Monday, August 14, 2017

Tamara Jordan


We continue to share stories of the work our 2016 AmeriCorps Alums award winners have done and continue to do in their communities. 

Our annual National Service Alums awards honor and celebrate people from all national service programs, including AmeriCorps State and National programs, AmeriCorps VISTA programs, National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), and SeniorCorps. Each year, we take your submissions and award winners who are then honored at the Serve Illinois Opening Day program in our state capital, Springfield, IL.

This interview is with AmeriCorps Alums Tamara Jordan.

1. Why did you choose to serve?  Tell me more about the program you were with and your year of service.
I heard about AmeriCorps through a friend. I choose to serve because I was able to work with veterans, a group that care about so much mainly because I am a veteran and I realize the needs of the community.

2.  What are you doing now?
I currently serve as Senator Durbin’s Veteran/Military liaison for the Chicago office. I also handle issues that fall under the Department of Education, Housing and certain immigration issues. I am the middle man between the constituent and the federal agency.

3.  How has your service experience changed your worldview?
My service has made me appreciate the world a lot more and be grateful for what I have. I worked with an underserved population and it made it easy to put my blessings in perspective.

4.  Out of all your experiences with AmeriCorps, what was your proudest moment?
Running the food pantry at the VA and being able to serve hundreds of veterans every week.

5.  What is an invaluable lesson you learned in your service?
Be thankful for what you have because you never know when you can lose it all. I have learned to be humble and treat others with respect because I would want the same. I have learned that helping others is one of the most invaluable feelings in the world.

6.  What is one thing you wish more people knew about AmeriCorps or the program you served with?

AmeriCorps is a great way to transition between college and work. Although the pay is very difficult to live off of, it is a wonderful way to learn about adapting in the work place. AmeriCorps members are also highly respected amongst the workplace because of the skill sets they bring to the table.

Thursday, June 8, 2017

Bevin Callan, AmeriCorps Alum of NCCC



We continue to share stories of the work our 2016 AmeriCorps Alums award winners have done and continue to do in their communities.  
Our annual National Service Alums awards honor and celebrate one person from each major stream of national service, including AmeriCorps State and National programs, AmeriCorps VISTA programs, National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), and SeniorCorps programs. Each year, we take your submissions and choose one award winner from each program who are then honored at the Serve Illinois Opening Day program in our state capital, Springfield, IL.
This interview is with Bevin Callan, AmeriCorps Alum of NCCC.

Why did you choose to serve?
I chose to serve as I was finishing up my senior year of college. I knew I wanted to go to grad school, but wanted to take a year or two off first to give back. I was looking into the Peace Corps when a professor of mine told me about AmeriCorps and the opportunity to give back to my own country. 

I applied to a couple different programs and was accepted to the NCCC Southeast campus. This was in 2003 when the campus was still in Charleston, SC. My Corps Member year we had zero natural disasters, so my team focused on environmental projects. We were the only fire team at our campus that year and got to participate in a prescribed burn of 180 acres to restore a longleaf pine forest. In addition to three environmental projects, my team tutored at Mary Ford Elementary School, helping them prepare for end of year exams, and we supported the Child Life Department of the Arkansas Children's Hospital. I loved my experience so much that I came back the following year to be a Support Team Leader where I had the opportunity to assist the Unit Leader with identifying projects for the 7 teams in my unit, managing their paperwork, and visiting their project sites. Best job I ever had!!
What are you doing now?
I have spent the last ten years since completing my AmeriCorps experience working for various nonprofit associations and foundations in Chicago. I am also part of the leadership team for the AmeriCorps Alums Chicago chapter, started in 2010. The last couple months I decided to leave full time employment to focus on a dream of mine, writing children's books.
How has your service experience changed your worldview?
My AmeriCorps experience opened my eyes to the inequality that exists in our country and awakened the desire in me to do something about it.

Out of all your experiences with AmeriCorps, what was your proudest moment?

That's tough. Hurricane Ivan hit at the start of my second year, and we went from a campus with no disaster projects to a campus of 90% disaster projects. It was a HUGE adjustment that lead to forming relationships with the Red Cross, FEMA, and several other agencies. The following year Katrina hit and our campus had teams leading the way in helping affected communities (I was out at this point, but did return to help train team leaders for disaster projects). Disasters have continued in various parts of our country and the NCCC Southeast Region has become the disaster relief campus, even moving locations to Mississippi so they are more centrally located in the region. Then FEMA Corps was created based on the NCCC Southeast campus disaster recovery program. This makes me proud, to have been a part of something that so positively impacts our country in our moments of greatest need.
What is an invaluable lesson you learned in your service?

I learned many valuable lessons. My AmeriCorps experience completely changed who I am today. The lesson that I am currently applying to my life is money management. When I was in NCCC our bi-weekly living allowance was $150. I learned to be a minimalist and to save money even when starting with very little. This lesson has allowed me to save and prepare to take my current sabbatical to focus on writing my book.
What is one thing you wish more people knew about AmeriCorps or the program you served with?


I wish more people just knew about AmeriCorps in general. Every time I talk to someone about my experience I hear, "I wish I had known about AmeriCorps when I was out of HS/college", "Would you be willing to talk to my kid/niece/nephew about AmeriCorps", or "Could you send me information on that?" Our 1 millionth AmeriCorps member signed up this year and our advertising is strictly by word of mouth. If we could promote AmeriCorps, just a little bit, we would drastically increase the numbers of participants.

Monday, March 6, 2017

March 2017

We live in a challenging time. A time where it can be difficult to find stories about the amazing good that people still accomplish every single day. Because of this, we will be sharing stories of the work our 2016 National Service Alums award winners have done and continue to do.

Our annual National Service Alums awards honor and celebrate one person from each major stream of national service, including AmeriCorps State and National programs, AmeriCorps VISTA programs, National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), and SeniorCorps programs. Each year, we take your submissions and choose one award winner who is then honored at the Serve Illinois Opening Day program in our state capital, Springfield IL.

First up is our interview with Samoane Williams, Program Manager for First Defense Legal Aid. Samoane is an alum of AmeriCorps VISTA, where she served with the same organization. First Defense provides free, 24-hour legal representation to people in Chicago Police custody and educates Chicagoans about how to protect their constitutional rights. Their work strives to promote fairness and accountability in the justice system. Only 1% of arrestees had a lawyer present while in Chicago police custody in 2013, the year before Samoane’s service term, which is why her work was and continues to be so important.

Why did you choose to serve with AmeriCorps? 1) I chose to serve with First Defense Legal Aid (FDLA) because I really believe in the program's work and mission. I was a VISTA Attorney with FDLA'S hotline program in 2014. FDLA's hotline program provides free legal representation for people under investigation by the Chicago Police Department. The hotline was staffed by only three attorneys and heavily depended on volunteers to help provide this service. I was responsible for recruiting a network of volunteer attorneys and law students to help operate the hotline. My year of service was extraordinary. I had the opportunity to be a leader in the organization. I will always cherish that experience.

What are you doing now? 2) I stayed with FDLA after my year of service. My supervisor created a position for me to stay. In 2015, I was hired as a full-time staff attorney and program administrator of the hotline program. I am now the Program Manager of the entire organization. I manage the hotline program and street law program of the organization.

How has your service changed your worldview? 3) My service experience exposed me to the potential horrors of not knowing constitutional rights or how to exercise them. I realized how criminal justice does not guarantee actual justice.

What is something you are especially proud of accomplishing as an AmeriCorps VISTA? 4) My proudest moment as a VISTA was helping the organization's annual fundraiser be a success. I helped to organize the venue, prepare to honor our guests, and raise funds.

What is something you learned during your term of service? 5) I learned that doing valuable work is more important to me than making as much money as possible.

What is something you wish more people knew about AmeriCorps service? 6) I wish more people knew about the great opportunities that can arise from working with the organizations with VISTA programs.

Interested in learning more about First Defense Legal Aid? Check out their website: https://www.first-defense.org/ . Interested in sharing your AmeriCorps or volunteer story? Contact us at americorpsalumschicago@gmail.com.

Sarah Hertsted, Chapter President AmeriCorps Alums Chicago