For the past 30 years, AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers have supported communities in recovering from devastating disasters and committed to environmental stewardship efforts. AmeriCorps has responded to more than 200 disasters and helped treat more than 880,000 acres of land.
During AmeriCorps Week, we recognize the millions of Americans who have raised their hands to serve communities in need and help protect our nation’s natural resources.
When America Calls, AmeriCorps Answers
In late September 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Florida. The disaster caused significant damage across U.S. states, particularly in Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas, with severe inland flooding affecting homes, roads, and infrastructure. The disaster resulted in property damage, downed power lines, and uprooted trees, leaving many without power or access to clean water and essential supplies.
Since the disaster, AmeriCorps has been on the ground supporting recovery across affected communities. In Florida, AmeriCorps State and National programs shifted service efforts to focus on response, managing volunteers, and aiding survivors. Florida Conservation Corps was one of AmeriCorps Disaster Response Teams deployed for service. AmeriCorps members, who were serving at state parks for invasive plant management, volunteer recruitment, and trail maintenance, swiftly shifted their service to provide disaster recovery support. Using the skills learned, these members were in affected neighborhoods for a month helping chain saw and clear fallen trees, tarping roofs to protect homes from mold, removing debris, and conducting damage assessment.
AmeriCorps NCCC teams were deployed to support partners and provide relief to local volunteers. AmeriCorps NCCC Red 3 team had 11 members serving at a warehouse alongside the American Red Cross. A month into their service, these members deployed to Florida. Since arrival, they have supported damage assessments in affected neighborhoods to document and help residents receive financial aid. They also served in a supply warehouse alongside the American Red Cross, demobilizing emergency supplies – from towels to water, food, cots, and more – delivering them to shelters and organizing the warehouse.
The First Graduates of Inaugural AmeriCorps NCCC Forest Corps
In July 2024, AmeriCorps swore in the inaugural class of AmeriCorps NCCC Forest Corps in Sacramento, Calif. Forest Corps is a partnership between AmeriCorps NCCC and the USDA Forest Service. AmeriCorps NCCC members who serve with Forest Corps receive rigorous training with support from the nation’s most knowledgeable and experienced forestry professionals through this partnership. Members are deployed to projects that help mitigate the possibility of wildfires, manage and extinguish dangerous fires, and more while gaining the skills and experiences needed for future leadership roles in wildland fire, natural resource management, forest health, and environmental stewardship.
The first AmeriCorps NCCC Forest Corps unit of approximately 80 members provided fuels reduction, timber flagging, and workforce capacity building for the USDA Forest Service. These newly trained Forest Corps teams helped to address wildfire risks to protect communities and make forests more resilient. Many will go on to use their skills pursuing wildland fire fighting careers. The members supported wildfire disaster response services, including the Yellow Lake Fire in Utah, which spread from 2,000 acres to 30,000 within a day. During the response, AmeriCorps NCCC Forest Corps teams worked closely with all the levels involved with fighting a wildfire, from people at the home base assisting in logistics to the people on the ground fighting the fire.
The teams served in communities across the West to provide needed forest services. In addition to supporting wildfire response, they supported fuels reduction project, cutting down trees that were overcrowding the area. This helps keep the forest healthier and limits the severity of wildfires. They supported trail restoration for mountain biking in Northern Calif., a popular activity in the area. The teams helped flag a timber sale unit to support the USDA Forest Service's timber sales to build homes and make paper products, among other things. When a portion of the forest is unhealthy and overcrowded, flagging the area helps identify cutting boundaries, which trees were off limits to cut, ultimately creating a healthier forest and bringing revenue into the Forest Service.
"I was impacted seeing how important our work is," said AmeriCorps NCCC Forest Corps team leader Lauren. "We had a large impact on the areas we served, even if the community didn't know it or see it. Everything we did mattered, and we always got a "why" behind it. Whether it was limiting fuels to see what an unhealthy to a healthy forest can be, protecting archaeological sites, or helping make the forests a safer, healthier place, it was good for me to know that everything I did would make a difference for years to come."
AmeriCorps Works for Communities and America
In communities across the country – urban and rural – Americans like these young adults provide on-the-ground support where the need is greatest. Communities gain dedicated support for critical needs, organizations expand their reach and impact, and those who serve discover that in changing lives, they transform their own.
We thank our members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers who demonstrate that America’s greatness comes from the extraordinary acts of ordinary citizens.
