Serve Wisconsin awarded WisCorps supplemental grant funding to deploy an AmeriCorps disaster response team to address damage caused by storms and flooding. When COVID-19 started spreading this spring, WisCorps pivoted and redirected many of their disaster relief efforts to assist those impacted by the pandemic in the La Crosse area where their program is headquartered.

 

The AmeriCorps members delivered 385 meals and over 600 pounds of groceries to the elderly and high-risk individuals, planted community gardens, completed home repairs and outside maintenance for high-risk individuals, and removed over 270 pounds of flood debris as part of the original mission of the crew.

 

"We worked with nonprofit agencies to fill their volunteer needs, because for a lot of agencies, their volunteers were in that high-risk group," said WisCorps Executive Director Matt Brantner. Two of the main partnerships were with the Salvation Army meals program and with the Coulee Region RSVP Senior Corps program, assisting with meal delivery and home assistance projects that many of their regular Senior Corps volunteers were unable to do for safety concerns.

 

Each summer, the AmeriCorps members with Blugold Beginnings at UW-Eau Claire serve as camp counselors for day camps that engage local youth in science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) activities. Due to the spread of COVID-19, UWEC Diversity and Inclusion Executive Director Jodi Thesing-Ritter described that Blugold Beginnings "made the decision to switch to virtual camps after weighing our ability to keep students safe. It was a tough decision for us because a big part of our program is getting students on our beautiful UW-Eau Claire campus to show them all of the opportunities that college can provides for them, but in the end, we felt kids were safer this summer at home doing the camps virtually than coming to our campus for camp." After making this decision, Blugold Beginnings worked with their local school districts, smaller rural school districts, and community organizations such as various Boys and Girls Clubs, 4-H, and the Girl Scouts, to offer over 20 camps over nine weeks that will serve over 350 children.

 

AmeriCorps members started leading students through virtual day camps in mid-June, beginning with a robotics camp for middle and high school students and STEAM camps for elementary, middle, and high school students. The participating children were sent their robotics or STEAM kits prior to the start of their camps, with the kids completing activities at home during online sessions with their AmeriCorps camp counselors.

 

While they are missing working with the students on these activities in-person, Blugold Beginnings was   excited to be able to add elementary STEAM camps this summer and a variety of remote guest presenters. AmeriCorps program director Rochelle Hoffman described how "we have the head of Baylor University's radiology department teaching one of our classes for our five Biomedical, Kinesiology & Nursing camps this summer, a producer from Minneapolis who is teaching a class in our Arts, Language and Culture camp, and SpaceX did a virtual tour and field trip for us for our STEAM camps. We've been able to really utilize professionals from around the country and in fields that are pertinent and important to the goals that we have, and we wouldn't otherwise have been able to that, so that has been a really fun success this summer."

The AmeriCorps members with the DPI AmeriCorps Farm to School Program have been serving in many capacities since schools closed and moved to remote learning. To stay connected to their students, Farm to School members have conducted numerous virtual activities, including nutrition education lessons, cooking demonstrations, and farm tours. They have also revamped older lessons for use during the next school year, using the experience that they have gained during the year.

 

Additionally, some AmeriCorps members have the ability to continue working in school gardens so that students will have items to harvest in the fall. Farm to School members provided home garden kits to their students to help connect them to their school gardens.

To find out more about the service Farm to School AmeriCorps members have completed in response to COVID-19, including resources they have created and reflections on the meaning of their service, read the following reflections.

• Reflection - A Snow Day or Global Pandemic?
• Madison is serving at REAP Food Group and describes her service during COVID-19, including the creation of a teleschool kit to reach her students and her efforts to support Granjas a Familias.
• Reflection - April showers bring May virtual learning
• Sarah is serving at the Oregon School District and describes taking motivation from the part of the AmeriCorps pledge that says "Faced with adversity, I will persevere" while serving during COVID-19.
• Reflection - Creating a healthy community -- one lesson, one child, and one bite at a time
• Kelsey is serving at the Stevens Point YMCA and describes how she hopes her services will help make the community healthier, stronger, and more
  sustainable. Also included are digital resources created for her students during COVID-19.
• Reflection - My Journey to Help Others
• Morgan is serving at the Howard-Suamico School District and describes making a difference through nutrition education and supporting the school food service directors in the community where she grew up.
• Reflection - Grateful for the Non-Traditional
• Erin is serving at Juneau County Farm to School and describes her service as an opportunity to have an impact as an AmeriCorps member and how it may be a springboard to future work in public health.

As part of its mission to promote conservation and provide environmental education, WisCorps typically offers nature themed summer day camps each summer for children of all abilities ages 3 - 8, with AmeriCorps members leading small groups of children through different activities based upon the week's nature theme. The campers spend time outdoors, investigate the animals living in their natural habitats in the adjacent marsh and forest, and engage in games, crafts, and activities based on the theme for the week. This year's themes are Paws & Claws, Creepy Crawlies, Earth Explorers, Silly Swimmers, Senses & Defenses, Things with Wings, Muddy Marshes, Insect Investigators, and WisCorps Junior.

 

To promote additional safety during COVID-19, WisCorps has made several modifications to its programming, including distancing children on individual tables or carpet squares at least six feet apart, having nature teachers wear masks, sanitizing the facility twice a day, encouraging frequent face and hand washing, and providing the children with their own WisCorps Nature Play kit. The children are provided their own kits to prevent them from having to share craft items, such as crayons and scissors, as well as providing them with their own binoculars, magnifying glass, net for catching bugs, and a bug box. Some of the funding for the kits was provided by an Xcel Energy Foundation grant that WisCorps was awarded earlier this year.

 

WisCorps AmeriCorps member Justin Holten described the benefits for the campers in an interview with WXOW, explaining how nature "helps promote learning and growth" for the kids, as there are lots of opportunities for us to get outside and learn about our natural world and I think that's a very important thing, especially in this day and age to have an appreciation for the nature that's around us."

Media coverage about the WisCorps Summer Environmental Education Camps

• WXOW - WisCorps day camps offer kids safe outdoor learning (video and article)
• WKBT: News8000.com - WisCorps receives Xcel Energy Foundation grant for Summer Environmental Education Camps (video and article) 

Serve Wisconsin released its 2018-2019 Annual Report detailing the impact that AmeriCorps members had for people and communities throughout Wisconsin during the 2018-2019 program year. The annual report shows our AmeriCorps members in action and highlights their accomplishments throughout their terms of service. Additionally, the annual report provides details on our AmeriCorps programs, key events throughout the 2018-2019 program year, and information on volunteerism in the state.

 

A digital copy of the most recent annual report and previous versions can be found on the Annual Reports page of the Serve Wisconsin website. For questions regarding the annual report or to request a paper copy, please contact Kyle Clower at [email protected].

This June, Wisconsin's Inaugural Civic Health Report was released, with Wisconsin joining with 30 other states throughout the country to measure civic health and to lay the groundwork for tracking changes and improvements. The report is a result of a collaboration with the National Conference  on Citizenship and a Wisconsin civic health coalition comprised of nonpartisan Wisconsin organizations and led by the Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The report analyzes several aspects of civic engagement, with the section analyzing community engagement discussing factors including the number of hours served by AmeriCorps members, the number of hours that the residents of Wisconsin volunteer, and engagement on the Volunteer Wisconsin website.

 

To access a full copy of the report, including its findings and recommendations, click on the Civic Health of Wisconsin - Connectedness in Context report.