To view a recording of the full ceremony or some of the video presentations, go to the recording of the entire 2021 AmeriCorps Opening Ceremony, with videos of the remarks by Governor Evers and the AmeriCorps alumni anecdotes.

The AmeriCorps members serving with Chippewa Fresh Start through Western Dairyland Economic Opportunity Council have made significant progress in constructing new housing in their community and building up their own education and employment skills over the last few months. They welcomed the public to tour their most recently completed home on August 31, which will be sold to an income-eligible family in the community.

These AmeriCorps members have built more than a just new house, as they have also built a stronger foundation for their personal lives, as Chippewa Fresh Start provides education, employment skills and career direction for at-risk young adults ages 17 to 24 while engaging them in their service.

AmeriCorps member Ginger Liddell recounts that “this program has made a huge, positive difference for me. The people involved with this program told me I could do better. They gave me the push I needed, and they held me accountable to doing better…I have a good direction now. I have a plan. And I feel like a good life, the kind of life I want to live, is possible.” Having previously dropped out of high school and spent time in a juvenile detention center, since starting her service with Chippewa Fresh Start she has completed her high school diploma and enrolled in Chippewa Valley Technical College, which she will attend while continuing to serve in the program. “I graduated early (from high school), and I wouldn’t have done it without Fresh Start. Now I’m headed to a great life I never thought I would have…I’m the first person in my family to go to college…I wasn’t so sure of my path a couple of months ago. This is a huge milestone.”

AmeriCorps member James Goheen II encountered difficulties when his family relocated to Eau Claire during his junior year of high school, explaining how he felt that without serving in the program, “I would probably be either arrested or at the bottom of a river.” Instead of those bleak outcomes, he completed his high school diploma and has recently started a job building pallets in Eau Claire. “I am extremely grateful for this program. It is what I needed… It felt great building this house and knowing that a family who needs it will live there…Through this project, I realized I want(ed) to find another job in construction.”

Christian Billings recently completed his first year serving with Chippewa Fresh Start, and he will be serving a second term as an AmeriCorps member as he enters his senior year of high school this year. He described that the program “helped me get caught up in school because I had some missing credits and they also helped me get my driver’s license.” Christian explained that the program had opened up new choices for the future, saying that “with Fresh Start, I’ve had the opportunity to do a job shadow work experience with the city. I was able to see all the departments…but my favorite two are the streets and fleet and parks and recreation.” He also now envisions being more active in the community in the future due to the program, saying “it feels really good because I know that people will actually have a place to stay that I helped build…I never really thought I would get into volunteering, but it’s something I want to do to help the community on my own free time.”

As part of their service this year, Be Well Fox Valley AmeriCorps members will be supporting the recently launched Eat Well for Life Program to help people living with uncontrolled Type 2 diabetes. The 13-week program provides the participants each week with both a box of fresh food and diabetes education sessions on multiple topics.

The Be Well Fox Valley AmeriCorps members serving at ThedaCare, Ascension, Partnership Community Health Center, and Mosaic Family Health will support patients across all stages of the program. This ranges from helping to recruit the patients who will participate in Eat Well for Life through coordinating efforts to keep past participants engaged after completing the 13-week program. The AmeriCorps members support the Eat Well for Life Program participants by packaging the food boxes, answering questions, connecting with them on weekly check-in calls, acting as a liaison between patients and their primary care providers, and providing technical support for the weekly educational classes being led by registered dieticians, diabetes educators, physicians, or other health professionals.

Media Coverage: WLUK FOX 11 - Fox Valley program gives access to healthy foods for diabetics (Video and Article)

The following reflection was written by Monica Ducksworth, an AmeriCorps member with Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS) AmeriCorps Community Corps who is serving this year at the United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County. Before serving with MCHS Community Corps, Monica previously served as an AmeriCorps member with MCHS Volunteer Wisconsin at the Milwaukee Academy of Science.

I joined AmeriCorps this year because I already had one year of AmeriCorps under my belt. I knew what a valuable experience it could be to gain more knowledge in the nonprofit field. When I joined, it was amidst the eye of the COVID-19 pandemic, and I am so thankful for programs like AmeriCorps that continue to provide opportunities to work and learn while traditional jobs are going through hard and major changes.

I was only a month into service, when I initially heard that I would be taking over the “United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County Diaper Bank.” I was excited because of the good it will do for hard hit communities in need, especially now when prices are through the roof and money is tight for all families. I know that feeling firsthand. This newly launched program called the “Diaper Bank” at United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County provides access to a sufficient supply of diapers, essential for the health of infants and toddlers as too many families do not have the resources to adequately provide this basic need. This is one of many programs here at UWGMWC that helps families gain financial flexibility to focus on income, housing and other essential items. Since launching this year, over 57,000 diapers and wipes have been distributed to local partnership hubs and the community.

Sarah, a Loaned Executive, and I visited many diaper distribution sites during the last week of September 2021. We encountered a lot of coordinators that were physically super excited to receive our delivery and some who were very humbled and thankful to see our van.

This is an amazing community project, and I hope to be a part of it for many years after my service term has ended along with the other initiatives United Way offers.

This September, the AmeriCorps members with 414 Fellows at Marquette University come together at a fall retreat at the Daycholah Center on Green Lake to start the new program year. Over the next school year, the 414 Fellows will engage low-income children ages 0-3 in one-on-one literacy and language building activities at Next Door to help the children increase their school readiness.

Twenty AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers from Kenosha and Racine counties were recognized on October 6, 2021, for at least 20 years of volunteer service at the Lincoln Park Flower Garden in Kenosha. These volunteers were recognized as part the 2021 Governor’s Service Awards. During the 2021 Governor’s Service Awards ceremony in Madison in August, Governor Evers and Serve Wisconsin recognized 221 AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers from throughout the state who have reached this service milestone. Included within this group of senior citizens are 14 RSVP of Kenosha County volunteers and 6 RSVP of Racine County volunteers.

With many seniors unable to travel to the ceremony in August, the local ceremony was held in Kenosha to personally present the volunteers with their recognitions. Before the presentation of their awards, Jeanne Duffy, Executive Director of Serve Wisconsin echoed for the attendees the comments that Governor Evers delivered in August when he told the honorees, “On behalf of our entire state, thank you for your hard work and dedication. Your service is an inspiration to all of us and it exemplifies our shared Wisconsin values of empathy, compassion, service, and taking care of our neighbors.”

In addition to program staff from RSVP programs and Serve Wisconsin, the local honorees were joined by state senator Robert Wirch, state representative Tod Ohnstad, and Mayor John Antaramian of Kenosha.

News Article - Kenosha News - Twenty AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers from Kenosha and Racine counties honored

Serve Wisconsin is launching The S-Files, a podcast series dedicated to look into the impacts and stories of AmeriCorps members and volunteers serving throughout the State of Wisconsin. In each episode, we will be digging into their “Service Stories”, or S-Files, to learn about the people and programs whose service is meeting critical needs across Wisconsin and enriching the lives of the people and communities they serve.

New episodes will be added to the series throughout each month exploring the stories of those making a difference for others here in Wisconsin. Episodes will be available on the Serve Wisconsin website's The S-Files podcast page and the podcast homepage at https://servewisconsin.transistor.fm. Episodes are also being submitted to Spotify, Apple, Google and other podcast directories for listeners to be able to download, with some directories taking a few days to add the episodes after they are posted.

The first two episodes of the series are now available and summarized below, with several future episodes slated to post next month. Upcoming episodes include learning about how volunteer organizations are assisting the Afghan guests at Fort McCoy, how AmeriCorps members at the Racine Zoo are providing environmental education, and a look back at AmeriCorps service in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On this episode of The S-Files, we are checking out the service stories of two AmeriCorps members that recently started their second term serving with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction AmeriCorps Farm to School Program, which received the 2021 Governor’s Service Award as AmeriCorps Program of the Year. We first sit down with Maddie Smith, who is serving at the Oregon School District to hear about the variety of activities she has done with students in the garden, the classroom, and online since August 2020. We then talk with David Lee Schneider, who is serving at the Howard Suamico School District, about his service, including how he brings his own experiences as a cattle farmer to the classroom and into their large school gardens. Listen in to learn how Farm to School AmeriCorps members provide nutrition education, manage school gardens, integrate local foods into school meals and tastings, and connect farmers and school food service directors through the recently launched Wisconsin Local Food Database.

On this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service done by AmeriCorps members with WisCorps during a visit to Myrick Park in La Crosse. We start our conversation with Matt Brantner, WisCorps Executive Director, to learn more about how their members are completing conservation and disaster recovery projects across the state, their deployment of a COVID-19 disaster relief crew, how WisCorps is striving to make nature more accessible for individuals with disabilities, and how his own AmeriCorps service impacted his life and work in conservation. We next sit down with WisCorps AmeriCorps members Shannon Columb and Ashley Nowak, who are both recently started a second AmeriCorps term as an Environmental Educator to hear about the variety of programs they have done to connect with students. Additionally, Ashley shares about two previous terms she served with WisCorps on conservation crews completing projects across the state. Listen in to learn how AmeriCorps service with WisCorps is impacting how Wisconsinites can experience nature through projects they have completed statewide and by providing environmental education for our youngest students and children of all ages.

Serve Wisconsin | servewisconsin.wi.gov | AmeriCorps