By: Lauren Brostowitz, Composite Team – Zetus Lapedus 10
In AmeriCorps NCCC, each corps member must be highly flexible and adaptable. So, when nine corps members were asked to leave their original teams they’ve worked and bonded with since February, they zealously jumped at the opportunity to take part in a high priority, unique project working alongside the Minneapolis Veteran’s Home. Under sponsorship with the Minnesota Department of Veteran’s Affairs, the team is diligently working to complete interior patching, sanding and painting on the first floor of Building Six in hopes of returning residents to their homes for the holiday season.
Established in 1887 for indigent Veterans of the Civil War, the home provides skilled nursing and domiciliary care to disabled Veterans. Building 6 is home to roughly 92 U.S. Veterans and their families, so the need to enhance the living environment for those individuals who fought for their country and currently require living assistance is crucial. Since their Sept. 27 arrival, the composite team, Zetus Lapedus 10, has completed painting in 21 rooms and one section of the hallway. They aim to finish the entire first floor before their Oct. 18 departure.
Under such high-impact circumstances, NCCC Member Sirena Sibounheuang, feels honored to have been given the opportunity to give back to her country and those who have made it what it is today. “It makes me feel so good to know I’m helping Veterans return to a freshly painted room, and the skills we’re gaining along the way are definitely transferable.”
In addition to the teams’ work at the Minneapolis Veteran’s Home, Zetus Lapedus 10 devoted five hours and counting to Feed My Starving Children, a Christian non-profit committed to supplying nutritionally complete, packaged dry meals to malnourished children in nearly 70 countries around the world. During their time with FMSC, Zetus Lapedus 10 helped pack 21 food boxes, totaling 756 meals.
Photo captions:
Photo A:
Zetus Lapedus 10 gathers for a team photo by Grant Hartman, Interactive Media Coordinator for the Minneapolis Department of
Veterans Affairs
Photo B:
NCCC member, Vernel cuts the doorway of one of the forty-plus the team has been requested to paint in Building 6 of the Minneapolis Veteran’s Hospital.
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