As part of their commitment to advancing equity in the Milwaukee Community, the AmeriCorps members and staff at College Possible Milwaukee served together for MLK Day of Service at the Urban Ecology Center and at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, as well as many virtual options.

Those serving at the Urban Ecology Center worked to restore the Oak Leaf trail and Riverside Park to help connect people in cities to nature and each other, to help restore hope and heal. College Possible Milwaukee AmeriCorps member Ellen Mueller reflected on her day of service, describing that “I volunteered at the Urban Ecology Center where we helped cut down invasive plant species along some of the walking paths and helped pick up garbage at Riverside Park. It was great to go to a new place that I didn’t know was in my own community. I live very close by this UEC location so it was great to help out and connect with my own community in a new way! I really enjoyed volunteering here!”

Another team from College Possible Milwaukee served alongside community volunteers at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, which distributes food to nearly 400 pantries and meal programs across 35 eastern Wisconsin counties. The AmeriCorps members and staff helped separate, organize, and package food, with a specific focus on proteins, which are often the first item to be cut from diets when people are facing food insecurity. Looking back at the experience, AmeriCorps member Landon Remington reflected that “partway through, I had an enhanced awareness that the food I was sorting would go towards feeding someone who could really use it, and pictured someone making a meal with it. After we were done, I was astounded to hear that all of us packed over 7,000 total pounds of food in total.”

Additionally, College Possible Milwaukee team members were able to also participate in virtual opportunities such as packing a “Fostering Hope Duffel Bag” of donated items or virtually attending the 38th annual Marcus Center MLK Celebration, which showcased youth in schools around Milwaukee and what the MLK legacy meant to them, which they showed through art and writing.

For additional information on their MLK Day projects, view the reflection video by Program Director Kevin Curley with College Possible Milwaukee.

The AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP volunteers through the United Way of Marathon County made MLK Day a "day on" by assembling three types of kits to address different needs in the community, and then continued their service the next day packing items with Blessings in a Backpack. Across the two days of service, 42 volunteers gave their time to assist others in their community.

Describing why the AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers were participating in these projects, Susan Krolow, the RSVP Director for United Way of Marathon County RSVP program stated that “today is considered a day off because it’s MLK Day, but we like to say it’s a day on. It’s a day on to serve our community.” She explained that “today we answer Dr. King’s call to serve and are making a difference in the lives of Marathon County residents,” reflecting how volunteer service is “a resourceful way to meet local needs…a powerful tool that builds strong communities. We are putting the core American principles of citizenship and service into action.”

On MLK Day itself, the AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers created three distinct kits to support areas of need in the Wausau area.

The following day, the RSVP volunteers assembled 1,815 bags of food for students in the Wausau and D.C. Everest School Districts through Blessings in a Backpack.

Reflecting on the days of service, AmeriCorps Seniors volunteer Pamala Frary described how assembling these kits would show their recipients that “somebody cares and you matter.” As someone that has been a long-term volunteer with United Way and wanted to continue to having a positive impact in her community, she describe why it was important to volunteer for this project, explaining “Kindness, Kindness, Kindness, and I think that’s a good practice for Martin Luther King Day.”

For Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, Easterseals Wisconsin organized projects for participants to volunteer together at Camp Waubeek or virtually from their homes. Reflecting upon volunteering for MLK Day of Service, AmeriCorps member Bailee Waddell described that “it’s a great way to bring people and the community together who have different backgrounds and to hear their stories.”

Those volunteering at Camp decorated birthday boxes and created party activities for Box of Balloons, Inc. – Columbia County and made DIY dog and cat toys for Sauk County Humane Society. They also arranged for donations of stocking hats, socks, and packs of hand warmers to River Haven Shelter in Portage, WI. Those participating remotely wrote and sent cards for the Letters Against Isolation nonprofit and made DIY dog toys that were donated to a local dog shelter in Milwaukee.

The Department of Public Instruction AmeriCorps Farm to School Program is dedicated to serving communities throughout the state by increasing access to fresh, healthy foods in schools and providing nutrition education to students. As part of their mission, the AmeriCorps members with Farm to School reach students in numerous ways, including leading lessons on nutrition, conducting tastings of locally raised/produced foods, working with students in school gardens, and connecting students with local farmers through classroom presentations or farm tours.

To learn more about the service that some of the Farm to School AmeriCorps members are doing throughout the state, check out their reflections about their service during the first few months of the 2021-22 school year.

January episodes of The S-Files podcast

This month on The S-Files, we explored the service stories of AmeriCorps members serving with Recovery Corps and Community Corps, the two AmeriCorps programs operated by Marshfield Clinic Health Systems. The first episode addresses service with Recovery Corps, whose AmeriCorps members are trained in the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR) model of recovery coaching and serve as recovery coaches for individuals to help reduce prescription drug, opioid, and other substance use disorders. The second and third episodes explore service with Community Corps, whose AmeriCorps members are placed in nonprofits and public health organizations across the state to increase their capacity to address local health needs, focusing in rural areas. Check out these episodes below and access all of the episodes on The S-Files podcast series website.

In this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service done by AmeriCorps member Chelsea Korzenieski, who is serving with Marshfield Clinic Health Systems AmeriCorps Recovery Corps in Ladysmith. Chelsea discusses how she is assisting individuals impacted by substance abuse and helping them work towards their recovery goals. Listen in to learn how Chelsea is helping people take positive steps on their individual recovery journeys. Chelsea channels her own experience of being in recovery to make a difference for others as they strive to achieve their recovery goals.

In this episode of The S-Files, we are checking out the service stories of two AmeriCorps members serving with the Marshfield Clinic Health Systems AmeriCorps Community Corps program to learn about how they are helping to foster community and striving to improve the mental health of those served by their host sites. We are starting our conversation by talking with Sierra Fink, who is serving this year with Community Corps at the Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes in Appleton, WI. We then continue by speaking with Jeff Duke, who is serving at the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum in Two Rivers, WI. Listen in to learn how both Sierra and Jeff are bolstering the efforts of these organizations to positively impact their communities and fostering healthy connections through their service.

In this episode of The S-Files, we will be exploring how two AmeriCorps members with the Marshfield Clinic Health Systems AmeriCorps Community Corps program are helping to provide needed items to people in the communities they serve, including healthy local foods and diapers. We begin our conversation by talking with Maddie Kinscher, who is increasing access to fresh nutritious foods at Central Rivers Farmshed in Stevens Point. We then speak with Monica Ducksworth, who is coordinating the diaper bank program at the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County, after having previously served two other terms with MCHS Volunteer Wisconsin at the Milwaukee Academy of Science. Listen in to learn how these AmeriCorps members are mobilizing volunteers, organizing drives and outreach efforts, and helping to build healthier and more supported communities through their service.

For nonprofit organizations and government agencies interested in working with an AmeriCorps NCCC team this summer or fall, the next deadline for submitting a concept form is March 1. This deadline is for organizations interested in having a team either between July 11 and September 10 or between August 12 and October 13. Information on the application process for this upcoming period or for the final 2022 windows this fall and early winter is available in their Request for Proposal (RFP) for 2022 service dates.

AmeriCorps NCCC teams are constituted of 18-24 year-olds that travel regionally to help communities meet their critical needs by completing projects that typically last 6-8 weeks. NCCC partners with a variety of nonprofit organizations, government entities (federal, state or local), educational institutions, neighborhood associations, Native American Tribal Councils, and community-based or faith-based organizations to complete projects which address a compelling community need. These projects address five main service areas: natural and other disasters, energy conservation, environmental stewardship and conservation, infrastructure improvement, and urban and rural development.

Serve Wisconsin | servewisconsin.wi.gov | AmeriCorps