Right Choices for Youth

Greetings! Michigan AmeriCorps members! My name is Charisse Welborn and I am currently serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA for the Michigan Workforce Development Agency. I am the Youth Development & Volunteer Coordinator for the MI GEAR UP program at Ferris State University. 

GEAR UP stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs. GEAR UP increases the number of low-income, minority, and first-generation students who are prepared to enter and succeed in post-secondary education. The program includes interventions such as tutoring, mentoring, rigorous academic preparation, financial education and college scholarships to improve access to higher education for students and their families.

GEAR UP works with K-12 students. Students must start the program by the 7th grade, and can continue the program in high school and college. GEAR UP is an effective solu­tion for creating systemic change and influencing academic achievement, as well as improving high school graduation and college enrollment rates among low-income students.

Overall the program serves more than 580,000 low- income, minority and disadvantaged students in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and three U.S. territories. GEAR UP has been instrumental in preparing students for high school graduation and success in post-secondary education.

In our state, the Michigan GEAR UP (MI GEAR UP) Program is a collaboration between the Michigan Workforce Development Agency and the U.S. Department of Education. Together they partnerswith15 public post-secondary institutions, the Michigan Department of Treasury and Partnership for Learning. Their purpose is to provide services to 38 public secondary school districts and 77 school buildings throughout Michigan as they strive to achieve their goal of improving entry into post-secondary education of students from the targeted areas.

As I reflect on my terms of serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA, I have been blessed with many opportunities. I was able to serve as a Michigan AmeriCorps LeaderCorps member for 2012-2013.  LeaderCorps gave me the opportunity to gain valuable professional experience. I participated on the Outreach and Communications Team with six other AmeriCorps members. On this team I was able to have a hand in creating the Michigan AmeriCorps newsletter and creating the video showcasing the 2012-2013 LeaderCorps members and their respective programs. 

As an AmeriCorps member I'm sure you know how overwhelming it can be at times, but knowing I was a part of a significant and impactful team where I was able to build other networks and relationships with other Michigan AmeriCorps members assured me the service I was doing wasn't going unnoticed and that I was a part of helping make the world a better place.

Through this opportunity I inherited a powerful network. The individuals I served alongside were doing valuable things in their communities - changing lives every single day in so many ways. LeaderCorps definitely taught me that even small changes can make big differences.

AmeriCorps VISTA and LeaderCorps have been life changing for me. I would never forget this experience and everything that it has taught me. Through the opportunities I have been afforded, I have truly learned what it means to serve.

Helping Homeowners Find Foreclosure Alternatives

Hello Michigan’s AmeriCorps blog readers! I’m Kim Chipps. I am in my second year serving with the Michigan Foreclosure Prevention Corps (MFPC) as a Foreclosure Prevention Project Manager at Elder Law of Michigan (ELM). I am also part of Michigan’s AmeriCorps LeaderCorps.  

The MFPC has been in service since 2009 and is a statewide program with member placed at foreclosure counseling agencies across Michigan. These members increase the capacity of housing counseling agencies to serve homeowners facing foreclosure to taking on critical supporting functions so they can focus on the clients most in need. For the 2012-2013 AmeriCorps years, we have 20 full-time AmeriCorps*State member serving. During the 2011-2012 AmeriCorps year, MFCP members were able to provide triage and referral services to 5,570 new clients who sought out housing assistance services. An additional 14,995 individuals were reached through community outreach, mailings, and presentations. MFPC members also reach 246 individuals through financial literacy outreach. Of those individuals surveyed in financial literacy presentations, 88 percent indicated an increase in financial knowledge. 

For the past two years at ELM, I was given the opportunity to help develop and define ELM’s new Housing Counseling Services program from scratch.  Participating in developing this housing counseling program and watching what it has grown into has been a truly rewarding experience. I can proudly say that ELM’s Housing Counseling Services now works with clients to try and find alternatives to foreclosure on a daily basis. 

For those of you not familiar with foreclosure it is the disruption of someone’s life. Foreclosure can happen to anyone. It happens to people from all kinds of different backgrounds from hourly wage earners to doctors to retirees. Foreclosure does not just affect one individual home on a block; it affects families, whole neighborhoods, and local communities alike. With foreclosure it is important to not to wait to get help, the earlier one starts learning about all their options to prevent foreclosure the better their chances of finding an affordable solution to their foreclosure situation. 

I believe that one of the most important aspects of my service over the past two years has been providing clients with a financial education and educating them on how to utilize foreclosure options. Armed with a financial education, individuals can not only try to resolve their foreclosure situation but move forward in their lives with a solid foundation for making financial decisions.  On a daily basis I am amazed by the strength and perseverance our clients show as they move forward during one of the most challenging times of their life.

As and AmeriCorps member, I took an oath to “get things done for America.” After serving with AmeriCorps I have seen how sometimes doing the smallest things like listening to someone’s story for an extra five minutes or helping an older adult apply to a program online can make all the difference in “getting things done.” I have enjoyed my service and hope to continue to “get things done” for my community where ever my future takes me. 

As I end my second year of service with AmeriCorps, I am very proud of the efforts and impact that my fellow MFPC members and I have had on the lives of homeowners trying to fight foreclosure in Michigan.

You can find more information about preventing foreclosure in your local Michigan community by visiting the Community Foreclosure Response Toolkit at www.miforeclosureresponse.org.

Exploring Your Backyard Through Service

Hello friends, family and fans of AmeriCorps! I’m Jocylen Fox. I am serving as the Outreach and Stewardship Coordinator at the Antrim Conservation District through the Huron Pines AmeriCorps program. It has been a pleasure to serve you and your communities throughout Michigan with my fellow AmeriCorps people.

First, let me tell you about this program. The Huron Pines AmeriCorps program is designed to serve the northeast portion of the Lower Peninsula in regards to conservation projects and environmental education. In my position at the Antrim Conservation District, I implement their mission statement, Explore your backyard," into my service through community events, education projects and volunteer opportunities.

The District’s backyard is the Cedar River Natural Area. When I came into this position in May 2012, this area was full of trails inviting people to get lost. Seriously. The trail maps were merely watermarked pages with bleeding colors, the trails had down branches and hadn’t been managed in years. What trail markers existed didn’t match the colors of the trails provided on the map. I’ll be honest, my first time back there, I got to a point when I had to stop and figure out where I was. I walked along the banks of the Cedar River following foot trails of the fishermen before me, but this was not apart of the actual trail system. I walked back and forth until I decided I needed to turn around, though I had not even covered half the trails nor was I sure I was headed back in the right direction.

Luckily, I found my way back through the woods and was able to start my service and really strive to make a difference in the Natural Area. I created interpretive signs for the area, maintained the trails, created trail maps to put at the crossroads in the natural area and told the community about what a great resource this area really is.

My favorite part of my service and being in the Cedar River Natural Area is the Conservation Kids Club we host every July. I take the kids to the area teaching them different environmental topics and help them learn to enjoy being outdoors. We collect bugs, look for salamanders, build survival shelters, bird watch, etc., anything to get their eyes off of a screen for two hours.

As I’m ending my service and looking forward to my next chapter at graduate school, I will definitely miss all the great friends I have made and wish I could do more to help Antrim County explore their backyards. There really is so much to explore, and I can’t wait to promote this mission in my new community.

An NCCC Ameri-Story

Kaitlyn Sargent is a Michigan native whose AmeriCorps service has been much different than that of our Michigan's AmeriCorps members. Read on to learn about her service with AmeriCorps NCCC.

Hi! My name is Kaitlyn Sargent and I am currently wrapping up my second year of service as an AmeriCorps*NCCC Team Leader for the Southwest Region in Denver, Colorado. My first year of service was spent as a Corps member, also in Denver. AmeriCorps*NCCC is a full-time, team-based residential program for men and women age 18-24. Members are assigned to one of five campuses — Denver, Colorado; Sacramento, California; Perry Point, Maryland; Vicksburg, Mississippi; or Vinton, Iowa. In ten months, members complete four different service projects (called “spikes”) within their region.

My first year of service was spent in Arkansas, Texas, and at two different sites in Colorado. I got to camp and serve at a state park, assist in a first grade classroom, build trails, construct a fence for a pet shelter, and work with children and adults with physical and developmental disabilities at a summer camp. I had an amazing first year working on a wide array of projects and was part of a very close-knit team. I enjoyed my year so much that I decided to come back for another year as a Team Leader, which has also been amazing, but extremely different.

My Team Leader year was a bit more chaotic as there are several added tasks and responsibilities in comparison to Corps members. I started the year with my first-choice project building homes with Habitat for Humanity in San Antonio, Texas. Next, we were off to Casa Grande, Arizona to build trails. What was supposed to be a ten-week spike was abruptly cut short after three weeks when we got called for Super Storm Sandy disaster relief in New York and New Jersey. The team had mixed feelings as we were all really enjoying our Arizona project, but also knew the need was greater out east. 

The five weeks in New York and New Jersey were without a doubt the most stressful of the year, but also the most rewarding. We were mucking and gutting/mold suppressing destroyed homes in Staten Island. We also removed damaged insulation and installed new insulation in trailers that could not otherwise afford it. For my third project, I returned to Denver to work with at-risk sixth-ninth graders. I recently finished up my fourth and final AmeriCorps*NCCC project in Nogales, Arizona, where I was once again building trails.

Looking back on the last two years of my life, it is difficult to articulate the impact NCCC has had – and will continue to have – on my life. I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into prior to joining AmeriCorps; but I would strongly recommend NCCC to anyone who is even slightly interested because, regardless of the challenges, it is a life-altering experience. In the last 21 months, I have lived in 6 different states, gained two Ameri-families, crossed paths with amazing people, and did things I never could have imagined. NCCC tested me physically and emotionally, repeatedly pushed me in and out of my comfort zone, strengthened my passion for community service, and has opened me up to countless possibilities in life. 

I am thankful for every minute spent in AmeriCorps, including the difficult times, as those were the times I grew and learned the most. I look forward to continuing to "get things done" as I return to Michigan to pursue a career in education.