AmeriCorps week Spotlight - Becca Constantine!

As part of AmeriCorps Week 2012, each day we’ll be spotlighting a service member or alum across the state! Today’s spotlight is on Becca Constantine!

Becca is the Connecticut Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA member in Fairfield University's Office of Service Learning. “I have the immense privilege of working with our amazingly dedicated and talented students to build meaningful partnerships with schools and other organizations in the greater Bridgeport community.” Becca says a highlight of her year has been helping develop a service-learning program that pairs service-learning students in English and Education classes with 1^st and 2^nd grade students at Cesar Batalla Elementary in Bridgeport. “The smiles on the children's faces after sharing a book with a Fairfield U. student are priceless!” she says.

Becca Also served in AmeriCorps NCCC in 2010 as a Corps member and Team Leader in the Atlantic Region, serving in Maryland, Tennessee, Massachusetts, and Louisiana on environmental and disaster response & recovery projects, and shared this story with is - “One day, we were gutting two houses along a residential street in a quiet suburb. After spending hours pulling soggy insulation from under a very nice gentleman's floorboards, I went to check on how my other team members had spent their day. They had just finished their work and were gathered in the driveway chatting with the homeowner. When I approached, he turned to me and smiled broadly. He explained that he had started the day filled with skepticism, wondering how four young women (all were between 18 and 24) could possibly have the strength and tenacity to clean out his house in the wake of a life-upending disaster. They did, though, and had left his day and his world a bit brighter. "These girls," he announced, "are my heroes." He gave them each a big hug before we moved on to our next houses."

Becca has also coached swim teams, volunteered at an orphanage in Ghana and plans on pursuing a Master's degree in Education Policy and Leadership after her service year. “I hope to use the knowledge I gain during my studies to address issues of diversity in higher education enrollment and retention and to work toward the implementation of best-practice models for helping students from disadvantaged backgrounds succeed on college campuses."

Thanks for all you do Becca!! Great stuff!

Spotlight - Chad Davis

As part of AmeriCorps Week 2012, each day we’ll be spotlighting a service member or alum across the state! Today’s spotlight is on Chad Davis.

Chad served in a program in Meriden called CitySERVE! AmeriCorps for two separated years. One year he spent as a mentor to students in third grade at a local elementary school, tutoring students alongside teachers and a reading specialist. His second year he worked as an assistant to residential counselor at the Curtis Home.

"I was looking to get work experience and support to begin graduate school in teaching and the program caught my attention." Chad had also done the Peace Corps for two years and wanted a domestic program that resembled it.

Chad says he was able to gain confidence working with children and worked 60-hour weeks in order to fulfill his service agreement and earn the stipend. "I completed my hours and my group had a farewell party with a cake shaped liked Africa." Currently Chad is finishing a Teacher Certification in Special Education.

Thanks Chad - best of luck in the future!

AmeriCorps Week 2012 Spotlight on Jessica Callahan!

As part of AmeriCorps Week 2012, each day we’ll be spotlighting a service member or alum across the state! Today’s spotlight is on Jessica Callahan.

Jessica worked at Northwestern CT Area Health Education Center and helped to coordinate after school programs for disadvantaged youth in the Waterbury, CT. She utilized service learning to engage High School students through trainings and volunteer placements with local health care resources in the community. She decided to join AmeriCorps to help solidify her goals for the future, contribute positively to her community, and engage with her peers.

“One of my biggest accomplishments while serving was learning how to focus on myself and my dreams while helping others.” She says, using these skills after service on her way to obtaining a Bachelor's Degree in Urban and Community Studies at UConn. “I wouldn't have been as driven as I am now if it weren't for the constant motivation of my peers, and for the incredible feeling I had after completing our team service project, which was a community resource fair in Hartford, CT. Seeing the fruits of our labor was an incredible adrenaline rush, and made me want more!”

She continues to get things done through her job at a girls residential program near her hometown, by focusing on studies in order to graduate from college, and working on a model for a non-profit/community resource that she hopes to launch after graduation. “I am always talking to others about outreach, advocacy, and service learning and the impact it can have on their own community.”

Thanks for all you do Jessica, and have a great AmeriCorps week!

AmeriCorps Week gets kicked off with Service Project in Bridgeport!

AmeriCorps Week 2012 started today and CT Alums along with some Public Allies and friends and family all joined together to get things done!

Some quantifiables:

- 16 Garden beds prepped for spring planting at the Michelle Obama Community garden
- 15 garbage bags of leaves and such raked and cleared
- 1,500 books organized, sorted, labeled and arranged for community book sale

Don't forget, for all the latest info, service events and feedback join us on Facebook HERE, on Twitter HERE or email us AmeriCorpsAlumsCT @ Gmail.com

AmeriCorps Week Service 2012!

Hey CT Alums, it's time to mark your calendars!

With AmeriCorps Week just around the corner (March 10th-18th) AmeriCorps Alums Connecticut is planning a full week of service, advocacy, networking and socializing across the state.

Saturday, March 10th from 9am-1pm we're kicking it off with a service project at the Bridgeport Public Library to help prep for an upcoming book fair and their new community garden.

Wednesday, March 14th around lunch time we'll be in Downtown New Haven doing advocacy and helping to get the word out about why AmeriCorps is so important to our country and communities.

Friday, March 16th - there will be a Professional Networking session in New Haven. AmeriCorps Alums CT will be visiting Public Allies Connecticut for their "Continuous Learning Friday" which will focus on Life After AmeriCorps. The leadership team will offer advice on how to utilize the knowledge and skills.

Also Friday at 7pm we'll be in Hartford at the XL Center to socialize and have some fun watching a minor league hockey game between the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and the CT Whale.

Be one of the first to post an "AmeriCorps Works" photo to our group Facebook page and you'll win free tickets to the game! Just print out the picture above that says "AmeriCorps Works" and take a photo of you at your place of work - showing the world that AmeriCorps Works!

Otherwise tickets are available until 3/10 by calling John Reis at 860-728-3366 x37 and telling him you're a CT AmeriCorps Alum!

The theme this year, "AmeriCorps Works", communicates the value and effectiveness of AmeriCorps while providing flexibility to be used in many different contexts. It provides an overarching framework to communicate AmeriCorps triple bottom line return on investment -- for the recipients of service, the people who serve, and the larger community and nation.