Serve Wisconsin hosts site visits for recently appointed AmeriCorps Chief Program Officer, Danielle Melfi

Serve Wisconsin was excited to provide recently appointed AmeriCorps Chief Program Officer Danielle Melfi with the opportunity to meet with AmeriCorps members from multiple programs on May 19. Danielle Melfi was appointed to her position that oversees all AmeriCorps programs across the nation on April 24th. Her visit to Milwaukee was her first opportunity to visit with AmeriCorps members to learn about their experience since assuming the new role.

She visited three sites across the Milwaukee area, speaking with AmeriCorps members from College Possible Milwaukee, the Wisconsin Association of Free & Charitable Clinics, and Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee – ClubCorps. While familiar with Wisconsin as a previous assistant secretary for the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, this visit gave her greater insights into the service done by some of the AmeriCorps programs within the state and some of the issues programs are addressing nationwide.

Serve Wisconsin was also happy that as part of the visit we could welcome Katia Tovmenko, our Senior Portfolio Manager from the North Central Region who represents AmeriCorps on the Wisconsin National and Community Service Board.

Easterseals Wisconsin hosts their spring Veterans’ Family Camp Weekend

Easterseals Wisconsin hosted Veterans’ Family Camp Weekend on April 28-30. Twice a year, Easterseals Wisconsin provides a free Veterans Family Camp Weekend through their AmeriCorps program in Wisconsin Dells for military veterans and their families. These weekends are meant for families to reconnect with each other and network with other veterans while having fun and relaxing outdoors. 

This April, our program had the pleasure of hosting 11 veterans and their families, with 44 total participants attending the session. Despite the rainy weather, participants were able to enjoy Nature Forest Therapy facilitated by Professor Namyun Kil from UW- LaCrosse, a special visit from Go Team Therapy Dogs Madison, crafting with volunteers from Lake Delton Home Depot making Veterans Keepsake boxes, fishing, tie-dying, and exploring the Dells area with the Original Dells Ducks. They recognized five veterans on Saturday night with their Quilts of Valor Ceremony. 

Describing the experience, a family member of one of the veterans explained, “my Dad had a chance to go to Veterans Camp at the respite Easterseals Camp in the Wisconsin Dells. He went hiking with the assistance of an outdoor wheelchair courtesy of Access Ability Wisconsin and went on a Duck boat ride! He also received a quilt of valor for his service! It was a blessing for him to be out and about.”

Easterseals Wisconsin would like to thank all the volunteers, AmeriCorps members, and community partners that support their program in honoring our veterans and their families and is looking forward to welcoming families back to camp for their next Veterans’ Family Camp Weekend September 23-25, 2023.

MCHS Recovery Corps AmeriCorps member and staff present at WI Department of Health Services summit

As part of their efforts to provide community education regarding substance abuse disorders and recovery, Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS) AmeriCorps - Recovery Corps presented in May to 250 attendees at the 2023 DHS Opioids, Stimulants, and Trauma Summit. Their session entitled Nothing for Us Without Us: An Integrated Approach to Addressing Substance Use highlighted how their program is addressing rural substance use through an integrated approach that leverages the voices of their AmeriCorps members, who have lived-experience with substance abuse disorders, serving as recovery coaches. The presentation was led by MCHS Recovery Corps AmeriCorps member Breanna Showkeir, who is serving at Barron County Health and Human Services, and MCHS program staff Meagan Barnett and Christina Garcia.

As part of their session, Breanna shared her personal story, including describing what service looks like for MCHS Recovery Corps members and how her AmeriCorps service has impacted her life. Reflecting on her service, Breanna explains that “Recovery Corps has given me the opportunity to work at a host site in the Health and Human Services field for two years which has been an exceptional experience for me. I have been able to use my Educational Award toward school and the experience from Recovery Coaching helped me excel in my classes. Being a person in recovery out in the community and helping other people like me is something that I will never forget. I want to continue being of service and hope to make a difference in the future.”

In discussing the impact the session had for the attendees, MCHS program staff Meagan Barnett recounted an unexpected outcome of the presentation, describing how “AmeriCorps alumni in the room that felt compelled to speak on behalf of their AmeriCorps experience towards the end of the presentation. Phrases like ‘AmeriCorps saved my life’ were spoken during multiple testimonies. There were quite a few tears shed during this presentation and I think that is a true testament of how powerful AmeriCorps can be for someone.”

Serve Wisconsin welcomes Brooks Gallman,

our new Fiscal Program Officer

Serve Wisconsin is happy to welcome Brooks Gallman as our new Fiscal Program Officer. Brooks will provide financial oversight and technical assistance to the state’s AmeriCorps programs and grant applicants in this position. To help programs maintain compliance with necessary regulations, Brooks will conduct financial desk reviews, monitor program expenditures, assess financial reporting, and conduct on-site evaluations.

Before joining Serve Wisconsin, Brooks was a Budget and Policy Analyst at the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. He provided budget monitoring of the agency’s Equal Rights Division, Registered Apprenticeship, and Youth Apprenticeship programs, and a handful of other programs administered by DWD. Brooks also served as a Research Analyst for the child welfare and youth justice systems at the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. An AmeriCorps alum, he served for two terms in Austin, TX, with College Forward and Keep Austin Housed. Outside of his duties with Serve Wisconsin, Brooks enjoys cooking, baking, spending time with his two young kids, and everything music-related.

Serve Wisconsin offering funding to support volunteer programs in Wisconsin

Serve Wisconsin is inviting agencies to apply for funding awards between $4,000 and $40,000 through the Volunteer Generation Fund. The Volunteer Generation Fund (VGF) focuses on investments in volunteer management practices that increase both volunteer recruitment and retention. At a time of social need, when Americans of all ages are looking for ways to give back, we need to be ready to engage all those who answer the call to serve.



VGF strengthens nonprofit organizations and their ability to recruit and retain volunteers to meet critical community needs. Funding must be used to support or promote general volunteerism, volunteer trainings, volunteer engagement, or agency capacity building through volunteerism. The last day to incur expenses reimbursable by the grant is September 30th, 2023.

Funding is open to nonprofits, schools, government agencies, and tribal, faith-based or community organizations. As a condition of funding, awardees must track and report performance measures that capture program outputs and outcomes. Additionally, organizations are responsible for contributing match funding to support the project, as there is a 1:1 match requirement for all funds requested. For example, if you are requesting $10,000 in grant funds, you will need to provide $10,000 in match funds, including in-kind contributions.  

This is a rolling application. The last day to apply for funds is July 15th. For information on how to apply, please contact Rachel Donaldson at rachel.donaldson@wisconsin.gov.

For more information about funding opportunities through Serve Wisconsin for organizations through the Volunteer Generation Fund (VGF), please visit https://www.servewisconsin.wi.gov/volunteer-generation-fund.

Service story from AmeriCorps member with

College Possible Milwaukee

May episode of The S-Files podcast

This month on The S-Files, we explored the service story of AmeriCorps member Ana Loughman, who is serving this year with College Possible Milwaukee. Check out the episode below and access all the podcast episodes on The S-Files podcast series website.

Bringing Student Support Full Circle with College Possible Milwaukee

In this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service done by AmeriCorps member Zarieanna McCoy, who is serving with College Possible Milwaukee. Zari discusses how she assists college students who graduated from Milwaukee high schools attending colleges and universities across the country, and being an in-person resource for students at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She describes how she assists the students with financial aid, finding scholarships, looking for internships, finding resources through their universities, and providing additional support to help them on their path toward college graduation. Zari then discusses how she was inspired to serve with College Possible Milwaukee after being served by the program herself as a high school and college student. Please listen in to learn how Zari uses her experience as a student in the program to help college students as they continue their academic journey toward and through graduation. (listen to the episode here) 

For those interested in taking an active role in promoting national service and volunteerism in Wisconsin, the Wisconsin National and Community Service Board has a current or pending vacancy for board members for the following appointment type:

• A representative of business
• A representative of local government
• A representative of local labor

Those interested in serving must complete an application to the governor for the appointment. The online application for a board position can be found HERE, with additional information on the application process found at Apply to Serve - Governor Tony Evers. If you are interested in serving on the board and have any questions, please contact Serve Wisconsin Executive Director Jeanne Duffy at jeanne.duffy@wisconsin.gov.