• Article Photo. Maple 2 members Eric, Will and Chris unloading food for the Coppin Community Center’s food pantry.
    Maple 2 members Eric, Will and Chris unloading food for the Coppin Community Center’s food pantry.
  • Article Photo. Corps members Chanel, Jeston and Chris weed a community garden in Washington Park in Chicago.
    Corps members Chanel, Jeston and Chris weed a community garden in Washington Park in Chicago.

By Christopher Hyde

For the past two weeks, AmeriCorps NCCC team Maple 2 has served with the Coppin Community Center in Chicago’s Washington Park neighborhood. The team is assisting with the Community Center’s weekly food pantry, creating a community garden, planning a book distribution event for children and organizing a health day for food pantry clients.

“The community service provided by NCCC team Maple 2 aids Coppin Community Center in its capacity building efforts to strengthen its direct service programs. The service projects, focused on infrastructure improvements and environmental stewardship, facilitate sustainability and community engagement,” said Pastor Barbara Wilson, executive director of the Coppin Community Center.

The first NCCC team to serve in Chicago, Maple 2 has already demonstrated what a team of ten people can accomplish. The team has distributed food to almost 400 people through the Community Center’s food pantry and cleared a third-of-an-acre lot for a community garden. During an Independent Service Project with the Chicago Park District, Maple 2 planted over 400 saplings in a local park.

Serving at the Coppin Community Center has challenged the team to adapt to a low-income, urban community. Washington Park is a food desert, a place where access to nutritious foods is limited. Meetings with organizations partnered with the Community Center, such as World Vision, have helped the team to develop strategies for their upcoming community engagement events.

The Coppin Community Center is the federally tax exempt, nonprofit organization of Coppin African Methodist Episcopal Church. The Community Center offers programs including a food pantry, a summer education program for students and health programs. With Maple 2, Coppin Community Center hopes to develop a garden to teach community members to grow their own food.

Maple 2’s service with the Coppin Community Center extends until June 12, when the team returns to the North Central Region campus in Vinton, Iowa.