For nearly two decades civilian national service programs
have ridden the ebb and flow of unsteady political sea, which governs both
Washington D.C. and the federal budget.
The debate over the value of AmeriCorps and its sister programs have
been argued by party leaders on both sides of the aisle since founding of
AmeriCorps and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).
Questions of the necessity of civilian service programs come
from many in Washington, many of which who have never served along side an
AmeriCorps Member (CM) to see the impact of their service. Where the program’s value has rarely
been questioned is in the field.
• In
the classrooms where AmeriCorps Members provide much needed 1 to 1 literacy
coaching for students who have fallen behind their classmates - the value is real.
• In
homeless shelters where teams arrive to provide much needed facility
improvements, working alongside shelter guests to provide a safe and secure
place for those in need – the value is real.
• In
state and national parks where trails are blazed, controlled burns are
conducted, and camp areas made safe – the value is real.
• When
disasters strike and trained, dedicated, committed NCCC teams are deployed
within hours to help victims respond to, recover from, and rebuild after
disasters – the value is real.
AmeriCorps programs throughout the country bring young
people together in a way that is fundamentally American. Not driven by greed, advancement, or
personal benefit, but through a common bond of service do these Corps Members
stand up every day and say, “Yes, I’ll help.”
They are not volunteers.
They do not serve at their convenience, on the weekends or
in their spare time. They do not
accept projects which are fun, convenient, or within their comfort zone.
They are AmeriCorps Members.
As AmeriCorps Members, they dedicate their lives to the
cause of serving communities in need.
They serve where needed, often accepting the most challenging and least
glamorous assignments – because they need to be done. They serve long hours for terms of service ranging
from several months to multiple years in some cases.
Post Script:
This post was inspired after a text from my wife (an AmeriCorps*Indiana
Alum) who ran into around 20 AmeriCorps Alums at a presentation, and reading
fellow AmeriCorps*NCCC Alum Ken Tran’s blog post about disaster relief in
Joplin, MO, listed here.
Nick, heck yes! You summed up very well how I'd like to explain how important AmeriCorps is to all the doubters, especially the way you describe member not being volunteers - well said!
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing this.
Hope all is swell!
Holly
Class X Blue 1 - Southeastern Region (Charleston) - woot woot!
Class XI Red 5 - Western Region (Sacramento)