Et cetera : THEY CAME, THEY SERVED, THEY LEFT THEIR MARK

AmeriCorps NCCC Members graduate after completing 10 months of service

AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) proudly graduates 160 young adults on Thursday, November 17, 2011. The graduation ceremony begins promptly at 6:30 p.m. and is being held at Vinton-Shellsburg High School Auditorium in Vinton. Class 17 members would like to invite the Vinton community to attend their graduation and celebrate with them their many accomplishments.

The ceremony marks the end of a 10-month journey that began in February 2011 for the North Central Region’s third class. NCCC Corps Members and Team Leaders have completed more than 270,000 hours of community service while finishing 110 service projects throughout the North Central Region. During their term of service, Corps Members and Team Leaders worked in teams of 10-12 and were deployed on service projects across the North Central Region states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. NCCC teams also provided much needed support to the residents of the Mid-West devastated by the floods of 2008/2009/2011; the Gulf Coast and Atlantic regions devastated by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Irene; and tornado recovery efforts in Joplin, Missouri.

The accomplishments of these 160 NCCC Team Leaders and Corps Members are quite notable, and include:

· 33 projects completed in the service area of Natural and Other Disasters

· 26 projects completed in the state of Iowa

· 42,710 people assisted in disaster areas

· 8,703 areas of land burned in prescribed burns

· 83,836 lbs. of food received, inventoried or distributed

· 475,745 lbs. of debris or trash removed

· 271 structures mucked and/or gutted

· 1,373 volunteers recruited or coordinated

· 11,369 native plants planted

· 168 acres of wildlife habitats restored or projected

· 3,219 elementary students supported in an out of school program

NCCC members must be 18-24 years old and must complete at least 1,700 hours of community service during the 10-month program. In exchange for their service, they receive $4,725 to help pay for college or to pay school loans. Other benefits include leadership development, team-building skills, increased self-confidence, and the satisfaction of knowing that they have made a real difference in communities across the country. AmeriCorps is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service. For information about applying to AmeriCorps NCCC or obtaining a team, call 1-800-942-2677 (1-800-94-ACORP) or visit the website at www.americorps.gov/nccc.