United Way of Ventura County (UWVC) has joined Americans across the country to celebrate AmeriCorps members and the valuable contributions they make each year.
AmeriCorps members dedicate their time and skills to address the biggest needs in a community, including assisting with disaster recovery, tutoring and mentoring young people, connecting veterans to jobs, caring for seniors, reducing crime and reviving cities, and fighting the opioid epidemic.
As the supervising organization for the AmeriCorps Volunteer Infrastructure Project (VIP) in Ventura County, UWVC is responsible for training and placing AmeriCorps members where they are needed most in Ventura County.
Earlier this month, three new AmeriCorps members completed their training through UWVC and began their service.
Ciera Begley will be serving at the Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation, Jennifer Raymond will be working with Step Up Ventura. James Wortman will be helping children at the Boys and Girls Club of Camarillo.
The new volunteers will join three AmeriCorps members already in place in Ventura County, including Micaela Duarte at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Ventura, Reyna Hernandez at Lutheran Social Services of Southern California, and Freida Candido at Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation.
“We are proud to be part of the AmeriCorps family, and greatly appreciate all AmeriCorps members who are making a positive impact in communities across the country,” said Eric Harrison, CEO of United Way of Ventura County.
“Thank you to our AmeriCorps partner sites, Boys and Girls Club of Camarillo, Boys and Girls Club of Greater Ventura, Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation, Lutheran Social Services of Southern California, and Step Up Ventura, who are already working to make Ventura County a better place,” he said.
Every year, 75,000 AmeriCorps members serve through 21,600 schools, nonprofits, and community and faith-based organizations across the country.
AmeriCorps will celebrate its 25th anniversary in September, saluting the more than 1 million men and women who have served in AmeriCorps since the program’s inception in 1994.
For further information on how a nonprofit can become a VIP Partner Site, or how to apply to be a VIP member, contact AmeriCorps VIP regional coordinator Lora Kline, 805-485-6288 ext. 231, or lora.kline@vcunitedway.org.
For more information, visit NationalService.gov. For more about United Way of Ventura County, visit www.vcunitedway.org.
— Andy Silverman for United Way of Ventura County.