Et cetera : FEMA Corps Team Helps Community in New Hampshire

Team Member Chris Southwick shoveling mulch at Dover City Hall.

By: Christian Lockwood

On Saturday, April 20, members of the AmeriCorps NCCC-FEMA Corps team Spruce 3 served at the Dover Pride Clean-Up Day in Dover, New Hampshire. Teammates as well as their leader, Austin Barlow, worked side-by-side with the townspeople and community organizers to spread mulch and clean up the premises of Dover City Hall and municipal building.

The work included spreading roughly 600 lbs. of mulch over the flower beds and edging 300 feet of the lawn. By the afternoon the front and perimeter of City Hall was greatly improved and looking refurbished. Michele Alexander, the coordinator of the annual Dover Pride Clean-Up Day, an active member in the community, said, “It was a great day with many people and organizations coming out for support.” She shared that she was thankful the FEMA Corps team Spruce 3 came out to help.

The team is serving in Dover, working on a variety of necessary FEMA tasks including creating community profiles, and logistical work revolving around the recent snowstorm “Nemo”, which affected most of New England. The team has been involved in a number of community service projects over the past few weeks, including assisting at local food pantries and the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire. For another five weeks, the team will be stationed in this New England town before their return to Vinton, Iowa, for their graduation ceremony.