Top Ten Things I Miss From AmeriCorps NCCC
* Today’s post is from the AmeriCorps NCCC Official Ameri-Blog and was originally published on January 17th, 2012.
Today’s guest blogger is Heather, who was a corps member of AmeriCorps Class XVI at the Southwest Region Campus in Denver, CO. She currently resides in Maine where she spends most of her time skiing and baking.
Top Ten Things I Miss From AmeriCorps NCCC
1. Buying food in bulk from Sam’s Club and Costco
2. Transition week antics
3. Living in Denver
4. Hearing ‘Who Dat’ everywhere in New Orleans
5. Operating heavy machinery like a pro
7. Unusual and interesting daily projects
8. Being able to say, “oh yeah, I’ve been there!”
Heather serves as a member of the AmeriCorps NCCC Alumni Leadership Council. The AmeriCorps NCCC Alumni Leadership Council was recently established to increase NCCC’s alumni engagement. The council currently consists of 11 members including 2 alums representing each region and 1 Chair. Alums are currently spear-heading committees related to new member recruitment, building relationships with project sponsors, fundraising, national days of service days, and 20th Anniversary planning.
For more information or to become involved as a regional rep, please contact ncccalums@gmail.com.
Meet the 2011-2012 AmeriCorps Alums Boston Chapter Board
Join the AmeriCorps Book Club!
January is Book Blitz Month – an opportunity for authors to promote with media to get their books into the best sellers list and into the hands of readers like us! As an AmeriCorps Alum, I’d like to see some of our next New York Times Bestselling Authors to be ones that are passionate about National Service and care about Millennials leading in that movement.
After a great twitter conversation with @TerryGunnell (Arizona’s CNCS State Director) and @ChadJeremyDavis (Seattle AmeriCorps Alums Chapter Leader) about starting an AmeriCorps Book Club, I put together a list of recommended books that would be great to read as we all continue our Lifetime of Service. All the books on this list feature stories of AmeriCorps or National Service; helping us understand where Service has been and where it is going, especially as we continue to advocate to Save Service and why it is essential to fostering a stronger future for America.
See what we’ll be reading on our AmeriCorps Book Club Reading List: Read more…
AmeriCorps Alums Chapters “Make It A Day On” for MLK, Jr. Day
In our previous post on Martin Luther King, Jr Day, we highlighted the service projects and Sunday Suppers that our AmeriCorps Alums chapters were hosting throughout the country. We are happy to report back on the successful MLK Day of Service that our Alums had; so happy that we’d shout it from the rooftops! Actually, blogging about it would be a whole lot easier and safer.
Here are some of the highlights from a few of our chapters and their successes on MLK Day: Read more…
Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!
We hope all our Alum chapters and individuals are using today as a Day ON for service! Thousands of Americans will be answering the call of service to as part of celebrating the progress our Nation has made towards actualizing Dr. King’s Dream.
We want to know why you’re choosing to serve and how you’re commemorating Dr. King’s Legacy of Service!
Comment below or let us know on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #AlumsOnMLK!
To capture the Legacy of Service of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, AmeriCorps Alums chapters and individuals across the country will be participating and hosting service projects and Sunday Suppers to celebrate the holiday. If this is your first service event of the year, we’ve got the complete list of AmeriCorps Alums chapters who are mobilizing and serving during this day of service.
For most chapters, this is their first event of the year, so don’t miss out on the chance to fulfill some of your New Year’s Resolutions of more volunteering, meeting new people, and giving back to your community. In addition, if you’ve relocated to a new city, this will be a great opportunity to make some new friends in service.
“The greatest gift Martin could receive is if people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds celebrated the holiday by performing individual acts of kindness through service to others.” – Coretta Scott King
See the complete list of AmeriCorps Alums MLK Day of Service Events: Read more…
Grassroots Campaign wants to hire YOU!
It’s an exciting time here at the national AmeriCorps Alums office, as we’ve rolled out with our brand new, monthly Careers Newsletter. Starting yesterday and every second Tuesday of the month, we’ll be sending out the Careers Newsletter that provides free resources, webinars , and professional tools that will position you for a career after your term of service. In each issue, we’ll be spotlighting a feature company that matches the skillsets and interests of Alums.
In addition, they are looking to HIRE Alums because of the experiences you have gained during your years of service!
This month, we are featuring Grassroots Campaign, Inc, a progressive political consulting firm that specializes in running face-to-face citizen mobilization campaigns for political parties, candidates, and advocacy groups. Having run campaigns on behalf of groups like the MoveOn.org, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Amnesty International, they focus on building up clients’ membership and volunteer bases while running field campaigns for candidates and other organizations to win progressive victories on the local, state, and national level and mobilize citizens to be more actively involved and engaged in politics.
The people at GCI are seasoned organizing and fundraising professionals with a commitment to positive reforms. Their staff has over 150 years of professional experience. Read more…
Saying Thanks on MLK Day
January is National Thank You Month and as Alums, we have plenty to give thanks to. We are thankful for the organizations that continue to support National Service and fight to Save AmeriCorps. We are grateful for the communities across the countries, that opened their arms up and welcomed us to serve in their spaces. We are thankful for all the service leaders who came before us and inspired us to give back to our country, including Martin Luther King, Jr. The list can go on and on.
As MLK Day approaches, there will be lots of planning for service and community projects in your area. If you’re planning on serving (which you should!), it’s a great time to recognize the volunteers and service leaders that you will be working with to accomplish those big project tasks! Recognizing individuals for their service is an easy way to show that their time, talent, skills, and resources is valuable to the communities they serve and that you want to continue to see them dedicate themselves to volunteerism. You can celebrate their service with these following three awards, as highlighted on Hands On Network’s MLK Day of Recognition: Read more…
As I reflect back on 2011, I continue to be amazed by the dedication to service by so many alums throughout the country. AmeriCorps Alums chapter network continues to gain momentum, and 2011 was a strong year for both chapter growth and chapter impact. We saw the addition of ten new chapters, and exciting impact around signature days of service like MLK, Jr. Day, National AmeriCorps Week, and 9/11 Day of Service, as well as chapter partnerships with Allstate and the NBA.
But in my mind, the most important element of our chapter network is that it is led by alumni who seemingly find a way to get things done to improve their community again and again. I hope to share a few of those examples with you. Read more…
Today’s guest post comes from AmeriCorps Alums former Development Intern and current Special Events Administrator for The American Heart Association, Michelle Vegliante. She Assisted the Executive Director of Alums with funding and development projects.
Hello Alums!
For the past 4 months, I have served as the Development Intern for AmeriCorps Alums. I worked under the Executive Director, Ben Duda, on various funding and development projects that will hopefully be rolling out for all of you in the near 2012. As my internship draws to a close I wanted to reflect on what I have taken away from my experience working at AmeriCorps Alums.
I joined the Alums team because I wanted to work for an organization whose members didn’t just support social change- they’ve literally lived it. I sought to help create opportunities for those who have devoted months and years to serving our country through volunteerism because I truly admire your dedication to national service.
From an “outsider-allowed in” perspective, the AmeriCorps alumni network is similar to tight knit family- one, that although is spread throughout the country, when united, pack a whole-lotta punch. You all are a huge force to be reckoned with and I truly believe your advocacy and support helped saved AmeriCorps from being cut entirely during the recent budget cuts. Moreover, your continued presence in the nonprofit sphere is felt throughout the entire industry, proving that AmeriCorps is a catalyst for producing innovative change leaders.
