In the spring of 2001, after spending four years of active duty as a firefighter in the U.S. Air Force, I moved to Colorado and joined an AmeriCorps program.
I became an education mentor for a conservation corps crew that improved natural resources and landscapes on public lands in Colorado, while I earned a living stipend and received an education award to pay for college.
As it turned out, the decision to serve in AmeriCorps was even more impactful than my military service; it changed my life and led to my current career as a director at the Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC). That decision also fostered my passion for conservation and improving public lands.
As AmeriCorps is celebrating the impact of one million-plus members since 1993, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the importance of national service.
Locally, SCC serves over 150 youth, young adult and veterans each year with conservation service learning on public lands. Nationally, AmeriCorps engages over 75,000 men and women each year while fighting poverty, responding to natural disasters, serving in schools and building capacity in rural areas to improve public education.
AmeriCorps national service is not glamorous. It is hard work with long hours in communities where challenges are abundant. Real progress often spans multiple years, and while AmeriCorps member placements allow individuals to relish in affecting small incremental advances, AmeriCorps also teaches the value of longer-term commitment. Consequently, AmeriCorps members often become more politically engaged than their peers.
At SCC, corps members work and live outside together for up to 12 days at a time in remote locations on public lands with only the comforts that can be carried in on their backs. In embracing and working to overcome these challenges, not only do individuals develop an ethic of service, but also a strong sense of personal pride, work ethic and empowerment.
The next time you see an individual with the AmeriCorps “A” on his or her sleeve, consider giving thanks for the service, and advocating to members of congress to save AmeriCorps and national service.
Kevin Heiner
Durango