With people across the nation recognizing the difference that AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers make in communities throughout the country during AmeriCorps Week, Serve Wisconsin was excited to spotlight the impacts people make through AmeriCorps service here in Wisconsin. These individuals are serving at over 900 locations throughout the state, with these service sites available to view on our interactive national service sites map.

As part of this celebration, Governor Tony Evers proclaimed March 13-19 as AmeriCorps Week in Wisconsin, recognizing the impacts that have been made throughout the state due to their service. To view the proclamation, follow these links: Proclamation / Proclamation (Accessible Version).

Jeanne Duffy, Executive Director of Serve Wisconsin thanked those serving with AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors throughout Wisconsin via a letter to editor that was published in several local papers, which can be read below.

As part of their celebration of AmeriCorps Week, the AmeriCorps members and program staff at the Schools of Hope AmeriCorps Project with the United Way of Dane County worked together packing and distributing books for their Books of Hope initiative this year on the “Day of the A.”

“Books of Hope is an initiative that began in 2016 as a way for the Schools of Hope AmeriCorps Project to distribute high quality books to the students we tutor,” said Anneke Kingery, Schools of Hope Program Staff. “The goal of Books of Hope is to provide high interest, diverse books (including fiction, non-fiction, and bilingual books) to the students we work with to support literacy and help families build their home libraries. This year, we partnered with Books4School to select a great variety of books. On March 17, our AmeriCorps members and staff team packed and distributed 1800 books to over 330 students at 11 Madison Metropolitan School District Elementary Schools. Each student received 5-6 books to take home to share with their families.”

“I loved being able to hand pick a bag of books for each of my students. It was so much fun to reflect on their personalities and growth to make my choices! Lots of smiles and excitement over the books and the bag itself! One kindergartner yelled, "I always wanted this book" while looking through Hair Love”

Books4School is my new favorite place. The staff was super welcoming and helped us get books in our students' hands. It was such a fun day to spend with the team where we were able to laugh, have a little fun and got to pick out books for the students we spend time with throughout the week…. When I gave a student their book bag and they saw the Bad Guy books, he got super excited to read them. He even asked if I had the third one he could read. Another student looked at all his books and was super excited about a futbol book that he had to run and go show his teacher what he got. A third student and I read one of her books together and she thought the book was super funny. She's very quiet and doesn't say much with me or in the classroom, but she was laughing at almost every page!

The students were so excited to receive books that are theirs to keep forever! Some students even requested to keep their books at school so they could start reading them right away. Our teachers were very happy the books encouraged students to read at home and with loved ones.

As part of AmeriCorps Week 2022, Milwaukee Christian Center (MCC) YouthBuild released brief interviews to spotlight the service by their AmeriCorps members, who make a tangible impact on their community through the construction of affordable, energy-efficient housing and accessible home modifications, while gaining job and leadership skills, improving their education, and developing community through service. MCC YouthBuild's 2021-2022 AmeriCorps team has been building homes in the Clarke Square, Amani and Muskego Way neighborhoods this year.

Serve Wisconsin is excited to announce that Robin Lee started in March as our new Volunteer & Disaster Response Officer. In this role, Robin will provide administrative and programmatic support to promote volunteerism throughout the state and coordinate multiple disaster-related efforts, including Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOADs), engaging AmeriCorps members in disaster response, planning and organizing trainings, and collaborating with emergency and disaster response agencies/organizations.

Prior to starting in this position, Robin served as our Fiscal Officer from February 2020 until this month, where he was be responsible for conducting financial desk reviews, providing financial technical assistance to grant recipients and grant applicants, and monitoring expenditures and financial reporting to evaluate compliance with statutes and regulations. Before joining Serve Wisconsin, Robin worked in the Department of Administration with the state's weatherization and energy assistance programs, where he worked with nonprofit agencies throughout Wisconsin to ensure compliance and promote best practices. Additionally, growing up in rural Wisconsin, he witnessed and participated in many community projects that instilled within him a passion for service.

Serve Wisconsin is hiring a Financial Program Officer, with applications due for the position by April 4, 2022. This position develops policies and procedures, conducts program planning, monitoring, and evaluation for federal AmeriCorps funds, and functions as a technical expert to local and state government agencies and nonprofit organizations related to federal and state laws, regulations, and policies. This senior-level professional position is critical in Serve Wisconsin's grant-making process and performs complex financial reviews of AmeriCorps State subgrantees and grant applicants. Additionally, this position conducts financial desk reviews, provides technical assistance to grant recipients and grant applicants, monitors expenditures and financial reporting, and conducts on-site and desk evaluations to evaluate compliance with complex federal and state statutes and regulations.

View the full position description for more information on the job duties and required skills and knowledge.

Applicants will need to include a letter of qualifications and resume. For instructions on developing a resume and letter of qualifications for the application and what should be included in these materials, please visit the Resume and Letter of Qualifications Tips guidance.

Applicant materials are due by 11:59 pm on April 4, 2022. Complete the application and submit materials here: POSITION APPLICATION LINK

March episodes of The S-Files podcast

This month on The S-Files, we explored the service stories of AmeriCorps members serving with the Department of Public Instruction AmeriCorps Farm to School Program and Public Allies Racine/Kenosha, as well as the stories of two AmeriCorps alumni that served with College Possible Milwaukee and are now volunteering with their AmeriCorps Alumni Council. Check out these episodes below and access all of the podcast episodes on The S-Files podcast series website.

In this episode of The S-Files, we are checking out the service stories of two AmeriCorps members that are serving with the Department of Public Instruction AmeriCorps Farm to School Program. We start our conversation with Catherine Masters and then sit down to speak with Gwen Murphy, both of whom are serving this year at Rooted in Madison and working with students in the Madison Metropolitan School District. We discuss how they are engaging students in nutrition lessons, working with students in school gardens, tasting seasonally available foods, providing seasonal recipes and resources to families, and connecting with local Wisconsin farmers. Listen to learn how Catherine and Gwen have been connecting their lessons this fall and winter to harvesting and healthy eating and their plans for growing new foods and memories with their students this spring and summer in the gardens and the classroom. (listen to episode here)

In this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service done by AmeriCorps member Lisandra Saldivar, who is serving with Public Allies Racine/Kenosha (PARK). Lisandra discusses the various service activities she has done at her host site, Focus on Community, including facilitating events that support the strengthening of local families and working with students in the classroom to provide life skills training focused on an effort to prevent substance abuse and inspire healthy life choices. She also shares about the activities she has done with her fellow PARK AmeriCorps members, including projects supporting additional nonprofit organizations in the Racine and Kenosha area, as well as ways they came together during their early team bonding activities. Listen to learn how Lisandra has been able to use her service as an opportunity to invest in the community that helped raise her and create deeper connections that will continue into the future while helping others. (listen to episode here)

In this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service done by AmeriCorps alumnus Ben Rangel, who served with College Possible Milwaukee for two years, and the continued impact his service has had on how he strives to cultivate community in multiple ways in Milwaukee. Ben first discusses how he forged relationships with students and helped them throughout their process of applying for college during his AmeriCorps service. Ben then describes how his AmeriCorps service led him down a path to being part of the Trinity Fellows at Marquette, where he continued his connections with national service as the AmeriCorps Member Development Coordinator at City Year Milwaukee as part of the program. Ben then discusses how his AmeriCorps service continues to influence his work and volunteering today, including becoming a high school government teacher, founding and producing the Bridge the City podcast with other AmeriCorps alumni to empower Milwaukee residents to make local change, and serving on the College Possible Milwaukee AmeriCorps Alumni Council to help mentor those that are currently serving. Listen to learn the ways Ben was impacted by his AmeriCorps service and how it has influenced the multiple ways he strives to cultivate community and encourage positive action today. (listen to episode here)

In this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service done by AmeriCorps alumna Amanda Wysk, who served with College Possible Milwaukee for two years, and has continued helping others as part of the program’s AmeriCorps Alumni Council, which helps to mentor those that are currently serving. Amanda first describes her two years serving with College Possible Milwaukee, beginning with her first term of service as a Senior Coach, helping low-income students at two high schools navigate the college application process. She then discusses her second term of service as a College Coach, where she provided in-person support to college students at UW-Milwaukee and remote support to college students throughout the Southeastern United States that had been served during high school by College Possible Milwaukee. Amanda then describes her efforts volunteering as part of the College Possible Milwaukee AmeriCorps Alumni Council, providing mentorship and additional support to the current AmeriCorps members serving Milwaukee students. Listen to learn the ways Amanda was impacted by her AmeriCorps service helping students striving to graduate from college and how she continues to serve those assisting these students. (listen to episode here)

Nominations for the awards are due on Monday, April 4, with the 2022 nomination form and information on past recipients available on the Serve Wisconsin website at https://www.servewisconsin.wi.gov/governors-service-awards, with specific resources listed below.

Please contact kyle.clower@wisconsin.gov with any questions and to submit nominations for the Governor's Service Awards by April 4.

For nonprofit organizations and government agencies interested in working with an AmeriCorps NCCC team this fall and early winter, the deadline for submitting a concept form for is May 3. This is the final opportunity to apply to for projects to be completed in 2022, with concept forms due for organizations interested in working with a team between either September 16 and November 9 or October 20 and December 16. Information on the application process 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.

Those interested in serving are required to complete an application to the governor for the appointment. The online application for applying 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 potentially interested in serving on the board and have any questions, please contact Serve Wisconsin Executive Director Jeanne Duffy at jeanne.duffy@wisconsin.gov.

Serve Wisconsin | servewisconsin.wi.gov | AmeriCorps