A Second Year of Service

Hello Again! This is Beth with the Michigan Primary Care Association. In October 2009, I started my second year of service with Michigan’s AmeriCorps and its Member Council. I didn’t think twice about making the decision to do a second year of service; the experiences I’ve had since joining AmeriCorps have been exceptional!

Serving at a homeless and domestic violence shelter as a health advocate, the holiday season is an especially busy one. Many activities are planned for the children residents of the shelter, and it is so gratifying to spend this holiday time with them making crafts, visiting Santa Claus, sharing a meal, and giving gifts.

Families who have “adopted” a family in the shelter come by our office and drop off gifts they have purchased. One day, a mother and her three young children made two trips from their car up the stairs and into our office to drop off the wrapped presents. I believe this future crop of AmeriCorps members are being fostered in service already! We are very grateful for this outpouring of goodwill, and it’s nice to know our shelter families will have an exciting Christmas morning with gifts under the tree.

Our shelter counts on support from the community all year long, but the amount of goodwill definitely seems to increase around this time of the year. A local faith-based organization and high school group threw a holiday party last week. The high-schoolers have a “giving” tree, and they collected presents for each shelter child to be given a gift at the party. They also provided lots of entertainment: decorating sugar cookies, carnival-type games (with prizes and all!), and arts and crafts. The area churches have a group that also collects presents the children can pick out for their parents.

Again, I am so excited about my second year of service. At the end of the annual Michigan’s AmeriCorps Member Celebration – held this past November – First Gentleman Daniel Mulhern swore us in and asked us to take the AmeriCorps pledge.

I remember feeling so inspired when I left Member Celebration in 2008, and took the pledge very seriously. I experienced the same thing this year. It feels great to be a part of the larger national service movement, and it is hard to not be inspired by others around you are as passionate about national service as you are.

From connecting, interacting, and even collaborating with community leaders on service projects, presenting about AmeriCorps to civic groups, high school and college students, to doing a healthy nutrition craft with children of the shelter, all of these experiences have helped keep me motivated, inspired, and guided for the future. I have always been a big believer in that you can learn something from everyone and from every experience!

Having hope and faith in fellow citizens to volunteer and make a difference creates the great country we live in! We can make the world a better place if we all give a little bit of effort! Look for volunteer opportunities near you at www.mivolunteers.org or by calling 1-800-VOLUNTEER.