Making a Difference in Michigan

My name is Anji Reynolds, and I proudly serve through the Power of We Consortium AmeriCorps Program as the Gardening Educator AmeriCorps member at the Allen Neighborhood Center (ANC) in Lansing. Here at ANC, we build programs that focus on health, housing, food security, economic development, and building social capital on Lansing’s Eastside. Most of my time as the Gardening Educator is spent in the Hunter Park GardenHouse, a 30’ x 96’ urban greenhouse located in Hunter Park, just down the street from ANC. The GardenHouse serves as a hub for year-round garden education and a community gathering space, and is fueled by volunteers on a daily basis.

Before my service year began, I spent months at the Hunter Park GardenHouse as a volunteer and intern, and it has really become a second home for me. As a Michigan's AmeriCorps member, my role is to bring in presenters for our food and gardening workshops, as well as to lead volunteer groups and teach gardening education to our Youth Service Corps (our youth program for 11-17 year olds). This summer, I will also be going into the neighborhoods and helping neighbors with home gardening and maintenance. Teaching people how easy it is to grow their own food, as well as how they can save money and eat healthy, has been a great experience. I feel lucky that I have the opportunity to make changes in my community at a very basic level, and have fun doing it.

Leading up to this point in my life has been quite a personal journey for me. Most of my childhood and my college years have been spent in East Lansing, just a jog away from where I currently serve. For a long time, I remember wanting to leave town (and really the state) and begin some fantastic life I thought existed elsewhere. Michigan cities are struggling – and I did not want to go down with them. After some unfulfilling professional experience, I ended up jobless and halfway around the world. When my bank account ran dry, I found myself moving back home to East Lansing with a very negative attitude.

Realizing that my grand plans for travel were squashed, I had some decisions to make. I had the choice of wallowing in a jobless, apathetic funk or actually DOING something to change my life and my city. I was tired of hearing about the economy and the plunging morale of people. I spent way too much time waiting for someone else to fix those problems and never considered that I could do anything about it. AmeriCorps has been a life and attitude changing experience that has given me so much confidence and a feeling of ownership for the place I live. I can’t imagine leaving Michigan now.

This past month, more than 300 Michigan’s AmeriCorps members joined me in changing my city when they gathered in Lansing for the annual Russ Mawby Signature Service Project. It was the first time the project had come to Lansing, and my fellow Power of We AmeriCorps members and I worked hard to put together plans for the 2-day event. Having never attended a Signature Service Project, I was excited, but unsure what to expect.

My role as an emcee and a LeaderCorps member for the event gave me a unique perspective: during those moments of speaking into the microphone, I was face to face with hundreds of bright, eager members. In addition to being nervous to speak, I was caught off guard by how inspiring that image was. Here I was, standing at the Capitol and talking to a crowd of people just like me. People who want change, who want to improve their lives and the lives of others, and who want to lead by example. Members young and old who were willing to give their time and energy to service. Michigan residents who care and are willing to get their hands dirty for the sake of moving forward. And here they were, helping make my city a better place.

As the service project pressed on, I got to serve with and get to know so many people, who are doing SO many cool things. After seeing the changes made to my own host site and other sites around the city, I couldn’t help but feel proud – and you should too. While I get to see the changes we made every day, it may be hard for some to relate now that they are back in their own cities. But I would like to personally thank each and every member for their participation – Lansing is beautiful because of you.

I am continually inspired through my service. Even on the hard days (because believe me, there are plenty of those), I try to remember something my dad has said to me for years: “little victories.” Real change is not always immediate. You have to be patient and persistent even when it’s hard. AmeriCorps has been a saving grace for me, and has helped foster career and personal goals I never thought I’d pursue. If there’s one thing this experience has taught me it’s that service is valuable and necessary – YOU are valuable and necessary! YOU help your cities and neighborhoods progress into the places you will want to raise your children some day. YOU are putting Michigan back on the map as a place to live and work. And YOU keep me going when the going gets tough. Thank you!