Michigan’s AmeriCorps Family Consists of 25 Programs in 2010-2011

Written by: Michigan’s AmeriCorps Team

For the 2010-2011 program year, the Michigan Community Service Commission (MCSC) is funding 25 organizations place 1,121 AmeriCorps members in communities to help “get things done” across the state of Michigan.

The 2010-2011 Michigan’s AmeriCorps grantees will engage members in various service opportunities, including those focused on human needs, education, environment, public safety, health, and disaster preparedness. Members serve for one year and receive a small living stipend, and, upon successful completion of their term of service, an education award.

Michigan’s AmeriCorps addresses some of our state’s biggest challenges. It creates a pathway to employment by providing individuals with opportunities to gain valuable job skills, retrain for new careers, and the ability to stay in their home community. Research has shown that after one year of AmeriCorps service, members are more likely to stay in the community they served, pursue careers in the nonprofit and public sector, and continue to be civically involved. AmeriCorps also helps make college and higher education more affordable. The 1,121 AmeriCorps members will earn more than $2 million in education awards to pay for college or repay student loans.

The following 25 Michigan’s AmeriCorps programs will receive funding for the coming year:

Michigan’s AmeriCorps Grantee	Amount of Funding	Number of Members	Area Served
American Red Cross of Greater Grand Rapids – Together We Prepare AmeriCorps	$449,822	34	Multiple Regions Across the State
BHK Child Development Board – Superior AmeriCorps	$586,500	46	Western Upper Peninsula
Camp Fire USA West Michigan Council – Camp Fire USA AmeriCorps	$121,398	23	City of Grand Rapids
Charlevoix-Emmet ISD – Char-Em ISD AmeriCorps	$120,470	10	Charlevoix & Emmet Counties
Child’s Hope at University of Michigan Dearborn – IMPACT AmeriCorps Program	$69,088	47	Wayne County
City Year, Inc. – City Year Detroit	$888,069	71	Wayne & Oakland Counties
Communities In Schools Detroit – readetroit corps	$327,600	26	Wayne County
Community Economic Development Association of Michigan – Foreclosure Prevention Corps	$266,767	20	Statewide
Good Samaritan Ministries – Faith in Youth Partnership	$147,975	17	Greater Holland & Zeeland Areas
Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids – Goodwill Grand Rapids AmeriCorps	$210,000	15	City of Grand Rapids; Kent, Montcalm, Isabella, & Mecosta Counties
The Guidance Center – Downriver CARES AmeriCorps	$351,262	38	Wayne & Oakland Counties
Habitat for Humanity of Michigan – Michigan Habitat’s AmeriCorps	$411,308	47	Statewide
Heart of West Michigan United Way – Schools of Hope AmeriCorps	$209,755	15	City of Grand Rapids
Huron Pines – Huron Pines AmeriCorps	$160,631	14	Northeast Lower Michigan
Ingham County Health Department – Power of We AmeriCorps	$145,123	14	Ingham County
Marquette Alger Regional Education Service Agency – MARESA Michigan’s AmeriCorps	$125,000	10	Alger & Marquette Counties
Michigan Campus Compact – Michigan Service Scholars	$48,000	400	Statewide
Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness – Michigan’s Campaign to End Homelessness AmeriCorps	$274,721	20	Statewide
Michigan Council on Crime & Delinquency – Inner City AmeriCorps Neighborhood Project	$322,244	66	Cities of Benton Harbor, Detroit, Grand Rapids, & Saginaw
Michigan Nonprofit Association – Mentor Michigan College Coaching Corps	$650,000	50	Statewide
Michigan Primary Care Association- MPCA Community HealthCorps	$233,992	18	Statewide
Regents of the University of Michigan – Michigan’s AmeriCorps Partners	$299,214	54	Wayne & Washtenaw Counties
United Way of Saginaw County – Saginaw Substance Abuse Prevention Partnership	$136,651	20	Saginaw County
WARM Training Center – Detroit Youth Energy Squad	$206,415	30	Wayne County
Wayne State University, Center for Urban Studies – AmeriCorps Urban Safety Program	$160,777	16	Wayne County
Total	$6,922,782	1,121

Of the 25 Michigan’s AmeriCorps grantees funded for 2010-2011, 19 are veteran programs, while six are brand new.

• The Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids AmeriCorps program will engage its members in assisting economically disadvantaged individuals with job placement services.
• The Michigan Council on Crime & Delinquency’s Inner City AmeriCorps Neighborhood Project will utilize members to build, develop, and facilitate pro-social activities for formerly incarcerated and/or court involved individuals.
• The Michigan Nonprofit Association’s Mentor Michigan College Coaching Corps will place members in mentoring organizations and institutions of higher education to enhance youth mentoring by adding a college access component.
• The United Way of Saginaw County’s Saginaw Substance Abuse Prevention Partnership will engage members in educating youth, parents, and community members on substance abuse prevention.
• WARM Training Center’s Detroit Youth Energy Squad will utilize members to run a service-learning program that trains youth to perform basic home energy retrofits.
• Wayne State University, Center for Urban Studies’ AmeriCorps Urban Safety Program will engage members to improve levels of neighborhood guardianship and reduce victim attractiveness and susceptibility.

For individuals interested in serving in a Michigan’s AmeriCorps program in 2010-2011, please visit www.americorps.gov.

In a recent report released by the MCSC, 2009-2010 Michigan’s AmeriCorps members:

• Will have completed more than 600,000 hours of service and training.
• Recruited more than 24,000 volunteers who contribute more than 144,000 hours of service.
• Earned more than $2.5 million in education awards for successfully completing their term of service.

For more information about AmeriCorps or to learn more about specific programs, visit www.michigan.gov/mcsc.

Michigan’s AmeriCorps Family Consists of 25 Programs in 2010-2011

Written by: Michigan’s AmeriCorps Team

For the 2010-2011 program year, the Michigan Community Service Commission (MCSC) is funding 25 organizations place 1,121 AmeriCorps members in communities to help “get things done” across the state of Michigan.

The 2010-2011 Michigan’s AmeriCorps grantees will engage members in various service opportunities, including those focused on human needs, education, environment, public safety, health, and disaster preparedness. Members serve for one year and receive a small living stipend, and, upon successful completion of their term of service, an education award.

Michigan’s AmeriCorps addresses some of our state’s biggest challenges. It creates a pathway to employment by providing individuals with opportunities to gain valuable job skills, retrain for new careers, and the ability to stay in their home community. Research has shown that after one year of AmeriCorps service, members are more likely to stay in the community they served, pursue careers in the nonprofit and public sector, and continue to be civically involved. AmeriCorps also helps make college and higher education more affordable. The 1,121 AmeriCorps members will earn more than $2 million in education awards to pay for college or repay student loans.

The following 25 Michigan’s AmeriCorps programs will receive funding for the coming year:

Michigan’s AmeriCorps Grantee	Amount of Funding	Number of Members	Area Served
American Red Cross of Greater Grand Rapids – Together We Prepare AmeriCorps	$449,822	34	Multiple Regions Across the State
BHK Child Development Board – Superior AmeriCorps	$586,500	46	Western Upper Peninsula
Camp Fire USA West Michigan Council – Camp Fire USA AmeriCorps	$121,398	23	City of Grand Rapids
Charlevoix-Emmet ISD – Char-Em ISD AmeriCorps	$120,470	10	Charlevoix & Emmet Counties
Child’s Hope at University of Michigan Dearborn – IMPACT AmeriCorps Program	$69,088	47	Wayne County
City Year, Inc. – City Year Detroit	$888,069	71	Wayne & Oakland Counties
Communities In Schools Detroit – readetroit corps	$327,600	26	Wayne County
Community Economic Development Association of Michigan – Foreclosure Prevention Corps	$266,767	20	Statewide
Good Samaritan Ministries – Faith in Youth Partnership	$147,975	17	Greater Holland & Zeeland Areas
Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids – Goodwill Grand Rapids AmeriCorps	$210,000	15	City of Grand Rapids; Kent, Montcalm, Isabella, & Mecosta Counties
The Guidance Center – Downriver CARES AmeriCorps	$351,262	38	Wayne & Oakland Counties
Habitat for Humanity of Michigan – Michigan Habitat’s AmeriCorps	$411,308	47	Statewide
Heart of West Michigan United Way – Schools of Hope AmeriCorps	$209,755	15	City of Grand Rapids
Huron Pines – Huron Pines AmeriCorps	$160,631	14	Northeast Lower Michigan
Ingham County Health Department – Power of We AmeriCorps	$145,123	14	Ingham County
Marquette Alger Regional Education Service Agency – MARESA Michigan’s AmeriCorps	$125,000	10	Alger & Marquette Counties
Michigan Campus Compact – Michigan Service Scholars	$48,000	400	Statewide
Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness – Michigan’s Campaign to End Homelessness AmeriCorps	$274,721	20	Statewide
Michigan Council on Crime & Delinquency – Inner City AmeriCorps Neighborhood Project	$322,244	66	Cities of Benton Harbor, Detroit, Grand Rapids, & Saginaw
Michigan Nonprofit Association – Mentor Michigan College Coaching Corps	$650,000	50	Statewide
Michigan Primary Care Association- MPCA Community HealthCorps	$233,992	18	Statewide
Regents of the University of Michigan – Michigan’s AmeriCorps Partners	$299,214	54	Wayne & Washtenaw Counties
United Way of Saginaw County – Saginaw Substance Abuse Prevention Partnership	$136,651	20	Saginaw County
WARM Training Center – Detroit Youth Energy Squad	$206,415	30	Wayne County
Wayne State University, Center for Urban Studies – AmeriCorps Urban Safety Program	$160,777	16	Wayne County
Total	$6,922,782	1,121

Of the 25 Michigan’s AmeriCorps grantees funded for 2010-2011, 19 are veteran programs, while six are brand new.

• The Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids AmeriCorps program will engage its members in assisting economically disadvantaged individuals with job placement services.
• The Michigan Council on Crime & Delinquency’s Inner City AmeriCorps Neighborhood Project will utilize members to build, develop, and facilitate pro-social activities for formerly incarcerated and/or court involved individuals.
• The Michigan Nonprofit Association’s Mentor Michigan College Coaching Corps will place members in mentoring organizations and institutions of higher education to enhance youth mentoring by adding a college access component.
• The United Way of Saginaw County’s Saginaw Substance Abuse Prevention Partnership will engage members in educating youth, parents, and community members on substance abuse prevention.
• WARM Training Center’s Detroit Youth Energy Squad will utilize members to run a service-learning program that trains youth to perform basic home energy retrofits.
• Wayne State University, Center for Urban Studies’ AmeriCorps Urban Safety Program will engage members to improve levels of neighborhood guardianship and reduce victim attractiveness and susceptibility.

For individuals interested in serving in a Michigan’s AmeriCorps program in 2010-2011, please visit www.americorps.gov.

In a recent report released by the MCSC, 2009-2010 Michigan’s AmeriCorps members:

• Will have completed more than 600,000 hours of service and training.
• Recruited more than 24,000 volunteers who contribute more than 144,000 hours of service.
• Earned more than $2.5 million in education awards for successfully completing their term of service.

For more information about AmeriCorps or to learn more about specific programs, visit www.michigan.gov/mcsc.

Serving a Second Term

Hi! My name is Katy Timmer and I am serving as an AmeriCorps*VISTA with Mentor Michigan, an initiative of the Michigan Community Service Commission (MCSC). Mentor Michigan is a statewide partnership of more than 250 youth mentoring organizations. Mentor Michigan works to ensure all youth have ongoing relationships with stable, caring individuals.

My role with Mentor Michigan seems to change by the week! I have developed training curriculum, improved the accuracy of the Mentor Michigan Directory through ongoing maintenance, engaged new programs in the Mentor Michigan Network through outreach, researched and developed resources, and helped volunteers connect with mentoring programs in their area, among other things.

Last month, I began my second term of service with Mentor Michigan. I am looking forward to the new projects and exiting things to come in the next year. Some of those new projects will include conducting research and developing toolkits around college access, engaging youth involved in formal mentoring relationships to help them find their voice and tell their stories, and support programs across the state that utilize MentorPRO; an online data tracking and analysis system designed for mentoring programs.

While looking forward to the year ahead, I am also thankful for the experience my VISTA position at the MCSC has already given me. I have learned a lot about national service, the nonprofit world, the youth mentoring field, and most importantly, myself. My path in life has been forever altered, in an unexpectedly positive way.

In the fall, I will be returning to Michigan State University as a student in the Youth Development Specialist Graduate Certificate program. Thanks to the updated education policy, VISTAs are now able to take classes while serving. Witnessing the remarkable work and impact youth mentoring programs across the state have on our youth has inspired me to explore the field of youth development as a career path. My work with Mentor Michigan, serving programs across the state, has fueled my passion in this field and given me the knowledge and skills to thrive in this graduate program.

While I am still struggling with the increasingly daunting question “what do I want to be when I grow up,” I have a new perspective, courtesy of AmeriCorps, Mentor Michigan, and the MCSC.

What Next?

Hi, name is Robyn! My father once told me there was never a point in his life that he could have guessed what he was doing a year from now. A year ago I was moving from Virginia back to my hometown in Lansing, Michigan. I had no idea what I was going to do or where I was going to live, I just had this crazy idea in my heart that I was going to move back to my hometown and make a difference.

I never planned on joining AmeriCorps after college. It just kind of happened. I found a service position as an AmeriCorps*VISTA that seemed like everything I wanted to do. The next thing I knew I was sitting in front of a computer at the Michigan Community Service Commission marveling at my stroke of luck. Without a plan, without a direction, I stumbled into one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had.

This past year I received amazing opportunities. I’ve been able to be an e-Reporter at the National Conference of Volunteering and Service; I organized Michigan’s signature 2010 Global Youth Service Day event; I wrote, got, and managed my first grant; I’ve gotten thought leaders across the country to write their first blog for Learn and Serve – Michigan; and I’ve been able to see the amazing teachers and students who make this state great.

It is incredible to step back at the end of your service and see everything you can do in a year. As a result I’ve become addicted to service. I’m addicted to seeing the impact your time and work can make. I’m addicted to seeing the value of the work I do in smiles, not in profit margins. I’m addicted to being surrounded by people who are committed to making a difference.

Just in the state of Michigan members have started drug prevention programs in Hamtramck, created dozens of community gardens in Lansing, recruited volunteers to serve homeless shelters all over the state, mentored children in Detroit, grown service-learning programs in Romulus, and so much more. To be part of that movement is inspiring.

In fact I have enjoyed my experience so much that I have decided to do another term of service. Next week I am packing my car and moving back to Virginia to help students recognize their service potential as an AmeriCorps*VISTA with North Carolina Campus Compact. My father is right, you can never predict what you will be doing a year from now.

Life is unpredictable like that. Sometimes you know where your next step will land, but sometimes you have to take a breath, close your eyes, and leap into the abyss. Your stomach drops, you might let out a scream, but when you hit solid ground you might discover that you’ve landed into a new world with opportunities beyond imagination. I didn’t intend to be sitting here today finishing up my last month of a wonderful service term, but I don’t think there is anywhere else I would rather be in the world.

Serving as the Inclusion AmeriCorps*VISTA

Hello! My name is Shana Holet and it is a privilege to be able to share a little bit about me and my interactions with this year’s Michigan’s AmeriCorps Member Council. I am the Inclusion AmeriCorps*VISTA serving at the Michigan Community Service Commission (MCSC). My role as the Inclusion VISTA is to provide training, knowledge, and resources on disability and inclusion to Michigan’s AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve, and Senior Corps program staff and members.

I chose to become involved in national service because I have a passion for creating community environments where all individuals are valued for who they are and differences are embraced. At the beginning of my service I had no idea I would become part of a larger movement intertwined with so many unique individuals with varying characteristics.

Over the last 10 months, I have been able to support and assist programs with creating a welcoming environment that truly values each individual – including those with disabilities. One of the resources I have created to help programs do this is a bi-monthly newsletter entitled IN Touch. IN Touch provides useful information and resources; like how to make a service environment welcoming so individuals with disabilities feel comfortable disclosing, the importance of universal design, and recruiting individuals with disabilities.

In May, I had the opportunity to present information to the Member Council about how to do effective outreach to people with disabilities. One of the Member Council requirements is to complete two outreach presentations, one of which must be to the disability community. I was able to provide a list of disability organizations (which is also available on the MCSC website at www.michigan.gov/mcsc) and other helpful tips about how to present to groups and why it is important to have handouts in alternative formats.

The Council members clearly recognize the importance of connecting with the organizations that serve individuals with disabilities. They have also come up with some innovative ways to bring people with disabilities and Michigan’s AmeriCorps programs together in the coming year. The hope is that Council members will make use of the available MCSC inclusion mini-grants to coordinate inclusive service projects and “service shadow” opportunities to bring more people with disabilities into service. This is why I chose to serve!

All too often individuals with disabilities are excluded or discouraged from contributing in meaningful ways; but with programs like AmeriCorps, the opportunity to serve and make a difference can become a reality! It is this type of innovative thinking that will open new doors for people with disabilities. AmeriCorps and national service can become the first step to larger service opportunities or even employment for individuals who may have never considered that they, too, can make a difference. Service has brought me to a community of inclusion and I have brought knowledge, skills, and resources to build upon and sustain such inclusion efforts. I look forward to what lies ahead and continuing to make a difference! What are some of the accomplishments you’re most proud of in your year of service?