Local Hero Serves in AmeriCorps NCCC

Buffalo Grove, IL. – Dori Ginsburg of Buffalo Grove, IL, recently began a 10-month term of service in the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), an AmeriCorps program. Ginsburg, based out of the AmeriCorps regional campus in Denver, Colo., was formally inducted into the program on November 9, 2013.

Ginsburg arrived at her regional campus in October to begin a month of training. This training, which prepared over 300 Corps Members for full-time service with AmeriCorps NCCC, emphasized teamwork, leadership development, communication, service learning, and included certification by the American Red Cross.

Ginsburg will be responsible for completing a series of six- to eight-week-long service projects as part of a 10- to 12-person team. Their first service project, working at a 4-H camp in Little Rock, Arkansas, ended mid-December. They are currently serving their second service project in Kansas City, Missouri, providing tax services to low-income families.

Before serving in NCCC, Ginsburg attended Illinois State University.  Ginsburg said, “I learned about AmeriCorps NCCC while I was working with Alternate Spring Break through my college. The AmeriCorps program interested me and I knew I wanted to do something like it once I graduated. I knew I wanted to dedicate time to help the environment and give back to my community. After additional research, I felt that NCCC was a great program that would provide an amazing life experience while having the opportunity to do national service. What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.”

AmeriCorps NCCC is a residential national service program that supports disaster relief, the environment, infrastructure improvement, energy conservation, and urban and rural development. Fifty-six teams composed of over 600 Corps Members and Team Leaders began service projects in November throughout the Pacific and Southwest regions, based in Sacramento in Denver respectively. There are three additional NCCC campuses located in Perry Point, Md., Vinton, Iowa, and Vicksburg, Miss., each of which is a hub for its respective area of the country.

AmeriCorps NCCC members, all 18 to 24 years old, complete at least 1,700 hours of service during the 10-month program.  In exchange for their service, they receive $5,550 to help pay for college.  Other benefits include a small living stipend, room and board, leadership development, team building skills, and the knowledge that, through active citizenship, they can indeed make a difference.  AmeriCorps NCCC is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service.  For more information about AmeriCorps NCCC, visit the website at www.americorps.gov/nccc. 

Celebrating its 20th Anniversary this year, AmeriCorps NCCC is a full-time, residential, national service program in which 2,800 young adults serve nationwide annually.  During their 10-month term, Corps Members – all 18 to 24 years old – work on teams of eight to 12 on projects that address critical needs.  Traditional NCCC members work on a variety of different six- to eight-week-long projects related to natural and other disasters, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, energy conservation, and urban and rural development. Members of FEMA Corps, a new branch of NCCC, focus their projects exclusively on emergency management work in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.  The Southwest Region campus in Denver is one of five regional hubs in the nation and serves eight states in the central and southwest parts of the country.  The other campuses are located in Perry Point, Md., Vinton, Iowa, Vicksburg, Miss., and Sacramento, Calif.  

In exchange for their service, Corps Members receive $5,550 to help pay for college, or to pay back existing student loans.  Other benefits include a small living stipend, room and board, travel, leadership development, increased self-confidence, and the knowledge that, through active citizenship, people can indeed make a difference.  AmeriCorps NCCC is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service.  The Corporation improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. For more information about AmeriCorps NCCC, visit the website at www.americorps.gov/nccc.

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