AmeriCorps NCCC has exposed me to a wide variety of locations, projects, personalities, and responsibilities. As a result of this service term, I will have gained a plethora of experience and wisdom. When asked to provide advice to incoming members, there are a few thoughts that come to mind. First of all, believe in yourself. Of all the advice in the world, this is the most sound advice not only for AmeriCorps NCCC but also life. Believe in yourself and what you are capable of. An AmeriCorps NCCC service term will test you and stretch your limits; in order to expand your capacity as a developing leader.

At the beginning of my service term, I served as a Corps Member. During the Corps Training Institute (CTI) I was given the opportunity to be promoted to a Support Team Leader. Now I am the proud Field Team Leader for the Moose 3 team. None of this would be possible if I did not believe in myself and my capacity for development.  Not every day has been easy, but as a result of embracing this one concept I will complete this term stronger and more confident.

Keep reading

Brittany Bieber
AmeriCorps NCCC - FEMA Corps
Teach For America New York ‘15

Brittany Bieber knew she wanted to make a difference, but she wasn’t sure how. It wasn’t until she heard about AmeriCorps NCCC in high school that she started to see her path after college more clearly. Based out of Mississippi, Brittany served for many local initiatives in the Southern Region. She continued her AmeriCorps service in FEMA Corps as a Team Leader on a Disaster Survivor Assistance team, registering survivors and finding them the help they needed during disasters all over the country. The experience she gained during her AmeriCorps commitment inspired her to be a leader in her own elementary classroom as a 2015 Teach For America New York corps member.

Q&A:

Q: I’d love to hear more about your path to Teach For America. How did you decide to join AmeriCorps? And what was your path to TFA?

Keep reading

By Kaitlynn Howard
FEMA Corps Team Leader

With the commencement of Team Leader Training (TLT) this past June, I quickly began to hear the phrase “You look good in green!” quite often. Out of context, this interesting compliment might not mean much, but as an AmeriCorps NCCC Member-turned-Team Leader, it signified my transition from a Corps Member for FEMA Corps Class 22 to a Team Leader for FEMA Corps Class 23.  

Keep reading

AmeriCorps NCCC team Maple 3 takes over Snapchat live from Iowa City on Thursday, August 10th. Follow nationalservice on Snapchat and @nationalservice on Instagram to join the fun.

This week, Maple 3 began a new conservation project with Bur Oak Land Trust in Iowa City, IA. This is the team’s fourth project since they began their service in February.

Keep reading

They lived in tents, provided relief to communities stricken by disaster, mentored disadvantaged youth, coordinated volunteers, and developed into our nation’s future leaders.  With 105 projects under their issued black belts, 280 Denver-based members of AmeriCorps NCCC graduated on Tuesday, July 19.

In addition to a record turn-out of family and friends, project sponsors from across the region, and NCCC alums, a few special guests came out to help Class 22 celebrate their accomplishments: Colorado Lieutenant Governor Donna Lynne, representatives for both of Colorado’s U.S. Senators, Corporation for National and Community Service CEO Wendy Spencer, and NCCC’s Acting National Director Gina Cross.  

The graduates began their term of service in the Southwest Region on October 7, 2015, when they arrived in the Mile High City to begin their training. The 28 Denver-based teams each traveled to, lived in, and completed several six- to 13-week-long projects for communities across the eight states of the Southwest Region: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, as well as a disaster deployment to Mississippi.

To experience some of the projects, accomplishments, and fun had by Class 22, check out this short video that aired during the graduation ceremony.  For more photos of the ceremony itself, visit this album on Southwest Region’s Facebook page.  As we like to say here in Denver, only the best graduate Southwest.  Congrats, Class 22!  

By Jordan Reaves 
AmeriCorps NCCC Member

I found it. Kind of like when you put away a bag of jalapeno popcorn, on the counter by the way, that you think is “lost.”  Or when you’re searching for a hat that you forgot you were already wearing.  When you finally realize what you’ve been looking for has been in front of you the whole time. 

Keep reading

AmeriCorps NCCC team Maple 7 is currently assisting in the National Veterans Golden Age Games in Detroit, Michigan. Veterans come from all across the country to participate in Olympic style games each year, this event is known as the Golden Age Games. 

Maple 7 is working to make sure that it is a positive experience for the 700 veterans who will be attending this event.

Keep reading

AmeriCorps NCCC team Oak 5 is eight members-strong and well on its way through ten months of service with the program. The team has served on two environmental projects and one disaster relief project since they began their term of service in February. 

Keep reading

Texas is continuing to experience torrential downpours, causing a dangerous level of flooding throughout the state. And where disasters go, AmeriCorps NCCC teams are sure to follow. The Southwest Region currently has four teams deployed to Texas, helping the citizens with both immediate response and long-term recovery.

Two of the teams in Texas are helping with immediate and short-term relief work. Sun 3 is working with the Texas Baptist Men in Rosenberg, Texas. They have been helping locals muck and gut houses, getting them ready to be renovated and repaired. The team has completed 10 homes in the last two weeks. The second team, Sun 4, is partnering with Volunteer Houston to oversee the Volunteer Reception Center in Rosenberg, Texas. They are collecting, sorting, organizing, and distributing donations, as well as supporting warehouse management and coordinating many outside volunteers. Some members were also trained in the data entry system, Apricot, to help keep up with the backlogged intake forms that have been pouring in since the beginning of June.  

Keep reading

Green shirts sporting the AmeriCorps NCCC emblem can now be seen at the Southern Region Campus, located in Vicksburg, Mississippi. After months of anticipation and planning, it is time for a new class of leaders to emerge. Team Leaders, ranging in age from 19 to 29 years old, arrived on June 16^th to begin Team Leader Training (TLT) for AmeriCorps NCCC. They are currently preparing themselves to become part of the solution to strengthen communities while continuing to develop as leaders.

A total of 19 Traditional Corps Team Leaders and 18 FEMA Corps Team Leaders will lead AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region’s Class 23. Team Leaders have come from all over the country, bringing a wide variety of experiences and leadership styles. According to Nicole Allen, Unit Support Team Leader, from Columbus, Georgia, “It is great to get to know everybody and be around other leaders to learn their style of leadership.”

Team Leader Training for NCCC Traditional Corps and FEMA Corps consists of a month of training sessions designed to equip Team Leaders with all of the skills needed for each to lead a team of 8-10 Corps Members for the next ten months. Sessions are conducted by AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region staff and mostly take place on the Southern Region Campus. During the first week of TLT, Team Leaders received training on the history of the AmeriCorps NCCC Traditional Corps and FEMA Corps programs, Southern Region policies and procedures, Pillars of Service, and more. Team Leaders recently spent a day learning to drive 15 passenger vans, which will be used to transport future teams to their project assignments. The group also participated in a Community Treasure Hunt throughout the city of Vicksburg, discovering their new community together.

Keep reading

Established in 1932, The International Peace Garden, has acted as a symbol of the long-standing peaceful relationship between Canada and the United States. Located in Dunseith, ND and home to 2,390 acres of aspen and oak prairie savannah in the heart of the Turtle Mountains, the garden straddles the 49th parallel. The 25-acre formal garden showcases floral displays with accessible sidewalks stretching from one end of the garden to the other.

In April, the International Peace Gardens was hit by a destructive ice storm. For the month of May, North Central Region team Cedar 7 assisted with cleaning up the downed and damaged limbs from the storm to make the gardens a safe place for visitors. Members weeded the formal gardens and built new decks on cabins in the International Music Camp, which is a temporary community within the International Peace Gardens during the summer.

Keep reading

AmeriCorps NCCC team Maple 3 is wrapping up their two month project with Jameson Camp in Indianapolis. The team has worked with thousands of kids at the camp teaching environmental education.

At Jameson camp, Maple 3 has facilitated Indianapolis-area school groups during day and overnight trips. They have taught various classes from habitat hikes, creek studies, and birding to bottle rocket launches, biking, and the math race. Through many sessions, they have helped Indiana kids develop teamwork skills and confidence through Jameson Camp’s challenge and team building course.

Keep reading

By Grecia Llarena, FEMA Corps Member
Team Blue 5, Pacific Region

Each morning I step out the door wearing a bright blue FEMA Corps shirt, my badge’s lanyard hanging around my neck, and a fully charged Ipad in my right hand. The moment I walk outside I am no longer just Grecia Llarena, but instead I proudly take on the role of Grecia Llarena, a FEMA Corps member. I start off my day eager to do my part in completing the mission.  

Keep reading

AmeriCorps NCCC team Moose 2 is in Bogalusa, Louisiana serving with All Hands Volunteers, an international organization dedicated to helping communities affected by natural disasters. Bogalusa is located in Washington Parish, which during the month of March, 2016 received a record amount of rainfall that led to historic flooding. All Hands arrived in Bogalusa on March 17, 2016 and has been working to help survivors of the flooding ever since.

Moose 2 is one of three AmeriCorps NCCC teams currently working with All Hands in Bogalusa, Louisiana- alongside Buffalo 3, Silver 1 (Sacramento Region) and All Hands Volunteers. Moose 2 has been mucking, gutting, and sanitizing homes that were destroyed by the flooding. All Hands primary focus is on the elderly, disabled and single parent homes, but they are willing to help anyone in need. Corps member Maleah Terrill reflects, “We’ve been working this past week on gutting the local Senior Center. The seniors have been such a strong support system for us here by providing meals and generosity that it is the least we could do to give back to them and the community.”

Keep reading