Et cetera : NCCC’s Oak 6: Serving the youth of Michigan, also helping animals

AmeriCorps NCCC Oak 6 members are excited to be working in Michigan, helping kids and animals.

Nicholas Ownby cleans out a dog kennel at a local dog rescue.

By English Tong

Oak Six has been serving in Oxford, Mich. for their first round project. In five weeks, Oak Six moved 32,000 lbs. of metal around the campus into dumpsters and still have one more to fill before they leave. They have restored houses, shingled roofs, and organized many buildings around campus to prepare for the summer campers. During the evenings, the team spends time with the kids in the different units (Girls Center, Boys Center, Life Preparation Center, Achievement Center, etc.) doing activities, such as cooking, games, sports and crafts. The team members plan these activities beforehand every week along with the maintenance work. Oak Six even planned a field day for all of the kids to participate in and compete against each other.

Every Sunday, Oak Six visits a local dog rescue to walk the dogs and help clean the kennels for an Independent Service Project. The team has also done trash clean up at a nearby park, Bald Mountain, and has planned a community day there to pick up more trash with locals and the at-risk youth from Crossroads.

Oak 6 members pictured include: Megan Guinaugh, Ellen King, Keivon Henderson, Lorianna Beverly, Tyler Purcell, English Tong, Aimee Daniels, Josh Kieser and Nicholas Ownby, who are all excited to be working with youth in Michigan