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AMERICORPS WORKS!
GETTING THINGS DONE IN MICHIGAN
During the week of March 9-17, AmeriCorps members and alums across the country are being celebrated as part of the 2013 AmeriCorps Week. In our own state, more than 24,000 Michigan residents have served 29 million hours of AmeriCorps service since 1994. To honor the significant impact these members have on critical areas of need such as literacy, foreclosure, environment, health care, public safety, and more, Governor Snyder issued a formal proclamation declaring it AmeriCorps Week in Michigan.
As the administering agency for 23 Michigan's AmeriCorps programs, the Michigan Community Service Commission (MCSC) knows AmeriCorps is a proven national service program that provides innovative, cost-effective solutions in countless Michigan communities. In addition to benefiting the people they serve and the communities they serve in, AmeriCorps provides benefits for the individuals who serve as well by helping them to develop professional skills, networks, and experiences. As a result, AmeriCorps members find their service term puts them on a pathway to employment and civic engagement that has lead to positions as Mayors, State Representatives, and even U.S. Senators. Read on to learn more about the ways that AmeriCorps works in our state as a service strategy for success.
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 AmeriCorps Works for Education From preschool to third grade, children are learning to read. In fourth grade and beyond, children are reading to learn, making third grade literacy a crucial factor in the future success of a child. To help ensure that all third graders are reading at grade-level proficiency, the MCSC and Heart of West Michigan United Way are piloting a new reading program in 2012-2013: the Michigan Reading Corps (MiRC).
MiRC is a local affiliate of the Minnesota Reading Corps (MnRC), a program which has demonstrated great success for Minnesota students, schools, AmeriCorps members, and communities in its 10-year history. Over the course of the school year, students in the Reading Corps program receive 20 minutes of one-on-one literacy tutoring five days per week. By isolating each child's specific skill challenges and tailoring their tutoring to effectively build the unique literacy skills needed by the student, MiRC AmeriCorps members are able to place students on the path to literacy proficiency by grade 3.
Currently, the MiRC is piloting nine trained MiRC AmeriCorps tutors in two Grand Rapids area elementaries. Since being activated in November, the program has provided 142 at-risk readers with a total of 620 tutoring hours. This one-on-one service intervention has helped MiRC students to read more words correctly and put them on the projected course for above grade level reading competency by the end of the year. "Reading Corps has impacted the students participating in the program greatly," commented one teacher of MiRC students. "All of them were below grade level and reading at a second grade level. They are now all above grade level, one [student] by an entire grade!"
To help address the growing literacy needs across the state, the MiRC plans to expand to 50 to 75 AmeriCorps members placed in more than 20 Michigan schools in 2013-2014. Over the course of a three-year period, MiRC AmeriCorps members will provide literacy interventions to 9,000 struggling readers who will as a result, be better prepared for a lifetime of success.
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AmeriCorps Works for Disaster Relief
The Together We Prepare AmeriCorps (TWPA) Program, hosted by the American Red Cross, utilizes the service of 34 Michigan's AmeriCorps members and more than 1,200 volunteers to provide disaster assistance in Michigan. In addition to responding to emergencies such as fires and tornadoes, TWPA AmeriCorps members also spend time educating state residents about how to prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies themselves. This program fills a crucial need in Michigan by helping citizens plan for, prevent, and ultimately pull-through critical times of disaster.
In October 2012, TWPA members were called upon to assist another population in need: those affected by Hurricane Sandy. Just a few weeks into their service term, 25 Michigan's AmeriCorps members from the TWPA program were deployed to the east coast to serve communities in New York, Maryland, and New Jersey. For several weeks, these members supported the Red Cross in providing much needed assistance to Sandy victims. This included helping families find shelter, food, and health services; providing meals at make-shift kitchens and in emergency response vehicle delivery units; and assisting with referral services for unmet needs such as clothing.
In total, TWPA AmeriCorps members and thousands of Red Cross volunteers served Sandy victims 16 million meals, handed out more than 7 million relief items such as cold weather clothing and clean-up supplies, provided shelter stays to 163,000 people, and more. After several weeks on the east coast, the TWPA members returned to Michigan to continue their service, however their experience will stay with them for a lifetime. "The level of destruction I witnessed was incredible," commented AmeriCorps member Sayre Corbin. "But so were the people. I'd never before encountered such devastation, but more impactful for me was the strength and perseverance I witnessed in its victims. I am so thankful I got a chance to help in the relief effort and I have never been so inspired."
The TWPA Program is one of 23 Michigan's AmeriCorps programs administered by the MCSC.
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 AmeriCorps Works for Employment
In 2010-2011, Megan Kursik served as an AmeriCorps member with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) AmeriCorps program. During that time, she assisted communities across the state in implementing initiatives that increase access to financial planning programs and products as a way to build savings, attend post-secondary education, start a business, or prepare for home-ownership. One of her main projects was creating a statewide program called "Show Me the Money Day," an event that features free financial resource fairs and financial literacy trainings throughout Michigan.
After completing her AmeriCorps term with LISC, Megan found herself in the midst of an economy with some of the highest unemployment numbers in the country. While many were struggling to find jobs, Megan put her AmeriCorps service to work for her by using her financial education experiences, outreach skills, and professional networks to secure a position with the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan (CEDAM) in October 2011. As the Michigan Communities for Financial Empowerment Coordinator at CEDAM, Megan works with local governments across the state to support implementation of local financial empowerment initiatives. These initiatives enable individuals and families to reach greater financial stability through financial education and counseling, access to safe and affordable banking products, opportunities to save and build assets, and more.
As a dedicated AmeriCorps Alum, Megan has continued to "Get Things Done" for the Michigan community in a number of other ways as well. She voluntarily assists low-income individuals with their tax preparations and also spends time coaching the Lansing Rowing Clubs Junior Women Rowing team. Megan was also instrumental in helping the city of Lansing to secure a $1.5 million three-year grant to develop the Financial Empowerment Center, which will provide 4,000 Lansing residents with access to free, one-on-one financial counseling in the areas of credit, debt, savings, and banking. In 2012, Megan was nominated for the Lansing Regional Chambers 10 Over the Next 10 Award, an honor which is given to individuals under the age of 35 who excel in personal achievement, community involvement, and personal success. Back to top |
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Has hearing all the ways that AmeriCorps works in our state inspired you to answer your own call to serve? Many service opportunities exist across the state - you can give give an hour, a day, a week, a month, or even a full year as an AmeriCorps member! To find an opportunity in your community that matches your unique skills, interest, and availability, search our online volunteer portal.
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About the MCSC
The Michigan Community Service Commission builds a culture of service by providing vision and resources to strengthen communities through volunteerism. In 2012-2013, the MCSC is granting more than $7.5 million in federal funds to local communities for volunteer programs and activities. The MCSC is funding 23 AmeriCorps programs and six Volunteer Michigan grantees. The Governor's Service Awards and Mentor Michigan are also premier programs of the MCSC.
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