When Americorps volunteer Ruth Dominguez pounds pavement and apartment building hallways in Humboldt Park, she is not a young college student looking for a new experience. She is a 44-year-old mother working not far from where she grew up.
"It felt good to come back to the community and help out, and let them know it's O.K.," says Dominguez. She works as a tenant organizer for the Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation.
LISC/Chicago Americorps volunters with program officer Sandra Womack, second from right, and Chicago State University communications director Robyn Wheeler, center, following meeting in Woodlawn. The volunteers work with local community development corporations and non-profits.
Richard Muhammad
The LISC/Chicago Americorps program helps introduce people to the field of community development, offers organizations skilled help to develop or enhance programs, and provides a staff member specifically responsible for programs, says LISC/Chicago program officer Sandra Womack, who oversees the Americorps program.
Local community development agencies apply for volunteers who work in specific areas, such as housing, tenant organizing, youth, financial literacy, and volunteer recruitment and awareness, says Womack.
Americorps members receive an $18,000 stipend, health benefits, training opportunities and money for education upon successful completion of their two-year hitch, she explains.
LISC/Chicago is involved with the Corporation for National Services (CNS) AmeriCorps Program through national LISC. The seven full time members are Ruth Dominguez, Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation; Carlos Terrazo, Little Village Community Development Corporation; Otelua Thomas, Woodlawn Preservation and Investment Corporation; Charles DeShields, South Chicago Art Center; Donald Spaulding, Neighborhood Housing Services; Cleora Murff, Mercy Housing Lakefront; and Daniel Faichney, Jane Addams Resource Corporation.
The Amercorps program is open anyone over age 18 and includes members with no college experience, recent college grads, and career changers, says Womack. The Chicago group includes an 18-year-old, and twenty-something- through 50-something-year-old participants, she adds.
'Instant gratification'
"I really enjoy working for Americorps," says Dominguez, who focuses on public safety issues, outreach to new residents and efforts to improve life in Bickerdike's affordable housing units.
Whether carrying water to volunteer home builders in Biloxi, Miss., as part of a service project, having one-on-one conversations with tenants, or meeting with police officers about crime problems not far from where she grew up, Dominguez gets a sense of satisfaction.
"I can remember what John F. Kennedy said: 'Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,' " adds Cleora Murff, a 53-year-old Americorps volunteer with Mercy Lakefront Housing. Mercy Lakefront offers single rooms for homeless tenants and those coming from recovery homes as well as family housing for women with children and women who are survivors of domestic violence.
The Chicago program's motto could be "ask what you can do for your community."
The volunteers work with NCP lead agencies and their partners, and other non-profits.
Otelua Thomas, in her second and final year as an Americorps member, hosted the monthly meeting for the volunteers. Thomas is youth coordinator for the Woodlawn Preservation and Investment Corp. The monthly meeting takes volunteers out of communities where they work and includes training sessions.
WPIC's Karen King, left, with Woodlawn resident Robyn Wheeler, who conducted a media training for Americorps volunteers at WPIC's offices.
Richard Muhammad
At WPIC, the volunteers were treated to media training on Dec. 13 by Robyn Wheeler, a Woodlawn resident and communications director for Chicago State University.
"I was interested in learning more about the community I am living in, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to explore the community in a structured way," says Charles Fletcher Deshields, a 35-year-old art instructor with the South Chicago Art Center. The center is a partner with the Southeast Chicago Development Commission, an NCP lead agency.
Deshields grew up in Virginia and is a recent transplant to Chicago.
"Working with kids in general is something that's constantly rewarding because every day, it's a breakthrough. Kids are constantly curious; they are constantly discovering things, so it's instant gratification always," says Deshields.
Deshields teaches classes in schools with art programs and at the South Chicago Art Center.
"I think it's important to have that outlet for the kids," he says. "A lot of times, if the kids are put out of schools, they'll come straight to the center. It's really a haven in the community. I don't think there are any other free after-school programs in that area, other than us," he says.
Interns find new career paths
After the Americorps experience, many volunteers go on to work for the agencies or other non-profits. Each year five to 10 volunteers get jobs with groups in Chicago, notes Womack.
"I like working for WPIC and I like the kids in the neighborhood. Once you get past that hard shell, you have to realize those are still children. They are still ready to be molded. They're not there yet," says Thomas, the Woodlawn youth coordinator.
Americorps members Cleora Murff, of Mercy Lakefront Housing, left, and Otelua Thomas, the Americorps volunteer for the Woodlawn Preservation and Invest Corp.
Richard Muhammad
She has learned a lot, offered new ideas for programming and obtained new skills through her experiences and training.
Thomas says Americorps was an opportunity to connect with Woodlawn residents, community organizing and a possible career in the non-profit arena. She hopes to come on board with WPIC when her Americorps time runs out in September.