weeks to assist with a variety of flood recovery efforts through the Community Corrections Improvement Association. Vickie-Hover Williamson, who oversees VISTA and Senior Corps programs in Iowa for the Corporation for National and Community Service, said this infusion of summer help will continue and amplify the spirit of service and partnership that’s been on display this past week across the state.

“I’ve been amazed at the number of volunteers and the critical role of national service in coordinating and channeling the energies of the volunteers,” said Hover-Williamson. “Cedar Rapids and Iowa City were especially hard hit, and these positions will help jump start the long haul recovery process.”

In Vinton, 18 team leaders with AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) are helping manage Red Cross shelter operations at the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School, which also happens to be the location for a new NCCC campus of 140 full-time members opening next month. The leaders arrived last Tuesday, June 10th to prepare for the opening of campus, but immediately shifted gears and went into action distributing food, running the shelter, and work with the National Guard on sandbagging operations for the town, which lost power and faces significant damage.

About 30 other NCCC members are working in other parts of Iowa. The Denver, Colorado campus deployed 12 members to Parkersburg to assist with tornado recovery efforts. The team has cleared debris from over 250 homes, and has managed a mobile volunteer station that has managed more than 4,000 local volunteers. Nineteen AmeriCorps NCCC corps members from the Perry Point, MD campus arrived in Cedar Falls on Saturday, where they have fed displaced citizens, assisted in shelters, and operated emergency response vehicles. NCCC -- a full-time, team-based residential program for men and women ages 18-24 – has a strong history of disaster preparedness and response, including a major role in Katrina recovery efforts.

Members of the Corporation’s Senior Corps programs have also been providing key support to flood-stricken communities. RSVP volunteers have put in long hours assisting with volunteer reception centers, providing meals through Salvation Army, collecting donations, helping a Cedar Rapids museum remove items to a safe place, and more. RSVP volunteers in Story County were activated to staff hotlines and conduct intake for sandbagging volunteers.

While focused primarily on Iowa, AmeriCorps members are also helping downriver communities save their towns. Members from AmeriCorps St. Louis Safety Corps are leading sandbagging and volunteer operations in Canton and Clarksville, Missouri, where floodwaters are expected to crest on Thursday. An MSNBC report quoted Clarksville Alderman Mike Russell saying, “I think they are awesome. I can literally tell you that if it was not for them running the City Hall end, we would be much worse off.”

President Bush, who will visit Iowa on Thursday, remarked on the American spirit of compassion at a briefing on the flood this morning. “One thing I've always learned is that the American citizen can overcome these disasters. And life, while it may seem dim at this point in time, can always be better because of the resiliency and care of our citizens.”

For more information on the floods and how to assist by volunteering or donating to the relief and recovery effort, visit http://www.volunteer.gov. For national service and volunteer programs looking for effective practices, technical assistance, and other resources on disaster preparedness and response, please the National Service Resource Center.

The Corporation for National and Community Service improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. Each year the Corporation engages more than four million Americans of all ages and backgrounds in service to meet local needs through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, VISTA, NCCC, and Learn and Serve America programs. For more information, visit http://www.nationalservice.gov.

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