Tears Sum up this Second Round Project of Buffalo 4 from the NCCC Atlantic Region

Did you ever have a project round that seemed endless and then when it was over you wanted to linger?

Go to Cradle Beach, NY with Buffalo 4 and read how tears sum up the round 2 project

Angola, New York – The drive from Perry Point, Maryland, a story in itself, empowered the “anything is possible” energy by defeating the doubt of ever reaching our project with the sight of a simple entrance sign. The van boiled with excitement as we turned onto the narrow road surrounded by various airy trees giving a sudden claustrophobia. As the approaching seconds lingered a massive wooden house began to unfold as a mixture of formal facility and Caribbean beach hut, single story boasting a 30ft. ceiling, at the point. As the trip that seemed to never end drew out its final moments, small cabins began to appear scattered about, near and far, in groups and stand-alone, in the trees and in the clearing that started to give away, in no particular order.

Those focused on getting out and the main facility titled the ‘Jim Kelly House’ with a lady making her way out missed the obvious pool and playground to the immediate left. We maintained composure exiting the vehicle as our site supervisor, Bonnie, introduced herself.  After we situated ourselves, she gave a brief verbal tour and history of Cradle Beach Camp. When she turned to direct a small portion of our team to the living quarters and parking lot the rest turned about soaking in the wondrous surroundings, stopping at the playground, a few took off into the nostalgia  eager to stretch restless travel legs.

               

 With red bags in hand, eyes widened and jaws dropped as the group made their way around the Jim Kelly House to their modest living quarters with a sandy beach backdrop. Rooms were set up in haste, anxious to intimately meet the blue horizon. Minus the team leader and two unfortunate grocery shoppers, the team set off along the water’s edge in high spirits. The coast proved to be beyond expectations, a source of spectacular amusements from sea glass to endless supplies of choice skipping rocks. Lake Erie has one forgivable flaw, the mixture of shallow water and algae covered shale made it un-swimmable in any climate. That first night and nearly every night there afterwards the team enjoyed exquisite sunsets which like snowflakes were unique at every sighting – inspiring and calming.

Round 2 passed in a paradox, a week would pass before lunch time and the hour after 9:30 am was so long it went through four seasons. The first two weeks, young and drunk with novelty, truly went in the blink of an eye and missed like the last piece of gum accidently swallowed. The next four held the longest work days filled with staining and painting or painting and staining; yet held a variety of misadventures consisting of many proud moments like the completion of the ambitious goal of holding a minimum 80 hours of individual service project time per person and other occasions that are better forgotten. Eventually the final weeks occurred like it ended too soon and we were left with a bittersweet feeling of wanting it to linger but eager to return for our well-deserved summer break.

We worked to prepare the camp for their busy summer start and more notably the 50 year reunion that would occur during our stay. There was no warning they could give to prepare us for the day in and out of working with a brush in hand and the monotony it brought that tested our resolve. The brief breaks between painting/staining were so welcomed that anyone would jump at the opportunity to clean out drain gutters for a morning instead. Fortunately time remained as consistent as ever and our vigilance showed in the eye catching details of Cradle Beach Camp, where once was an overlooked looked dull wooden structure was now replaced with vibrantly stained wood that was not only more pleasant to look at but was now protected from the elements.

When the reunion rolled around the fruits of our labor swelled. As it was made clear to all the returning alumni that the majority of the change they instantly noticed had been done by us. The many expressions of appreciation from the reunion attendees came in volumes. A few words from an older gentleman offering his thanks on the verge of tears summed up the second round project.

~Rufus

Philly is Rising and Soaring with Raven 2

 



Before and After: Years of Neglect Transformed in a Day

The PhillyRising Collaborative is working in partnership with SERVE Philadelphia to support the very first AmeriCorps NCCC team in Philadelphia. So far during the round Raven 2 has completed a variety of projects around the city including cleaning up the dirty streets of Philly with gloved hands and steel-toe boots. In the course of their work, they have encountered feces, condoms, and bullet casings. But they are changing the look and feel of entire neighborhoods, inspiring residents to come out of their homes, pick up a shovel and lend a hand. Team Leader Davey recaps their efforts so far this year.

The first day of our project, we jumped right into waist high weeds and trash. In northern Philly, in a neighborhood called Swampoodle, we worked with one of our project sponsors Philly Rising, and several community members including Block Captain Vincent Kennedy to clear a few vacant lots and build a community garden. The team removed over two tons of debris, trash and weeds, leveling the large lot down to an even surface. By the second day, we began building raised garden beds, which residents used to plant assorted vegetables such as corn, tomatoes and onions for the community. The Philadelphia Horticultural Society had a few extra flowers that folks didn’t need for their “Love Your Park” kick-off service events that coming Saturday, so they offered them to us and we took them back to Swampoodle to plant in the garden.



Overgrown weeds and waste get cleared by Raven 2



During construction of the garden, we ran out of soil. A resident of the block offered his services (and his pick-up truck) to help us shuttle a large pile of dirt from the local library.  We began to network and work with Manny Ramos from Neighborhood Services who brought a dump truck each day to our site to pick up the trash and debris that we removed and take it to the city dump. This is just one example of many of how community members came together to make a simple project like a community garden come to life.



Alleyway Before



Alleyway After



Following the garden project, we headed off for a few days of alleyway clean ups.  We cleaned over five alleyways and removed easily over seven or eight tons of debris and trash from the alleyways over the next three days.  In the alleyways we began filming for a potential “Dirty Jobs: AmeriCorps NCCC” episode.  Not only were the alleyways overgrown with vines and trees, they were often filled with mounds of trash, furniture, cinder blocks, dirt and poop, sometimes knee to waist high.  Our findings were everything from used condoms, reclining chairs, tires, soiled diapers (lots of them), dog poop (lots of it, sometimes three to six inches thick; We thought it was mud until the smell hit us), needles, lots of broken glass, bottles, clothes, bullet casings, countless dime bags and more.  Although the work was tough and a bit smelly at times, the results were very rewarding taking an alleyway that had been neglected for over a decade and cleaning it all the way. Community members were pretty excited to see the work we were doing at the alleyways.  Most were thankful and the occasional would buy a couple sodas or waters and hand them out to our team.  Some, so excited, would grab a few tools and join us or at least do what they could to sweep the streets.

What are some benefits of city revitalization?  

Clearing alleyways:

· Fire safety.  Residents need an exit from their homes in addition to their front door in case of fire.  Especially senior citizens, need a safe passageway to get out. In cluttered and overgrown alleyways, they would be trapped.

· Visibility. Alleyways are a popular place for criminal activity.  Criminals know the police will have difficulty following them into the alleyway because of all the trash and debris. Criminals ditch drugs, weapons and other items into the alleyway.  Having a clear line of site allows home-owners to feel safer knowing what is going on and reduces potential for criminal activity.

· Sanitation.  The trash, debris and feces is an unsanitary situation that can be harmful to residents' health and safety.

· Abandoned lots and homes, overgrown vines and trees can damage the structural integrity of an abandoned home placing its neighbors at a safety risk. 

Lot clearing and community garden building

· Vacant lots gather trash and illegal items and they attract criminal activity.  Cleaning a lot of weeds and debris allow community members to have a more manageable site, which they can maintain and discourage the negative behavior.



Raven 2 members support planting projects around the city of Philadelphia



 It takes a negative space and creates a positive one, and  provide a community with healthier food, thereby addressing the issue of food deserts. Engaged community members investing their own sweat equity and reclaiming ownership on their block will make them more likely to remain invested in the improvement of their community. This follows the wisdom of the broken window theory.

Improving Parks and conducting tree surveys

· Documenting live trees and potential spots for trees to be planted

· Tree surveys are part of a city-wide campaign to increase tree coverage to 30%

· Park improvement – trimming lower branches on trees increases visibility in park and reduces illegal activities such as drug dealing.

· More trees can provide the same benefits as a cleaned vacant lot.



Raven 2 Meets Philadelphia's Mayor Nutter


 Get more from Raven 2 by reading about their work in Philadelphia at the Philly Rising blog here or by watching their video for Philadelphia’s Love Your Park Week:

Reflections of an NCCC Team Leader

This week's guest post comes from an AmeriCorps NCCC Team Leader Alum who currently works at NCCC HQ selecting and placing new NCCC members.  If you apply, you might get a chance to talk with him! Enjoy!





First day of Team Leader Training



Late one night back in October 2009, I picked up my laptop and applied to be a Team Leader with AmeriCorps NCCC.  I never thought in a million years that I would actually interview for and be offered a position.  Two years and three months after applying, I sit here in my cubicle at NCCC Headquarters in DC; reminiscing about some of the greatest memories from my two years of service as a Team Leader.



Upon seeing myself in uniform for the first time, I was in disbelief.  “I’m really a Team Leader”, I thought to myself.  Team Leader Training was intense and very informative, which prepared me for the rollercoaster ride that was AmeriCorps NCCC.  My team, Raven 7, worked with: City Neighbors Charter School, Rebuilding Together Baltimore, Serve Rhode Island, New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, Eden Mill Nature Center, American Red Cross, Copper Cannon Camp and the Long Island Nature Conservancy. 


Although I was nervous about leading a team, once we started working, all of my fears quickly disappeared.  We tore down lockers, recycled aluminum, performed flood relief services, built 5 homes in 5 days, created mountain bike trails, removed tons of invasive plants and a lot more.  We fought hard but we also loved just as hard.  Those ten members quickly became a part of my extended family.  Also, if it weren’t for my Unit Leader, the Raven Unit TLs and Team Green, I would not have survived the year.  Graduation came and went and five days later, I was back in Mississippi, living a somewhat normal life. 

Raven 7 at Girl couts of Chesapeake Bay





I learned how to sleep in a school without hot water and heat.  I learned about the importance of physical training and how it can have a tremendous effect on your work performance. 

 



Raven 7 during project wtih Copper Cannon Camp



I learned to drink lots water before doing construction work in New Orleans in 100 degree weather.  I learned how to effectively manage finances, write reports and a host of other skills.  Most importantly, I learned how to lead, advocate for and co-exist with a team of individuals from very diverse backgrounds.

One day, I received an email from my former Unit Leader and two weeks later, I found myself back in Perry Point, donning the green “A” and tan BDU’s once more.  My team, Raven One, worked with: Delaware State Parks, the VA Medical Center, Stone Soup Leadership Institute, Vermont VOAD, Greene County Emergency Management Agency, American Red Cross and The Loading Dock.  We did beautification work, painted buildings, worked on a farm, traveled to Martha’s Vineyard, mucked and gutted homes, became chainsaw trained, met the first lady of Delaware and so much more.

 



Raven 1 on team reveal day



Many might think that a second-year Team Leader like me would know everything, but that was not the case.  I encountered many personal and professional challenges that made me question whether or not I could finish the year but I knew that I had a team of eight individuals who were counting on me and I could not give up on them.  Life is full of ups, downs, twists and turns but one must never give up.  We successfully finished our year all together as a team and I could not have asked for anything more. 

 

Raven 1 after graduation ceremony

After two years in the field and reaching the “tipping point” as my Unit Leader stated to me, there was no way that I would be coming down.  After several weeks of searching, I finally landed a job here in Washington, DC with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) as a Selection and Placement Assistant in the NCCC division.  Yesterday (July 17) makes six months that I have been here at HQ and I love it.  I review applicant applications, produce the monthly newsletter and recently, I’ve been learning how to assign members and send out welcome packets.  Most importantly, I get to continue GETTING THINGS DONE behind the scenes.



Raven 1 in Greenville, TN after a hot day of chainsawing



Although there were challenging moments during my years as a Team Leader, this experience was also one of the most fun-filled, exciting, life-changing, memorable experiences ever.  Call me crazy but if I had the opportunity to do it all again, I would not hesitate.  I will never forget the journey and would recommend AmeriCorps NCCC to any and all.

Taken during Raven 7's first round project- I did actually lift that entire piano and throw it into the dumpster

A little piece of advice to current and future members: Enjoy every single moment of this journey.  Communicate with each other.  Work hard and represent the “A” to the max.  Have fun! Remember that the work that you are doing is helping to strengthen communities and develop key leadership skills that will be beneficial to you in the future.  Document your experience via a journal, a blog, photos and/or video.  As a former project sponsor of mines once said, “You may never come this way again”. 

-KJ



Getting Things Done for Joplin

This post first appeared on May 23, 2012 in the AmeriCorps Alums blog.

by Ken Tran

Today’s guest post comes from Erin O’ Leary, a graduate of the Clinton School of Public Service. She’s served in AmeriCorps NCCC Class 11 and was also a Conservation Corps Crew Leader. She’s currently a Staff Attorney at Center for Arkansas Legal Services.

Last August, my good friend, Kate Raum, fellow alum from the Clinton School of Public Service, organized a service trip to her hometown. She grew up in Joplin and her extended family still lives on the land that has been in their family for generations. During the horrific storm and tornado of 2011, Kate was hunkered down in Little Rock, terrified for her family and community. Her only solace was knowing that her loved ones were all taking refuge in the back of her grandparents’, Frank and Maribel McCutcheon’s,  home. Thankfully, her entire family and their homes escaped the tornado’s wrath; however, her community didn’t fare as well.

When Kate organized the service trip, a bunch of our mutual friends and I gladly signed up to help. I was already in the middle of trying to mentally locate my grays and khakis when I found out that my former NCCC teammate and good friend, Annika Rigole, was going to be visiting that very same weekend. Too perfect! Always up for anything, Annika readily agreed and we found ourselves in Joplin, a couple of weeks later.

AmeriCorps members greeted us at the volunteer station and handed us hardhats, demolition tools, and a map to guide us to our project: a lone house still standing, in the middle of a field covered in barren, concrete foundations, collapsed buildings, and wind-stripped trees. Our job was to clear the house of the all its contents and begin the demolition process.
   

Annika & Erin serving in Joplin


We pulled up to the house, and the first thing we noticed was a spray painted message with the words, “2-ALIVE +OK”. Apparently the occupants survived the storm and ran out afterwards, with enough time to scrawl this across the front of their home, as they waited for help. The house seemed lonely, as it was one of only a few structures left on the once bustling neighborhood street. Moreover, since the tornado had flattened the entire neighborhood, the house now had a clear view of the hospital that had miraculously moved on its foundation to survive.

More sobering was the condition of the inside of the house: completely full of everything a working home would have inside. Except now, everything had been toppled, broken, turned upside down, and left to rot in the summer heat for months, due to the evacuation and neglect. We set about shoveling up spoiled sacks of rice, broken dishes, and matted blankets and gingerly removing them through broken-out windows or in wheelbarrows pushed through door-less doorframes.



 Divulging the home of its goods, we lined them up along the side of the road for pick up by other volunteers. Once the rooms were cleared, we began to demolish the frame of the house. In one photo, you can see my friends and fellow volunteers Heather Malveaux and Anna Strong next to an entire wall that we were able to eventually pull down. By the end of the day, the house was ready for complete demolition, with the hope that, someday, the site would be ready for rebuilding.

That evening, after showers and giant Sonic drinks, we enjoyed the fantastic hospitality of the McCutcheon family. We didn’t really talk about the tornado or go into gory details of the house we worked on.  Maybe we all had enough sad stories for one day, and, in the case of Kate's family. emough for a lifetime. However, what we did talk about was gratitude. We, as volunteers, were so grateful for the opportunity to come and to serve in Joplin. Annika and I reminisced of our NCCC days, and found ourselves still amazed, all these years later, by the transformative power of service and humbled that we were welcomed into the community of Joplin and so warmly into the McCutcheon family home.
  

Kate & her Grandma

  Even more amazing was the fact the family, who had seen so much pain, was so grateful for and generous with what they still had.

Driving home, Annika and I continued to recall our days in NCCC. We talked about who we were then, and who we are now, and how our terms of service impacted our lives. I know that most of us Alums truly believe that service transforms lives: those of the people served, and of those who serve.

On our trip home, we tried to remember our AmeriCorps Pledge and finally did piece together the phrases that we once knew so well. It seems that we Alums always do this with each other- reunions with teammates inevitably result the group chanting, then shouting,

“I will carry this commitment with me this year and beyond. I am an AmeriCorps member and I will GET THINGS DONE!!!”

It’s so funny how the last sentences of the Pledge are the ones that we always seem to remember. Maybe because none of us ever forget…

Learn to Burn

Jerramie, a member of the Raven 1 team, is trained to serve on wildland fire composite teams.  The fire teams are only a small fraction of the Corps, but their experiences and hard work ethic echoes throughout the region. Jerramie recounts his experiences during the intense week of Type-2 Wildland Firefighting training in North Carolina.

The first two days at fire training facilities in Kinston, North Carolina were long: waking up at 6 am and sitting in a class room until 4:30 pm. Although, at times we found it extremely difficult to stay awake, the information provided to us was invaluable. The main foundation of all the courses was personal safety, how to stay safe in any environment, and maintain situational awareness. Next we learned the different engine types, hose lays, and the chain of command in the wild land firefighting system, which starts with the lowest “rank” in the firefighting world – the firefighter type 2, or us - going all the way up to Incident Commander.




NCCC Atlantic Region Class 18 wildland firefighters at fire camp training in North Carolina

 

By the second day, at lunch time, we progressed to training exercises out on the field. We were all extremely enthused to go “play with fire,” or so we thought. And I have to say at the end of the day we were severely disappointed, and a few people were openly questioning they’re decision of joining. Instead of going out and fighting fire as we had expected, we spent the day digging line… and quite a bit of it. The learning experience was necessary, and it set the foundation for not only the next few days, but the rest of our fire careers. Line digging is the basic protection between the fire and the fuel it’s burning. The information was necessary, but it was still a hard break after our built up expectations.



Atlantic Region wildland firefighters in flame resistant Nomex with their pulaski hand tools which are used to construct firebreaks



However, the next few days of field exercises more than made up it. From learning how to take the weather, including temperature, humidity, and wind directions, we also learned hose lays, and how to deploy a hose. And then our anticipation was finally rewarded. The actual fire. We spent time with two instructors learning how to ignite and burn fuel using fusee’s, which are basically very hot road flares, and then, my personal favorite, drip torches! A drip torch is basically a mixture of diesel and gasoline fuels in a canister that is used to spread fire onto unburned fuel in a controlled environment. To prevent it from igniting uncontrollably, we used this to spread fire across a fairly large prescribed burn area, which was personally my high moment of the week.

The final day consisted of a thrilling mock fire, where we not only dug line around the perimeter of the fire, but also ran hose from the engine and sprayed the area down. We spend the day learning in an action-based environment, and readying ourselves for what is to come in the future when we do go out onto a phoenix team (Atlantic Region fire team composed of fire trained members).



Jerramie sharpens his fire rake



Overall we learned many things from fire training, but I think the most important thing I learned was the importance of team cohesion. We had the chance to work alongside many firefighters. I hope we will work together in the future, and to get to know them better. I thoroughly enjoyed that experience, and would suggest anyone coming into AmeriCorps to try out for the team. I look forward to the rest of the year not only serving with my amazing Raven 1 team, but also as a phoenix fire fighter.

~Jerramie

Jerramie is currently serving on a fire composite team in Albany, NY. He will return to the Raven 1 team at the end of the fire team’s project in Albany. About 15% of NCCC Members are certified as wildland firefighters. The training NCCC members receive gives them experience for future fire and forest service careers. NCCC fire composite teams assist state and federal agencies with their fire management duties, including building firebreaks and conducting controlled burns to reduce available fuels, which mitigates wildfire disasters. Controlled burns are also beneficial to the ecology of the environment because it restores the natural balance of native species and eliminates invasive species. Teams are also available to assist with containing and suppressing wildfires.

For more news about the Atlantic Region's fire team, check out this article about their work in Suffolk, VA. This article is especially cool since the project sponsor says he is tracking about 20 NCCC alumni who have fire careers due to NCCC experience!

http://www.suffolknewsherald.com/2012/06/14/volunteers-prepare-swamp-for-fire-season/