April 6, 2021 was National Service Recognition Day. You may have seen our posts during AmeriCorps Week last month and learned a little bit about what AmeriCorps is and how Second Harvest is currently hosting three AmeriCorps VISTAs.
National Service Recognition Day is a chance for local leaders to honor AmeriCorps members for helping their community. There are over 270,000 AmeriCorps members serving in over 40,000 locations in America. In Springfield, there are several AmeriCorps members serving in four different organizations: Springfield Promise Neighborhood, Think Tank Inc., United Senior Services, and Second Harvest Food Bank CCL.
In honor of National Service Recognition Day, Springfield Mayor Warren Copeland issued a proclamation thanking the AmeriCorps members serving in Clark County at an event held at Springfield’s City Hall Plaza. There were over 20 AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and staff members from the four nonprofits in attendance, as well as three public officials: Mayor Copeland, Logan Cobbs, Assistant to the City Manager, and Jill Pierce, City Clerk.
Springfield Promise Neighborhood “is dedicated to the success of the children, a success measured by their ability to succeed in school and eventually graduate from high school with the skills necessary to get a good paying job or pursue higher education opportunities...we believe this is the key to breaking the claim of generational poverty on the lives of children and the vitality of their families and neighborhoods.”
Think Tank Inc. “offers a variety of training tools and coaching, designed to assist organizations that are working with communities to comprehensively address poverty. We work with churches, nonprofits, businesses & public organizations to offer trainings designed to deepen their understanding of poverty & equip participants with skills to join with people from different backgrounds to fight poverty in their community.”
United Senior Services provides “more than 30 programs and services for our 4,900+ members and 3,000+ clients. USS is proud to be a comprehensive center for services, activities, information and resources that support older adults’ active, involved and independent lifestyles” in order to “enhance the lives of Clark County older adults by offering quality services that promote active, involved and independent lives.”
Mayor Copeland kicked off the event by saying a few words about the importance of AmeriCorps and volunteerism.
“if it weren’t for volunteers, many of these agencies would not be able to do what they do,” he said. “They make a big difference in the quality of life in this community.”
Kali Lawrence, executive director of Springfield Promise Neighborhood and former VISTA, received the first proclamation from the city of Springfield. She then awarded the other proclamations to Think Tank, United Senior Services, and SHFB.
Springfield Promise
Think Tank
SHFB
Tammy, who serves at Springfield Promise, spoke about how she loves working with children to help them succeed in school. Terri from SHFB spoke about the importance of fighting food insecurity.
The event ended with everyone in attendance enjoying some delicious custom-made AmeriCorps cupcakes, mingling, and enjoying the beautiful weather.
Big thanks to Terri, Angela, Kali, Adam, and Andrea for making this event happen!
Interested in national service? Learn more about opportunities in Springfield here and AmeriCorps here.
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