AmeriCorps - Serving our Community

My name is Rachel Wenzlick, a Michigan’s AmeriCorps member serving with the Saginaw Substance Abuse Prevention Partnership. During my term of service, I have been serving at the Prevention and Youth Services/Drug Education Center (PAYS). The service we provide there is absolutely phenomenal.

At PAYS, I am assisting the social workers in teaching drug education classes to the youth of Saginaw County. Typically the classes are one hour per week, for about 12-13 weeks. They cover Life Skills that all youth should know. We teach them a different topic every week, covering communication, feelings, and drugs (tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and inhalants).

PAYS also serves the State of Michigan. We travel to different tobacco vendors and educate them on how to stay in compliance with the Youth Tobacco Act. This is extremely beneficial as the rate of tobacco access to youth is very high.

I am not only proud of what I do to serve my community through the Saginaw Substance Abuse Prevention Partnership, but I am also proud of each of the 24 AmeriCorps members serving halftime in my program. These members are stationed in various places throughout Saginaw County and are making a positive impact on our community through the Child Abuse and Neglect (CAN) Council, Boy Scouts of America, the United Way of Saginaw County, and the YMCA.

My time with the Saginaw Substance Abuse Prevention Partnership is wrapping up after two service terms with Michigan’s AmeriCorps. My efforts and those of my fellow members to change the community have not and will not go un-noticed. In our first year of service, we as AmeriCorps members served 11,677 youth, 1,499 parents, and 7,258 community members. Though we do not yet have the official numbers for this year of service, I have no doubt that AmeriCorps has served the Saginaw Substance Abuse Prevention Partnership proudly.