AmeriCorps members are never alone!

Last year, to be honest, AmeriCorps week totally passed me by. Unlike the AmeriCorps members who serve with an Emergency Response Team or with a whole staff of AmeriCorps Vistas, I am the only (but not lonely) AmeriCorps member here at Operation Food Search. Not only that, but serving under the National Direct program, my role is to engage in direct service. That means my daily grind is pretty much identical to that of my non-AmeriCorps coworkers, and sometimes it’s easy to forget that I’m an AmeriCorps member at all! That is, until I meet another AmeriCorps member or alumnus/a.

And that, it turns out, happens a lot when you work in the non-profit and charity sector. As a Cooking Matters coordinator, I’ve worked with over 30 different agencies, all of which seek in one way or another to provide opportunities and improve conditions for low-income individuals and families. That means I’ve gotten to work with lots of wonderful, caring individuals, many of whom – coincidence? – are or have been AmeriCorps members!

Fallon and me getting things done for America!

At some organizations, the AmeriCorps connection is impossible to miss. You can’t turn your head at St. Louis YouthBuild without seeing the trademarked AmeriCorps “A.” I have had so much fun working with and getting to know the AmeriCorps members at YouthBuild, Fallon and Sean, and all the men and women working to build their careers there.

Other AmeriCorps members and alumni/ae don’t wear their membership on their sleeves (literally or figuratively), but once you get to know them, you can completely see that the value of service is intrinsic to their very existence. Emily Mess, Vocational Rehab Coordinator at Great Circle, and Stephanie Co, Healthy Communities Coordinator at Beyond Housing, have been inspirational to me. Both served as AmeriCorps members and now continue to serve their communities by providing programming and resources to people and communities in need. Working with these two women on Cooking Matters classes and other projects has opened my eyes to the great things AmeriCorps alumni/ae can accomplish.

Food-budgeting activity at YouthBuild. Photo: Sean Madden

These current and former AmeriCorps members and others (including Gateway Greening Vistas, my fellow Cooking Matters AmeriCorps members across the country, and of course OFS Nutrition Education Manager, Mariella Funk) make me optimistic for my community and my country as a whole. There’s a vast network of hard-working and kindhearted people out there, actively “getting things done for America.” I may be the only AmeriCorps member here at Operation Food Search, but I’m definitely not alone. Start asking people you meet about AmeriCorps, and you’ll find that members and former members are anywhere and everywhere that you will find people helping people.