National Service Program Has Opened Path to College and Careers for 25 Years

By Chester Spellman, Director of AmeriCorps State and National

Everybody has a story to tell, as the saying goes. Within that story there is often an event that influences the direction of a person’s life. For the last 25 years, AmeriCorps has provided a setting for more than 1 million women and men to have experiences that changed lives and communities all across this nation.

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.

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We’re sharing more stories of AmeriCorps alumni whose paths were influenced by national service

By Katherine Parker

At the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), we are passionate about the work we do and the mission that drives it. As part of AmeriCorps Week – our annual celebration of AmeriCorps members, alumni, and programs – we are sharing the many ways lives and futures are being #MadeInAmeriCorps. 

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.

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We’re highlighting stories of AmeriCorps alumni whose paths were influenced by national service

By Katherine Parker

At the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), we are passionate about the work we do and the mission that drives it. As part of AmeriCorps Week – our annual celebration of AmeriCorps members, alumni, and programs – we are sharing the many ways lives and futures are being #MadeInAmeriCorps.

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. Come back on Thursday for another set of profiles.

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Edieson Aguirre has been eager to serve in AmeriCorps since before he was old enough to join. As an AmeriCorps tutor at the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Public School System, Edieson tutors students in kindergarten, first grade, and fourth grade.

For AmeriCorps Week, Edieson took time to tell us why he’s motivated to serve and how he makes a difference at William S. Reyes Elementary School.

Why did you decide to join AmeriCorps?

Throughout my high school experience, I felt that I had not yet done something to be proud of. When I learned about AmeriCorps in my junior year, I couldn’t wait to turn seventeen so I could serve as an AmeriCorps member.

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By David Panepinto, AmeriCorps Member
Alaska Legal Services Corporation

As an AmeriCorps attorney member for the past 9 months in Nome, Alaska, I’ve been lucky to serve my community through participation in a Medical-Legal Partnership, an entirely new model for providing legal services to low-income individuals by bringing services directly to them.  Instead of the traditional legal services model, in which state-funded attorneys are located in isolated office buildings out of both sight and mind, my office is located within the Norton Sound Health Corporation hospital. My clients are all referred directly by hospital staff, who are uniquely able to identify patients with civil legal needs that affect their health.  

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By Chester Spellman, Director of AmeriCorps

As we observe AmeriCorps Week 2018, we have the opportunity to remember the many different ways national service opens doors, expands opportunities, and strengthens communities across the nation.

For more than 20 years, this national service program has been a shining beacon, attracting those who looked within themselves and found a desire to give their time and energy to take on the challenges that our nation faces. And our members represent a cross-section of America, as young people from small towns to big cities and everywhere in between have taken the pledge to “get things done” for America.

What exactly does it mean to “get things done”?

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Adonnis Martinez, an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, spent his childhood at the foot of the Black Hills in Rapid City, South Dakota. Raised by his grandparents and great- grandparents, he was told: “You either go to school or you work. There is no in-between or alternative.”  The emphasis on education has been in his family for generations. His great-grandmother and grandmother both attended college at the request of their family. Martinez says that without his family’s support, he wouldn’t be where he is today.

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By: CNCS AmeriCorps Week Team

WATCH VIDEO HERE: http://bit.ly/2mswsyu

Team AmeriCorps,

It is officially AmeriCorps Week 2017! Building on the momentum and service of 1 million AmeriCorps members, we are excited to focus a bright light on your impact in communities small and large.

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Reblog from Reading Partners

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Britani serves with AmeriCorps VISTA as a peer navigator in New Jersey

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Connor serves as an member of the Oregon Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA team 

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By Amanda Adams, Habitat AmeriCorps alum {Reblog from Habitat for Humanity}

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Lyndsey serves at Lancaster Area Habitat for Humanity

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JaHow AmeriCorps Helps Students in the Classroom

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Reblog from: Teach For America By: Robert Cook, is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota and senior managing director of Teach For America’s Native Alliance Initiative

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