Serving at Signature Service Project

Hello! I’m Andrea Villaneuva and I serve with the Mentor Michigan College Coaching Corps.

"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do and, by the grace of God, I shall do.” These powerful words were once said by Edward Everett Hale and were repeated again to 350 AmeriCorps members gathered in Grand Rapids to celebrate Michigan’s AmeriCorps Week and kick off the 2011 Russ Mawby Signature Service Project.

Many times as AmeriCorps members we can feel as if our efforts are hard to see, but the weekend of May 20 my efforts; our efforts, were seen instantaneously. That’s one of the things I love about Signature Service Project. Members from all different programs across the state gather together with one cause; to make a community better. More than 350 Michigan’s AmeriCorps members, AmeriCorps alums, community partners, and local residents served together to clean up and renovate local parks and help revamp a neighborhood with the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate. My team, “2A”, was at Hillcrest Park.

The first day we had the task of re-mulching the one and only Dog Park in the city of Grand Rapids! The mulch pile was seven parking spaces long by the width of the spots when we started. And it was equally tall! It was amazing to see members grab a tool and give themselves a task; whether it was hulling mulch via wheel barrel or tarp, or loading up said wheel barrels/tarps with a pitch fork, shovel, or by hand! In less than three hours we had re-mulched the entire park!

The second day we returned to Hillcrest Park, but to tackle other areas. There was a group of people pulling and cutting down invasive species, leveling the baseball diamond, painting fences and two play sets, picking up trash, repainting the lines on the basketball court, and edging the sidewalk. Everyone picked a task that interested them and got straight to work! Being the geek I am about painting, I opted to give one of the play sets a new coat of paint. I got the privilege to work alongside three amazing members. One member, Cody, told me about his service and how he uses poetry to reach out and teach youth. It was amazing to hear how he uses something that so many people overlook, and inspires youth to reach their potential. I also learned that Cody studied poetry and literature in college. His passion for youth and poetry not only impressed me but inspired me. If I had not gone to the 2011 Signature Service Project I would not have had the chance to meet Cody, among the many other remarkable people.

The experiences I had and the people I met at the Russ Mawby 2011 Signature Service Project are something I will cherish for a long time to come.