FEMA Corps Blue 4 worked in Guam to respond to Typhoon Dolphin
On
Friday, May 15 Typhoon Dolphin threatened the U.S. territories of Guam and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
In preparation for the storm, the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) pre-positioned supplies and people to assist the islands after the
typhoon had passed. FEMA, through its National
Watch Center in Washington, D.C.; its Regional
Office in Oakland, California; and its
logistics coordination center in Honolulu, Hawaii; would monitor response efforts
following Typhoon Dolphin in the Western Pacific. The National Incident Management
Assistance Team – East 1 (IMAT) was sent to Guam to help coordinate the
response.
Working
in conjunction with this team, FEMA Corps Blue 4 from Sacramento, California
prepared for their first deployment. The
team, consisting of six members, traveled from Washington D.C. to Guam to
provide typhoon response and assistance.
Corps members Sylvia Aklikokou, Aliza Etkind, Jaime Flores, Laura
Fredell, and Tia Renier and Team Leader Daniela Kesic integrated with the National
IMAT East – 1 upon arrival.
“After
we were told of our assignment, we were very excited to get to know the
cultures and people of Guam and to have the opportunity to help in this
capacity” said Kesic.
Congrats, AmeriGrads! (Don’t Forget the Sunscreen)
It’s graduation season and many of our AmeriCorps members will be finishing their terms soon and become AmeriGrads. (We kinda like the sound of that.)
Our friends at AmeriCorps Alums have some suggestions for your life after AmeriCorps to help you connect to helpful resources, and stay in touch and involved with the national service family. Remember, graduation is not the end, it’s a chance to begin again.
St. Louis AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associates Take Oath
AmeriCorps VISTA Director Paul Monteiro swears in new AmeriCorps
VISTA Summer Associates today at Mission: St. Louis. This year, 32 Summer Associates
will serve in St. Louis and the surrounding cities of Ferguson, Florissant, and
North City, MO, to implement and provide summer feeding and nutrition programs,
reading/tutoring initiatives, and job training and placement services. The Summer
Associates program introduces youth to national service and AmeriCorps VISTA’s
anti-poverty mission during an abbreviated eight- to 10-week service term, and its
goals align with President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative.
Over the past several days, extreme rain has led to catastrophic flooding in 37 Texas counties. In the town of Wimberley, 25 miles southwest of Austin, the Blanco River rose more than 33 feet in just three hours. In Houston, flash flooding early this week has already affected hundreds of homes, and the city remains in a state of emergency.
The situation is still developing, and the CNCS Disaster Services Unit is working closely with our federal, state, and local partners including Texas Emergency Management and the One Star Foundation, the state’s lead agency on volunteer management.
In coordination with OneStar Foundation, the State Emergency Management Agency, and Texas VOADs, more than 40 national service members have responded to the flooding across Texas.
28 AmeriCorps members with Texas Conservation Corps deployed to San Marcos, TX, to support two Volunteer Reception Centers.
12 South Central Texas Senior Corps RSVP volunteers are serving with Salvation Army food service operations.
Austin - Travis County Senior Corps RSVP volunteers are supporting Texas Search and Rescue teams.
AmeriCorps Disaster Response Teams (A-DRTS) including AmeriCorps NCCC and Saint Bernard Project remain on standby to support pending requests.