Signature Service Project Wrap-up

Hello again! This is Rachel Freedman-Doan, serving with Michigan AmeriCorps Partnership. I hope everyone had a fantastic 2010 AmeriCorps Week! There were some great projects all around the state – from Detroit to Gaylord members were engaged in some great service all week. We capped it off with one final event this past weekend – the Russ Mawby Signature Service Project (SSP).

This past Friday and Saturday (May 14 and 15), nearly 250 AmeriCorps members from all around Michigan gathered together in Kalamazoo for a day and a half of service. SSP is a great way for members from different programs to get to know each other and provides important service to the community. This is the fourth annual SSP, and Kalamazoo was a great host city! Members spent the two days in the northside neighborhood working with Kalamazoo Valley Habitat for Humanity (KVHH) on various projects; including cleaning up the banks of the Kalamazoo River by removing invasive species, restoring a playground for area children, and cleaning up Habitat for Humanity’s Restore.

Our team (Team 9) spent day one serving with Ministry with Community (MwC), a day shelter that provides breakfast, lunch, laundry services, mental health services, birth certificate and identification assistance, employment assistance, and other free services to community members. We spent our time beautifying the grounds, cleaning the barbershop and computer lab, and organizing the storage areas. MwC relies heavily on their volunteers, their contributions in 2009 equaled 12 full-time employees.

Day two was spent with Habitat for Humanity. Our group was lucky enough to work on a house with KVHH. Working with the family who will be moving in later this summer, we spent the day landscaping and putting some finishing touches on the inside of the house. Our team dug drainage trenches, moved 20,000 pounds (really!) of dirt and nearly 18,000 pounds of rocks to beautify areas around the home and fill in low spots on the front lawn, and caulked around all the interior windows, walls, and doors.

By the end of the day, we were all exhausted and sore (my arms are still hurting from all that dirt), but excited to see the work we had done to help Tami and her family be able to move into their home. A big thank you to Don and Lee with KVHH for all their guidance with our project, and to Tami and her children for letting us into her home – we truly enjoyed working with you on Saturday.

SSP was a great way to hear about the service projects happening all around the state, get to know fellow AmeriCorps members, and engage in some fantastic service. SSP even got some media coverage! Check out these stories at mlive.com and at FOX 17.

What did you do for the 2010 AmeriCorps Week? Are you looking forward to next year’s SSP? I know I can’t wait!