Demystifying the A: What exactly is AmeriCorps?

by Meghan Oakley

categories: AmeriCorps State & National, AmeriCorpsNCCC, AmeriCorpsVISTA, Program Fit, Program Overview

Published May 11, 2009 @ 09:57AM PT

So you want to join AmeriCorps? Excellent. I'm excited for you. Which of the 75,000 positions were you looking at?

A little overwhelmed? That's okay. Saying that you want to be in AmeriCorps--or that you served in AmeriCorps--is kinda of like saying that you want to get a job in Cleveland, Ohio... it doesn't really narrow it down. Which is what you need to do. Trying to understand exactly what AmeriCorps is is a good start.

AmeriCorps was started in 1993 by Former President Bill Clinton as a tool to engage people in service to their communities, while focuses on some of the biggest issues our country is facing. President Clinton placed AmeriCorps, along with Learn & Serve America and Senior Corps (another topic for another blog), under the umbrella of the Corporation for National and Community Service.

The term "AmeriCorps" actually refers to hundreds of federally funded volunteer programs across the country. Some programs are full-time, some part-time; some require a college degree, some don't; some programs are residential; some aren't; some AmeriCorps members wear uniforms; some wear dress pants. I'm not kidding you... AmeriCorps positions are about as diverse as jobs in Cleveland.
There are three main branches of AmeriCorps, which are going to be covered in more detail in articles to come: AmeriCorps*VISTA, AmeriCorps*NCCC, and AmeriCorps State & National.

• AmeriCorps*VISTA is the oldest of the three AmeriCorps branches. VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) was actually started in 1965, long before Clinton created the umbrella of AmeriCorps, as a part of the War on Poverty. AmeriCorps*VISTA positions focus specifically on poverty elimination and capacity-building, so while VISTA members work on important issues like education, food access, and housing, they are more likely to be doing the behind the scenes work than direct service. Also, the VISTA program strongly believes in AmeriCorps*VISTA members living at the level of other community member, so monthly living stipends are calculated to be just 5% above the poverty line.

• AmeriCorps*NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) is the smallest of the programs. Of the 75,000 members serving in AmeriCorps, less than 1,000 are AmeriCorps*NCCC. NCCC members serve and live in teams and are based on five campuses across the country: Sacramento, CA, Denver, CO, Perry Point, MD, Vinton, IA, and Vicksburg, MS. Instead of serving in one place for a year, AmeriCorps*NCCC members travel around and do a variety of short-term projects in the areas of education, unmet human needs, disaster relief, environment, and public safety.

• AmeriCorps State & National is by far the biggest of the AmeriCorps programs. Through AmeriCorps State & National, umbrella organizations like City Year, Habitat for Humanity, and Teach for America are funded to host their own AmeriCorps members in projects that they manage across the country in a variety of issues areas. Also, through AmeriCorps State & National, individual states receive funding for their own state AmeriCorps programs like Colorado Conservation Corps and Scholars in Service to Pennsylvania.

Like I said, all three of the main branches of AmeriCorps programs will get more detailed attention in upcoming posts. For now, I hope that things are getting a little clearer.

Before we go, let's note that the thing that we are talking about is AmeriCorps. You saw it right... that's a capital "C" in the middle of a word. Weird, I know, but important to spell it right before you start an application. Also, the end of the word is pronounced "core" like an apple and not "corpse" like a dead person. Got it? Good... we are heading in the right direction.

Demystifying the A: AmeriCorps*NCCC

by Meghan Oakley

categories: AmeriCorpsNCCC, Program Fit, Program Overview

Published May 11, 2009 @ 10:01AM PT

AmeriCorps*NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) is the smallest, and probably most unique, of the three branches of AmeriCorps. It's participants represent less than 2% of all AmeriCorps members serving at any given time. AmeriCorps*NCCC members are placed on one of five campuses, Sacramento, CA, Denver, CO, Perry Point, MD, Vinton, IA, and Vicksburg, MS, and serve through short-term projects in the areas of education, unmet human needs, environment, public safety, and increasingly, disaster relief and recovery.

These are just a few ways that AmeriCorps*NCCC is unique from other AmeriCorps programs:

• AmeriCorps*NCCC is specifically for 18 to 24-year-olds. Team Leaders can be of any age over 18, but Members must be 18 on or before their first day of service and 24 on their first day of service.
• AmeriCorps*NCCC Members travel and serve in teams of 8-10 people. As opposed to serving as the only AmeriCorps member at a nonprofit for a year, AmeriCorps*NCCC Members serve together and work on 3-4 large projects over the course of 10 months. It can be intense. Remember: You are serving together, traveling together, eating together, and sleeping together.
• While serving with AmeriCorps*NCCC, you don't get to choose. You don't choose the campus you serve on, you on don't get to choose your teammates, and you don't get to choose your projects. Despite this, AmeriCorps*NCCC Project Directors work to ensure the most diversity of project location and focus areas to ensure that Members have a well-rounded experience.
• Because it is a descendant of the Civilian Conversation Corps of the 1930s, AmeriCorps*NCCC does have some pseudo-military aspects. When working on a project, all NCCC members wear a uniform of khaki or black BDUs (Battle Dress Uniform) and a gray AmeriCorps*NCCC shirt. Also, since many of the projects are physical in nature, Members are required to participate in mandatory Physical Training (PT). And yes, there are a lot of other acronyms.

So I know what you are thinking... what sort of crazy nut joins this sort of program? Well, someone like me.

In 2004, I joined AmeriCorps*NCCC and was assigned to the Sacramento campus. I was assigned to a team of ten. After four weeks of training (Red Cross, diversity, conflict resolution) in a room with no windows, my team and I were sent off on our first project to do environmental work outside of Portland, Oregon. We went on to three more main projects during our 10-month stint: Preparing income tax returns for low-income families in a community center in Sacramento; Removing non-native invasive plant species (a fancy word for weeds!) and building for Habitat for Humanity in Maui, Hawaii; and finally, tutoring youth at a literacy program in Green River, Utah.

As with everything in life, there were parts I loved (weekends in Maui!) and parts that I hated (weeds!), as well as days that I wanted to last forever and days that I wanted to quit. In the end, the most important thing for me was that I got to see parts of our country that I never would have seen on my own, and done things that I would never have done on my own. Plus, I got to wear cool khaki pants.

Some things have changed since I served as an NCCC Member. Only one month after the end of my term of service, Hurricane Katrina hit and the country called on the 800 disaster-response-certified AmeriCorps*NCCC Members to serve in the Gulf Coast. Now, almost 4 years later, each AmeriCorps*NCCC spends at least one stint in the Gulf Coast, working with organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Hands On Gulf Coast, and others to continue recovery efforts.

Other than the probability that you will spend a few weeks volunteering in hurricane-affected areas, there aren't very many other predictable aspects to serving as an AmeriCorps*NCCC Member. However, if you fit the age criteria and are game for anything (including Real-World-like-drama)... this is the program for you.

Demystifying the A: AmeriCorps*VISTA

by Meghan Oakley

categories: AmeriCorpsVISTA, Program Fit, Program Overview

Published May 11, 2009 @ 09:59AM PT

AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) is the oldest of the AmeriCorps programs. It was started as a part of the War on Poverty in 1965. Over 40 years later, AmeriCorps*VISTA members are still fighting that war in projects that focus on mentoring youth, fighting homelessness, ensuring successful reentry of the incarcerated, and other issues that relate directly to poverty in nonprofits and community organizations across the country.

Other than its 40-year legacy, there are a few other things that set AmeriCorps*VISTA apart from other AmeriCorps programs, and it's a good thing to know these things before you dive into an application or just some preliminary research on vista.gov:

• AmeriCorps*VISTA positions focus on capacity-building and sustainability, so most positions focus on developing and sustaining programming, grantwriting, training and technical assistance, and other "behind the scenes" work. Direct service is actually prohibited by the AmeriCorps*VISTA program, so don't expect to spend your time directly mentoring youth or building nature trails.
• AmeriCorps*VISTA strongly values the concept that VISTA members are most effective when living within the community that they are serving. As a result, the living stipend is only 5% above the poverty line. If you think of the stipend as a salary (which you probably shouldn't do), this is the lowest-paying of all AmeriCorps programs.
• AmeriCorps*VISTA members commit to being available to serve "24 hours a day, 7 days a week." There is no magic number of serve hours that you need to complete your term. Your term of service is one year, whether you work 40-hour weeks or 65-hour week.
• With this in mind, there are a few other things that "rule" your non-working hours... AmeriCorps*VISTA members can't be full- or part-time students and they can't have any other form of income (nope, not even babysitting). This all relates to the idea of living among the community that you are serving and being available for service 24/7.

There are about 6,500 AmeriCorps*VISTA placements at nonprofits, local government, and colleges and universities, at any one time. While the foundation of the program is eliminating poverty, projects have a variety of foci, including education, environment, health, housing, and community development.

If you are ready to commit a full year to serving your community, and don't mind giving up school, other jobs, and daily trips to Starbucks.... AmeriCorps*VISTA might be for you. To search current openings, go to www.vista.gov.

Demistifying the A: AmeriCorps State & National

by Meghan Oakley

categories: AmeriCorps State & National, Program Fit, Program Overview, Tips for Applicants

Published May 22, 2009 @ 01:07PM PT

Okay... so this is the last in a series of articles about the three main branches of AmeriCorps: AmeriCorps*VISTA, AmeriCorps*NCCC, and AmeriCorps State & National. And I have definitely saved the biggest for last.

AmeriCorps State & National refers to all the programs--managed by national organizations or even small non-profits--that receive funding either a). directly from the national AmeriCorps program or b). through State Commissions. Since these programs are about as diverse as the country that they serve, I'm going to try to give you an idea of the general categories that these programs fit into:

AmeriCorps National Direct: These are programs funded directly from the national AmeriCorps program, and are sometimes referred to as "regular" AmeriCorps. Organizations that receive and implement National Direct grants include City Year, Public Allies, and Teach for America.

State Programs: Some AmeriCorps State & National funding is administered directly by states for state-specific programs like RurAL CAP in Alaska or the Florida State Parks AmeriCorps.

Education Award Only Programs: There are two main types of "Ed Award Only" programs. The first type is one in which AmeriCorps provides the Education Awardand the sponsoring organization pays for all the other benefits like the Youth Service Opportunities AmeriCorps Fellows Program. The second type of "Ed Award Only" programs is where you volunteer a certain number of hours, usually between 450 and 900, and receive a part-education award. This positions are part-time, and most commonly found on college campuses, like Scholars in Service to Pennsylvania.

Confused yet? I think that the easiest way to find the program for you is to use the advanced search function at www.americorps.org. It breaks it down by the three main branches of AmeriCorps and gives specifics on position responsibilities, benefits, and dates of service.

Tune In: National Conference on Volunteering and Service

by Katie Dantsin

categories: AmeriCorps in the News, AmeriCorps State & National, AmeriCorpsNCCC, AmeriCorpsVISTA, Program Overview, Stories of Service, Tips for Alum, Tips for Applicants

Published June 25, 2009 @ 04:56PM PT

If you didn't make it out to this year's National Conference on Volunteering and Service in San Francisco, here's your chance to check it out from your own computer. This conference is the world's largest gathering of volunteer and service leaders from the nonprofit, government, and corporate sectors. AmeriCorps members and alums are abundant at this event.

The Conference has plugged into several web resources, so everyone can find out what's going on.  Check it out:

Streaming of some conference proceedings and Blog are at [Business Boomer]

Videos from the opening session and located on YouTube

Recording from the conference session will be posted on the conference webpage