Congressman Faleomavaega today acknowledged the deployment of twenty-one AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) team leaders for a three week assignment in American Samoa.  The scope of the team’s work is to focus on 1) assisting the American Red Cross with mass care and shelter operations; and 2) feeding, and bulk distribution to those affected by the disaster.

AmeriCorps NCCC is a full-time, team-based, residential program for men and women ages 18-24. NCCC members are assigned to one of five campuses and are organized into teams of 10-12 members that are deployed to respond to needs identified by local community-based organizations.  Since 1994, NCCC teams have responded to every national disaster and have completed more than 8,000 projects and logged more than 20 million service hours, valued at over $400 million.  These teams serve alongside local volunteers helping communities prepare for, respond to and recover from natural or man-made disasters, as well as, tutoring students, constructing and rehabilitating low-income housing and cleaning up streams.

The team, currently deployed in American Samoa, is made up of members from the two campuses in Sacramento, California and Denver, Colorado.  At this time the Team is mostly conducting door to door assessments tracking the immediate needs of residents and communities.  The expectation is, depending on the need, nine more team leaders are on stand-by for deployment to American Samoa in the next few days.

 “I want to thank AmeriCorps NCCC, especially Nicola Goren, Acting Chief Executive Officer, for their assistance in our time of need.  The people and communities of American Samoa appreciate the help and support from our fellow communities in the United States,” Faleomavaega said.