Letter to the Editor: AmeriCorps Week

I remember first hearing about AmeriCorps in a speech given by President Clinton to Congress. I thought that was a great idea, a way to have people give back to the nation and earn money for college. It harkened back to President Kennedy’s Inaugural speech where he challenged Americans to ask not what the nation could do for them, but what they could do for the nation. President George W. Bush re-affirmed this commitment to volunteerism when he urged all American to commit to public service. Little did I know that I would someday end up in the Corps myself.

I needed a job, and AmeriCorps had a position working with the American Red Cross of Ventura County. The pay was low but there was something about the organization that appealed to my idealism. Red Cross is truly a necessary and valuable organization and the good works they do are almost legendary. When I met some of the people I was taken by their selflessness and dedication. Most were volunteers who gave of themselves out of a love of their fellow man. After the many jobs I have had over the years, it was refreshing. So I joined up, got the patch and took the oath.

AmeriCorps sent me on an extensive training mission to San Jose. I met more admirable people and others, like myself, motivated to give back something to the community. They were a mixed bag, old people like myself who remembered the Hippie Movement and its idealism, young outdoors people comfortable in hiking boots and blue jeans, and urban groups from all races and economic backgrounds. I had pre-supposed the Corps would be made up of the poor, seeking a way to round out their education, and a few could be classified in this way, but most were there not for the education stipend but out of a need to serve. I was impressed by there youthful optimism and pleased to discover not all young people were troubled, angst-filled, video-gamers. The training was intense and gave us the tools we needed to fulfill our mission.

Upon my return I was stationed in Camarillo where I got to meet more Red Cross staff and set to work on a variety of projects. The hours are long, but the work is worthy and needed. I am saddened that when the contract ends I will be forced to move on. Still, I believe that, like many in the Corps I will be back as a volunteer, helping out in the challenging work of Red Cross.

AmeriCorps doesn’t get the headlines and it almost operates under the public radar screen that’s why May 11th to 18th has been selected to let people know what this worth-while organization is all about. In 2007 alone AmeiCorps mobilized and managed an estimated 1.7 million volunteers. Since its inception in 1994 AmeriCorps has recruited 542,000 members and given out $1.43 Billion dollars in earned education grants. It’s about tapping into the wealth of good feeling that resides in the American heart. For me AmeriCorps is all about being part of the solution. Yes, we live in an imperfect world and a single glance at any newspaper is enough to measure our national problems. It’s easy to sink into a pool of despair, but I believe that organizations like Red Cross and AmeriCorps offered a light in the darkness and hope that this sorry world can solve her problems and reach the promises made by our founding fathers so long ago. AmeriCorps is one way citizens can help make America a better place

Richard Senate, AmeriCorps member, American Red Cross of Ventura County.