It's AmeriCorps Week!

Speaker 1 00:00:16 Hi, just a bite podcast listeners and welcome to our AmeriCorps week edition of the podcast. If you're a regular listener of our podcast, you've probably heard us talk about national service before we did an episode with a former member of ours and DOE last year, before she left for a paid position in the nonprofit field. So we're excited this week because we have a special edition bringing you some thoughts from our AmeriCorps members in the field and from our AmeriCorps S experts in the office who also happened to both be alumni of national service themselves. AmeriCorps week is really a chance to recognize the commitment of 1.2 million people who have already served through AmeriCorps and millions, more serving through AmeriCorps seniors, as well as talk about the accomplishments and hard work of the 250,000 Americans engaged currently in national service. And right here at the association, we have over a hundred year round and summer members through our AmeriCorps Vista initiatives. Um, so I'm really excited to have with me today, a couple of my colleagues from the office to talk more about our wonderful AmeriCorps programs and members Speaker 1 00:01:37 I am particularly fond of AmeriCorps and national service because I participated in national service myself right out of undergrad. In 2009, I was graduating during the great recession and looking for a way to start my career, figure out if non-profit and health and human services was the place for me and give back at a time where I felt like a lot of people were struggling and facing hardship and AmeriCorps really launched the rest of my career, my passion, um, and helped me learn a lot about our sector and, and how to lead with passion and also with experience from in the field. So I could go on and on about my own love for AmeriCorps Vista, but I am super happy to have here with us. Um, my colleagues who work on our community services team, I'm going to have them talk about their own experiences with national service, their careers, and tell you a little bit about themselves. So we'll start with our director of community services, hyper Speaker 2 00:02:40 Podcast listeners. This is Maureen Allen. Um, I'm the director of community services for our AmeriCorps Vista program here. I'm originally from Toledo, which is where I went to college and very similar story to jewelry's graduated in 2009 height of the recession. Wasn't really sure what I was gonna do with my history degree. Um, but right place, right time, a regular at a restaurant that I was a server at, um, was an AmeriCorps member and told me about a spot open at the Toledo food bank. And then I should check out. And so I'd never heard of AmeriCorps. Um, so I did my research and, um, thought it seemed like a good kind of placeholder until I figured out what I wanted to do, um, and get some good professional experience. So I applied was accepted, um, really enjoyed my year of service and just the general professional development and skills that I gained. Speaker 2 00:03:29 Um, and I was approached to do a second year as a Vista leader, which is a second year member, um, which would require me to move to Columbus. And so that's how I found myself here. Uh, very quickly relocated really loved that role because I really like sharing my experience and expertise in what I gained in my first year with the vistas that were in year one, that I was helping with their their year and just making sure that they had a great experience and, and all the things I wanted out of my year. And so after that, um, the coordinator for the program here was taking another job. So, um, they asked me if I wanted to interview for that and take that position. And so I ended up becoming staff here at the association and, um, getting to mentor, uh, new vistas every year. Speaker 2 00:04:13 And it was really just, again, felt very right place, right time meeting this regular at the restaurant that I worked at and then the coordinator leaving, um, and being able to take her role. So, um, eventually I got to become director of AmeriCorps Vista program. And so I've really been in every facet of the Vista levels, you know, Vista Vista leader, coordinator, director. Um, and it's been really, um, helpful to me and, you know, my role to have been in all those different positions and know what this team members are going through and how to help them have a successful year. So, um, that's a little bit of my backstory, but I'm going to turn it over to the other person on our team. Uh, Carrie Dennis. All right. Speaker 3 00:04:52 Um, I am Carrie Dennis, I'm the national service program coordinator here at the Ohio association of food banks. Um, so yeah, I feel like I just really agree with, um, majority and Marine. Um, Vista really has defined my career path in a lot of ways. Um, I graduated in 2018 from OSU and I had studied Spanish and I did want to use that. And so I originally was substitute teaching in the schools to figure out if I wanted to go into that field, but I ultimately decided I didn't really want to go in that direction. And so what I ended up thinking about was the nonprofit world. And I was kind of like, well, how do I get started there? How do I get my foot in the door? Um, you know, typically you're going through job listings and it's like one to three years of experience required. Speaker 3 00:05:38 And I wasn't really sure what to do with that. Um, but then I ended up hearing about an AmeriCorps Vista position that was open at the Worthington resource pantry here in Columbus. And I, um, was curious about it. And I talked with a friend about it, um, met with the operations coordinator there at the pantry, and it just learned more about it. And I was kind of hesitant at first, but I, um, was thinking maybe this is the thing. This is the opportunity to get my foot in the door and really learn about the non-profit world. And so I ended up taking the position and it was a lot more definitive for my career than I ever really would have imagined. I remember going in and just having a lot of imposter syndrome, not a lot of confidence about my own skills and my own direction, but that year was really important for me to realize that I do have strengths to contribute. Speaker 3 00:06:32 And there's, there's really a lot more going on in my community than I was ever aware of. Um, and I think another thing I learned during that year was just the whole vision of food pantries. You know, just the fact that having a food pantry that offers fresh options produce and vegetables, um, you know, that is pivotal, that has huge implications for community health. And that was really exciting to me during my service year. So, um, once I finished up my service here, I was offered a job at another food pantry. Um, that was another thing about my service as a Vista member. It expanded my network. And so I met some new people and that's how I found out about this new position. And so, um, and that was also right when the pandemic had hit. And so essentially I saw this job change as an opportunity to, um, to go back and serve my community in a more direct way because Vista is an indirect service role. Speaker 3 00:07:30 But, um, you know, I was kind of like, maybe I can go back and serve the community more directly. I'm in a unique position right now. I'm switching jobs as an exiting my service. And so I ended up running the operations for a little bit at NEAMAP food pantry, and that was a fun experience. Um, I was there for about six months and in that time we were able to develop our homebound delivery program. And that was also awesome experience because I was only able to really kind of head that up because of the experience I had gained in AmeriCorps. Um, I had seen how they'd done that and developed that program at Worthington, the wording tin pantry. And so I was able to apply that knowledge at NEAMAP. Um, so yeah, about six months in though I heard about this position's national service program coordinator at, um, the Ohio association of food banks and, you know, something I'd learned in my AmeriCorps Vista service year was that I really like writing and written communication is kind of an area that I thrive in. Speaker 3 00:08:27 And that's kind of what this role is. Um, a lot of brand communication, a lot of support for current Vista members. And so I was happy to apply for this role that was already kind of familiar with it too, because I had worked with the person that was in my position before me during my Vista year. Um, and I was also just really passionate about the AmeriCorps Vista program. I love the Vista program because it's a sustainable program. It's about building capacity for the longterm. Um, and the idea of communicating with, I know, um, as a result of my Vista service to other members that are currently going on that same journey is something that's really inspiring to me. So that's kind of where Speaker 1 00:09:07 No. Well, thank you both for sharing that you can hear that the three of us are super passionate ourselves about the impact of AmeriCorps programs and national service members on people experiencing poverty and the organizations that serve them. And, um, we're part of a really big family of people who feel really strongly about national service and not only the impact that it's had on us as individuals, but also on our communities. That's why we're celebrating AmeriCorps week and officially takes place this year from March 13th through the 19th. And we spend that week just talking up our awesome members and the impact that our programs have. And just to give you some historical context about the program itself Vista, which is our core program here at the association or volunteers in service to America was created all the way back in 1964. And it was specifically created to help communities combat poverty. Speaker 1 00:10:04 So it's very rooted national services, very rooted in addressing poverty and the systemic issues related to poverty. Then fast forward a few decades in 1993, the corporation for national and community service, which is now known just as AmeriCorps was formed as the federal agency that oversees not only Vista, but all of the other branches of national service that evolved over those decades. In 2016, we hit 1 million strong, meaning that 1 million Americans had passed through and served through national service programs, which is really amazing. You know, when I was becoming a member, um, you know, 13 years ago, I had never heard of a miracle before. I still feel like a lot of people say I've never heard of AmeriCorps, but I do think that we're growing in power, we're growing in stature. Um, we've saturated, uh, the world with our passion and, um, you know, we exist and are rooted in our communities and really rebuilding future leaders. Speaker 1 00:11:07 You hear Carrie talk about how her evolution. So Maureen and I are kind of old hat at this point, but we love to hear about how national services developing the future leaders of our sector. And then of course, really critically. And we can't go without mentioning that in the wake of the pandemic very early on national service was there and able to respond pretty quickly, um, in a way that was really impactful. So of course there were some national service responses that directly helped, um, pandemic related problems. There were, um, N triple C members that we may touch on today who were, um, doing immediate direct service and sort of disaster in public health responses. Um, and, and our congressional members invested a lot more resources in that response, acknowledging that national service is a really effective and exciting tool to address a lot of the problems that we see in our community. So let's talk a little bit more about national service here at the association. I'd love it, Maureen, if you could give us some more background and history of, um, our past projects and successes. Speaker 2 00:12:13 Yeah. So we started partnering with AmeriCorps Vista in 2006, um, on a brand new initiative that we were really excited to launch, um, called the Ohio benefit bank. It connected folks to tax credits and different public programs and kind of a one-stop shop online tool. And so the role that we saw Vista playing in this is to help, um, launch this network, um, throughout the state of Ohio to get different community organizations, churches, um, on board to become what we call the ODB sites. And so, um, the Vista members role was to really go out into the community, um, and engage in those partnerships as well as, um, train the volunteers or the staff at the agency to be able to use this tool with the clients that they were already serving, um, at that time. So folks that they were already, you know, comfortable with approaching, um, and really kind of do a, uh, a whole 360 view of their needs. Speaker 2 00:13:10 So, um, we started out with, I think just about six Vista members, um, deployed at a couple different spots in Ohio and throughout, I believe the seven year run of the whole initiative. Um, with the Vista partnership, we ended up expanding to have OPB presence and sites in all 80 of Ohio's counties. Um, over 1 million people were served through this initiative, um, $2 billion in benefits and tax credits returned to the community. And, um, again over about a 1,200 community locations throughout Ohio. So, um, that was the main star of our partnership with Vista, but we quickly learned what a huge asset it was to our network and our community. So we began partnering with a variety of different projects or really kind of a hodgepodge of projects at this point, because we've been around for so long. And, um, we are, uh, really well-versed in Vista resources. Speaker 2 00:14:06 What makes a good host site, what makes a good project. And so we've really partnered very closely with AmeriCorps, um, throughout the years on, um, becoming, you know, really strong stewards for them in the community and, and being able to, um, partner with those little mom and pop shops that might not be able to apply for federal resources otherwise. So, um, we've really evolved throughout the years. Um, always staying on the cutting edge of what's needed in the community, um, what this resources can do. Um, our other very large project was, uh, called pantry track. So pantry track really allowed, um, our network of agencies to modernize their operations, be able to see in real time how many people they were serving, um, throughout the, the, um, transition onto pantry track for our food bank network. Um, it ended up getting a hundred percent compliance reviews from our auditing agencies for having better record keeping systems. Speaker 2 00:15:03 So it eventually much like OPB became sustainable. As Carrie mentioned, that's really the beauty of this Vista, where it was no longer needed for Vista resources because they had trained the sites to be able to, you know, use this technology and implement it with their volunteers. And eventually the program was adopted by feeding America, um, on a national level. So, um, this has really helped launch these huge initiatives, both statewide and nationally through their efforts of being able to have folks dedicated to launching these, these large projects and having the time to really, um, do it well. Um, in 2009, we also added the addition of summer Vista, which has been an incredible partnership that we've, um, had every summer. Uh, most of our Vista members that serve in the summertime, it's just a June to August commitment, um, work at our summer food service, um, provider sites. Speaker 2 00:15:56 So the SFS P sites that provide those free or reduced price meals throughout the summer months, um, the kids normally get through the school. So these Vista members work to actually prepare the meals. A lot of these sites are essentially kind of camp lake, where they have different extracurricular activities, um, help prevent learning loss, keep the kids engaged throughout the summer in a safe and productive environment. So we have about 70 to 75 summer associates every year working at these sites, um, as well as initiatives like community gardens. Um, and, and that's really kind of food access and insecurity, uh, focus in our summer projects for such a short, um, portion of the year. And then, um, just recently, as droid mentioned in 2020, in response to the pandemic, we partnered with AmeriCorps and triple C, which is the national conservation civilian Corps. And they were really essential to the food banks that had those teams deployed during the pandemic months when the volunteers, um, were, were not coming in and obviously due to the pandemic. And so these dedicated teams of AmeriCorps members were filling in as reliable, consistent help for the food banks to not only have that volunteer support, but meet the, the growing need that the pandemic was having at the, um, distributions and things. So that's kind of been our history of AmeriCorps partnerships, and it's been really nice to have different branches and different different types of service and get to experience all of those and offer those resources to our network. Speaker 4 00:17:31 My name is Carl. This volunteer position has been a challenge and a privilege to serve as the mobile food pantry resource navigator with the community action committee of pike county. It has opened doors for us to be able to feed almost 300 households each month. This includes people ages one through 96. I believe the national service has allowed me to witness poverty up close and personal. It has allowed me to put names with faces and that they are just not a number on a form. We feed folks that are in extreme need for food. It has showed me how much a need there is in the Appalachian county of pike and how much our service does to help serve those in need. Speaker 1 00:18:30 So, Carrie, you just heard Carl talk about his perspective of the impact of his Vista position on the food insecure families, where he's serving in rural pike county. I wonder if you could share some more examples, especially given that you served at a food pantry yourself about how national service members support hunger, hunger relief organizations in particular. Speaker 3 00:18:54 Yeah. Um, I feel like there's, there's so many different projects that are happening like throughout Ohio, we partner with so many different kinds of organizations, um, whether they be food banks or community gardens, um, you know, and so it's hard to really capture all of those organizations. Um, but I think, you know, if I were to sum up, um, some of why Vista members would be doing collectively it's identifying needs that their organization might have, um, or their communities have, and then coming up with creative ways to leverage the resources that are there in the community, and then, um, essentially make sure that everybody gets served. So, you know, to do that, it looks very different depending on what the Vista project is. So some members might be volunteer focused. So they're looking at volunteer recruitment thinking about how to create a vibrant, awesome atmosphere at their site, so that they're effectively serving their communities and streamlining their processes. Speaker 3 00:19:49 Some members are, uh, focusing on social media communications to spread awareness of what their organization is doing in the community, developing resources there. Some members are writing grants and fundraising. Um, and I think one thing I see consistently with Vista members is that they're consistently wowed by how generous their communities are. You know, one example I've seen of this recently, um, is we've seen some recent arrivals of refugees from Afghanistan. And so we have Vista members that have really been excited about the level of generosity displayed in our communities as, um, we've been rallying together to serve these communities. Um, I can think of one project in particular that has been really cool. Um, this one member out of food pantry, um, locally has identified that transportation is a big deal when it comes to serving folks in the community. So, you know, obviously you might an awesome resource at a food pantry and serving folks with fresh produce, but if they can't make it to your food pantry, then that's a problem, right? Speaker 3 00:20:57 And so what this member has done is, uh, um, go and identify different pockets in the community that are struggling to access his food resource and basically doing food deliveries to their communities. Um, specifically he identified an older adult community that lack transportation. And so, um, something that has been awesome about that is that he went out into the community, he saw the need there identified the barrier, um, and then kind of mobilized volunteers and resources so that those folks could get served when they otherwise might have been left out. So I think that is kind of the overarching theme with Vista members. Speaker 1 00:21:39 Yeah, that's really well said. It's, it's interesting to see how different Vista projects evolve. Um, and I know that some often, um, evolve out of emergent needs, especially given the pandemic, you mentioned some, um, you know, resettling refugees. So there's sometimes emergent needs like that, that present themselves where full, fully staffing up and recruiting enough volunteers to meet that need immediately is a daunting task for the nonprofit sector without the help of these additional members. Let's listen to a clip from destiny about her experience at her site. My name is Speaker 5 00:22:18 Destiny. I am an AmeriCorps Vista member serving at Ethiopian social services and Columbus to me, America service means dedicating a year of your life to focus on serving your community. I believe that national service is a great way to gain real-world experience in nonprofit and community work, as well as a great way to gain understanding of the importance of equity as you work with people from many different backgrounds and with different life experiences and needs. And my time doing national service, I've been working on supporting new Americans through indirect service and working with so many hardworking individuals with such inspiring stories has made me grow so much both personally and professionally. Speaker 1 00:22:59 Yeah. Do you have any other favorite examples, Maureen, about how national service has lent capacity to nonprofits to meet some of those emergent needs? Speaker 2 00:23:09 Yeah. Um, you know, stick it on the pandemic train. Um, as we all had to shift how we do operate, you know, many things during the pandemic, the food banks, um, were definitely hit with that challenge. Um, and thankfully we had some additional AmeriCorps Vista resources that we could give them to help quickly pivot their services. Um, and one project that, that was really cool, um, was obviously we continued to do a lot of things outdoors for safety reasons. And, um, when the winter came around, that became a challenge of how we're going to continue to operate safely in an outdoor environment while not, you know, freezing. So I'm a Vista member at the middle Ohio food collective was tasked with running a grant, um, weatherization project that they had received and disperse that throughout their pantry network for folks to be able to apply, to get these weatherization dollars, to help them operate safely in an outdoor setting. Speaker 2 00:24:01 So they could apply for funding to get things like hand warmers, coats, uh, cones, salts, uh, anything that could help them operate, um, throughout the winter months. And so she, you know, created that whole process. Um, the application, the review, um, helped with the allocation of dollars and tracking, going out and doing those site visits, taking photos, all that fun stuff. Um, so that was, I thought a really, um, neat project for them. Our network is also really shifting to a focus on food as medicine approach to our, um, food distribution. So, um, we have people at various stages of that and our network, as far as how far along they are in that process, but we've had, um, this, the resources coming in now to help further everybody along. And so we had a member that's serving at Freestore Foodbank, where they set up prescription food boxes in partnership with local healthcare providers who have, you know, advise them on what foods will be best for certain diets, um, targeting specific diagnoses, such as heart health, diabetes, maternal health. Speaker 2 00:25:05 And so they're crafting these, um, boxes that will help address those dietary needs, um, more efficiently. And they even have a partnership, um, set up with Amazon to help deliver these boxes for folks that are homebound. So that's just a really neat partnership going forward. They have these, um, templates in place of what works well. Um, and then lastly, one that I thought was cool, a member that just exited, um, spent her year really creating a comprehensive guide, uh, for school districts on how to operate a school pantry, a lot of trial and error of, you know, what would be the most efficient way to say here's a toolkit, here's how you do it. Um, we're here to help you, but you know, really have that document that can help people as a guide. Um, and during her year they were able to onboard three new school districts in her area. So that's been a, I think a lasting legacy project. Speaker 6 00:26:01 My name is Adam householder. To me, AmeriCorps service means dedicating your time and energy to serve and learn from the community for the benefit of others. It means looking beyond yourself and working hard to build meaningful and impactful opportunities for others. I believe that national service creates the opportunity to be a part of something that really matters and impacts people's lives. National service gives opportunities to learn new skills, grow professionally and impact communities in a big way. Speaker 1 00:26:31 So I hear both of you sharing these awesome examples of national service and action. Some of the real impacts that members are making right now on the ground. And you know, what I'm thinking about as you're sharing them is just how special these members are. And it does take a special person to participate in this program. It's not all, uh, roses and butterflies. Um, we know that it is a sacrifice to serve a national service. Um, you know, you're not gonna get rich off of this program, but you may just find yourself and, um, you know, find the path to go forward in your career. And certainly there are intangible benefits from it. I'd love to hear more about the general parameters of especially our core program Vista that we work most closely on. And what the benefits of Vista service are. What are your selling points when you're talking to candidates about why they should take up the call to serve? Speaker 3 00:27:27 Yeah. Um, you know, like you said, you don't get rich off of Vista, but I think there is a richness to Vista at the same time. Um, you know, it was my experience in Vista. I'm just profoundly grateful for the things I learned about the community and the doors that opened, um, for me to take next steps professionally. And, you know, I just think that the work opens your eyes to new things, new ways of thinking. Um, there's so many people you meet, whether there are people in the community or volunteers that are giving their time, you notice how generous people can be and how rich people's stories are as you are serving in AmeriCorps Vista. The idea is that you are going into your organization and expanding what it can do in a long-lasting way. Um, Vista is a behind the scenes kind of capacity building program. Speaker 3 00:28:20 What that means is you're expanding what your organization can accomplish and how many people can serve. And you're making that more effective and efficient. I think something that's awesome about Vista is that it has the idea of making a lasting difference. And so you get to do something that really has a hold in your community for the longterm, and then other people can build on that. And then also the experience you gained professionally is a big deal. Um, I didn't quite grasp the value of it when I first began my service year, but I think looking back now that was a huge deal. I think that's one of my biggest reasons why you should do Vista. Speaker 7 00:29:10 My name is Amanda, and to me, AmeriCorps service means a unique opportunity to fully immerse myself in the nonprofit world while providing opportunity for personal and career growth. As I contribute to impactful projects, I believe that national service enables action to make a difference in the community. Speaker 1 00:29:28 So Maureen, I heard Carrie talking about the selling points of getting involved in national service and how it can really contribute to a person's professional development, exposing them to a sector they might want to work in. Long-term exposing them to, um, potentially new open doors and also, you know, along the way, helping them pay off some debt from college courses or helping them fund future tuition expenses, um, helping them really transition some of them and their careers. I know that we have members in lots of different places, um, not only geographically across Ohio, but also at different places of their lives. Um, but you know, I feel like they probably all have some things and some qualities in common from what we've heard from our clips today and from what you've all shared, I was wondering if you would talk about what kind of person you feel like it takes to fill these roles and what really makes you proud to lead this program, right? Speaker 2 00:30:29 Yeah. I think the word you chose transition is perfect. That's kind of how I often describe the average Vista member is somebody that's in a transitional space in their life, whether they just graduated college or high school, or they are retiring, but not quite ready to fully retire, or they just want to have a career change. That's typically who we see in AmeriCorps is somebody that's in a transitional phase of their life. And somebody that's really interested in the experience, not just a job. So we said it here that it's not the largest paycheck you're going to be receiving, but that you are going to be really getting a valuable experience in your year of service, really opening a lot of doors and opportunities for you. And that person's really committed to that experience because otherwise, why would you stay in that position? But you know, how many times in your life are you in a job where you have an end date and your supervisor knows you have an end date and you can openly talk with them about what your next step is going to be. Speaker 2 00:31:23 So, um, we really encourage our members to use that entire network during their service here of, you know, the board that their agencies involved with, um, the volunteer network, letting everybody know, you know, this is the experience they want for the year. How can we get there? So I really think it's like a win-win win program where the agency has a need and a project that they need resources and people to fill. The member has an experience that they want to receive. And we, as an organization are helping our network grow and become more effective and efficient. So obviously it's a federal nationwide program. There's a lot of positions. There's a lot of us do projects, but I really pride myself on the experience of our members specifically on our project and how we can help them have the most successful year. You know, obviously Carrie and I both were Vista members in our projects, know, you know, the kind of ups and downs that we encountered, how we can help combat those for our future members. Speaker 2 00:32:18 So it's about picking sites. That will be a great experience for the member picking projects that will have a lasting impact on the community, um, and offering them whatever resources we can and being that aid to them really makes me proud. Um, at the end of the year, we do an exit survey of the members. And one of the questions is, would they recommend service to others and specifically service in our, and if that, if that answers, yes, I feel like we did our job. We recently conducted a survey of all of our alumni. We have over 1500 alumni at this 0.3, three of us sitting here included, um, and 94% of the folks that responded said they would recommend national service. Um, 96% said that it benefited their career. And 70% said that they were still in contact with the people from their service here, which I found was just a really cool statistic that this is maybe just a short period of your life, but it will have a lasting impact on your career and your personal professional network. Speaker 1 00:33:11 Thank you so much. I felt like I knew everything about our programs, but I learned even more from listening from the two of you. And I, you know, I'm just so proud of what your programs do so thankful for the two of you for leading the programs is such passing and Chester such heart. I think it really shows. Um, and I think that most of all, we just want to thank all of our members out there for their sacrifices, their hard work, and bringing their skills and their desire to learn and grow and make impacts in their communities to our project. So I invite any closing thoughts from either of you that you love our listeners to hear about or to share with their networks and their worlds. Yeah. Speaker 2 00:33:50 As good a time as any with AmeriCorps week to really promote the program and let everybody know that, you know, we are recruiting for our next cohort of positions and projects for both our summer Vista and our long programs. So those are available at our website. You can see all those open positions, but if you have any questions or you think that this sounds like a good opportunity for you or anybody, you know, I strongly encourage everybody to, you know, check out our positions. If, if none of those interests you there's, as I said, thousands out there in the country, um, as well as other branches of AmeriCorps, it's not just Vista service. So it's a really great program that as Dory mentioned, we hope we fully saturate the country with knowledge about, yeah, Speaker 3 00:34:31 I guess the last thing I wanted to mention is we're obviously living in a really unique time. You know, I remember feeling this when the pandemic hit during my service here, I'm privileged to be able to serve, uh, right now during this time. And you know, if you're considering doing Vista service, this is a unique time where you can make an impact and you will get to look back on it. The difference you've got to make during a key time in our country and world. Speaker 8 00:35:05 My name is Tracy to me, the AmeriCorps service means that there is hope and realization when it comes to poverty in the United States, citizens in this country realize it is still happening today. I believe that national service is a chance, an opportunity to address poverty in a more individualized way. We are working together and helping to find a way to Speaker 0 00:35:36 End right here in our own. Speaker 1 00:35:44 I just want to say thank you first to Maureen and Carrie for their time on the podcast today, giving us some more insight and information about what national service means to our members, to the organizations that we support and ultimately the community and the community members that they serve. If a national service member has made an impact on your life or on your community or organization, would you share this episode with them? Maybe give them a shout out on your social media. We just want to spread the word about the vast impact that AmeriCorps members have been making for many, many years, including for geez, more than 15 years at our organization. So, um, join us in that call to celebrate them. And we look forward to talking to you next time on just a bite.