Beginning a Career in Service

This blog post is in honor of the forthcoming National Volunteer Week (April 21 - 27, 2013).

By Brittany Hutson, NeighborWorks
America Public Relations fellow

Today’s generation of college graduates and young professionals aspire to have a meaningful career that allows for connecting and giving back to communities in authentic and meaningful ways. There are a number of programs that allow for new professionals and career changers to explore what a career in service is all about. One of those programs is AmeriCorps VISTA, a national service program that fights poverty by placing members in yearly positions with nonprofit organizations to work on tasks such as fighting illiteracy, improving health services, strengthen community groups, and much more. The following testimonials are from four VISTA members who describe their experiences of working in local communities through a NeighborWorks affiliate:

Stories have been edited for length

Angela supporting NKCDC and the Sustainable 19125 initiative

Angela Taurino (AmeriCorps VISTA Member 2011-2012 at New Kensington Community Development Corporation in Philadelphia, PA): Upon graduating from Arcadia University, I decided to change my career goal of becoming a teacher. Unfortunately, I didn’t know what that career would be. I decided to use VISTA as a way to pursue other interests.  New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC) offered a green community builder position that, while unrelated to my professional or educational background, coordinated with my interests.  [At NKCDC] I learned how to organize projects, manage volunteers, and create plans.  I coordinated with a team of professionals who were as dedicated to improving the community as I was.  My work with NKCDC has helped me refocus my career interests and goals.  Without building and maintaining partnerships with city entities, civic groups, and other non-profits, I wouldn’t know the many community building organizations available and the work that’s involved.  While the job market has been tough, I’m better able to choose organizations that are truly exciting and match my interests and skill sets.

The building behind is a foreclosed/condemned property in Silver Spring.
MHP launched Green Club as a way to engage youth and younger
generations to care for their community.

Jose Gonzalez (AmeriCorps VISTA Member 2011-2012 at Montgomery Housing Partners in Silver Spring, MD): In the fall of 2011, I decided that I had to serve and share with others my talents, capacities and leadership skills. My decision was influenced by the realization that neighborhoods in Silver Spring, MD were struggling from the housing crisis and economic turmoil. I chose to serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA member with Montgomery Housing Partnership’s Glenville Road Interdepartmental Team (GRIT Team). The Glenville Rd. community was plagued by unemployment, chronic vagrancy, foreclosures, property vandalism, drugs, littering and trashed streets and alleys. To address these issues, I worked with the GRIT Team to develop a core group of leaders who would develop initiatives to protect the community. Serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA member was a unique experience and opportunity because it reminded me how important and rewarding it is to form a community where individuals can connect and participate in addressing the major challenges they are facing.

Homeport community garden

Josiah Littrell (AmeriCorps VISTA Member 2012-2013 at Homeport in Columbus, OH): In the summer of 2012, I signed up to spend ten weeks as an AmeriCorps*VISTA Summer Associate to help grow and administer a community garden. I created guides on recycling, composting, and getting involved in the garden. I wrote bylaws. I watered plants. I weeded plants. I set up a blog, Facebook page, and Twitter account. Each night, I wondered if any of my efforts would make a difference. As the summer progressed, slowly but surely, people started volunteering to help water and maintain the garden. Others started sharing ideas for parties in the garden and events we could have. With that, I realized that success was all the little things that happened along the way –it was the weeds that we pulled, the phone calls we made, and the pictures we posted. Success was working incrementally, sometimes painstakingly so, in order to be ready for that key moment when the right people were in the right place at the right time.

Alexandria at work, organized with Post-ITs

Alexandria Ingley (AmeriCorps VISTA Member 2011-2012 at Homeport in Columbus, OH): Upon graduation from college, I knew two things:  I wanted to stay in Columbus and I wanted to work within the nonprofit field. I discovered an AmeriCorps VISTA position available with Homeport. During my term, I refined my professional skills through community engagement, community event planning and grant writing. Beyond my professional development, I have learned with and from those who stand in the face of struggle, always resilient in their support of the neighborhoods they call home and the vision of a community that will return to its once beautiful and thriving rhythm. Society has often measured success by wealth or a higher social position. For communities working to stabilize, however, success may look like months with less gang activity, a grant to help purchase home repair supplies or a community picnic where people gather and share in each other’s lives.

Have you served as a VISTA member or participated in another service program? Tell us about your experience below or contact us via Facebook or Twitter.

5000 Starbucks Volunteers Help Fifth Ward CRC Make a Better Houston

By Gary Wolfe
District Director, Rocky Mountain Region

How do neighborhoods go from declining to improving? Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation (Fifth Ward CRC) has used partnerships to help turn around Houston’s Fifth Ward.  Most recently, Fifth Ward CRC partnered with Starbucks, during their Global Leadership Conference in Houston, to make a positive difference in the lives of the Fifth Ward residents.

Starbucks "Team Blue" built a playground

In early October, more than 5,000 Starbucks employees volunteered with community members to make a tangible impact.  Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said to KHOU 11 News “When I walked through the Fifth Ward and saw the conditions of the houses and really the people in need, I just thought this is where we need to be.”

In the Fifth Ward, the day began when the thousands of Starbucks volunteers took a bus from their downtown hotels to staging grounds at local churches. There, they ate lunch, learned about the Fifth Ward neighborhood and grabbed the tools they needed to paint homes, install pocket parks and community gardens, clean up vacant lots, put up community artwork and the like. Fifth Ward CRC projects focused on the Lyon’s Avenue Corridor, a 22 block area which encompasses the community’s “main street” and comprised of residential, commercial and public spaces with a unique blend of historical markers reflective of the community’s native sons and daughters. 

In total, more than 9,000 Starbucks employees who attended the Global Leadership Conference participated in volunteer projects across Houston. On average, the Starbucks employees volunteered between four and six hours at each project for an impressive total of more than 42,000 hours of community service over the three days of the conference.

Lyons Avenue Renaissance sign with
numerous partners listed

For the Lyon’s Avenue Corridor area, the volunteering was just one piece of the ongoing revitalization work. Fifth Ward CRC is committed to a complete community renaissance, which will include not only great homes and clean streets, but also new jobs and opportunities. Michael Emerson, Chairman of the Fifth Ward CDC told KHOU 11, “This is an image for us of what Fifth Ward is going to be,” said “We’re creating an economically diverse, ethnically diverse, economically strong, new neighborhood here in Houston.” Fifth Ward CRC has formed partnerships not only with Starbucks, but also with the City of Houston, Rice University, University of Houston and the American Regional Institute of Architects to change the landscape and future of Fifth Ward. With the help of collaborations like these, Fifth Ward CRC can return to being a “neighborhood of choice.” 

To learn more about the Starbucks-Fifth Ward partnership, view this news video or click here to see more photos.

Making a Difference with NeighborWorks Week 2012

By Eileen Fitzgerald
Chief Executive Officer
NeighborWorks America

Every year NeighborWorks Week gives us an opportunity to step outside our normal routines, roll up our sleeves and connect with the people and places we work so hard to support. This year, NeighborWorks Week will take place June 2-9, and I am pleased to say that we have over 160 events planned thanks to the dedication of NeighborWorks network organizations across the country, and support from NeighborWorks America staff.

By volunteering this week, and throughout the year, we put our words into action and learn what’s working, and what challenges remain for local communities. These efforts enrich our work while providing much needed support and partnership to the communities we serve.

In FY2011, the NeighborWorks network generated 240,000 volunteer hours through the Community Building and Organizing program. This NeighborWorks Week I’ve invited all DC staff to a volunteer opportunity in Montgomery Housing Partnership in Silver Spring. We’ll be planting flowers, mulching playgrounds, painting and picking up trash around the property.

I hope that you, wherever you are, can volunteer at one of our many local NeighborWorks Week events, and that you will share your experiences and photos with us via Facebook and Twitter (#NWW2012).

To learn which events are near you, visit http://events.nw5.org/. You can also see pictures from last year’s events in our Flickr album.

September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance

[Can't see the video above? View it on YouTube: http://bit.ly/qpn6np]

Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. It is a day forever embedded in the heart of this nation, not only because of the senseless loss of life, but also because of the spirit of unity and compassion that swept our nation that day and the months that followed.

More than 1 million people are expected to participate in the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance, an effort originally launched in 2002 by family members who lost loved ones in the attacks and support groups, led by the nonprofit organization MyGoodDeed. In 2009, Congress designated September 11 as a national day of service and charged the Corporation for National and Community Service with supporting this effort across the country.

At NeighborWorks America we firmly believe in the value and impact of volunteer engagement. In 2010, our Community Building and Organizing Programs generated 322,000 volunteer hours, building stronger, vibrant and more connected communities. We know the difference ordinary people working together can make in the lives of individuals and entire communities. That is why we are encouraging you to participate in this year’s National Day of Service and Remembrance.

There are so many ways to get involved, ranging from performing a simple act of kindness to helping with home repairs, neighborhood cleanups and disaster relief activities. Visit serve.gov to learn how you can help, or check your local NeighborWorks organization to see if any volunteer events are planned.