AmeriCorps Week

This past Saturday began the national AmeriCorps week. The idea is to celebrate the volunteers who are currently in service, past volunteers, and also spread the word to future volunteers. The Commons and Coffeehouse have a long line of AmeriCorps volunteers helping to hold down the fort, including the marvelous Gena, and many others who I don’t know, but have heard mentioned. Molly, Caitlin, Justin, and I are planning on setting up an AmeriCorps table to explain to people about AmeriCorps, once the Coffeehouse Bookstore is open.

Alright, so you know it’s AmeriCorps week, now what does AmeriCorps really mean? It’s often described as a domestic Peace Corps. Having also done Peace Corps, I sometimes compare the two. I think many Returned Peace Corps Volunteers might tell you that it’s nothing like Peace Corps (in an offended tone); and I agree to some degree given that Peace Corps is a much more intense two years living in another country, working in a different language and culture, with some of the most impoverished areas in the world.

At the same time, I think there are tons similarities. The main ideas are the same: to strengthen underserved populations, while building community (whether it be U.S. community, or a world community). Another huge part of Peace Corps and AmeriCorps is being adaptable and versatile. Your job is to work on what the community needs and wants. I had no idea that I was going to be working in construction, blogging, starting a Spanish club, and helping to start community gardens as volunteer in Langley.

It may sound cliché, but whether in Peace Corps or AmeriCorps, these skills in adaption to a wide variety of task, situations, diverse groups of people (in age or ethnicity), are invaluable life skills that you might not get from a “normal” job. So pat your AmeriCorps workers on the back this week and tell them “good work, you are building community…and in many ways, being just as cool as those snobby Peace Corps Volunteers”!