LEWISTON — This week Americans across the country celebrate contributions of the AmeriCorps members during the annual AmeriCorps Week.

AmeriCorps, a voluntary civil society supported by the U.S. federal government, engages adults in public service work in the country. Members carry out full-time or part-time positions offered by nonprofit organizations and public agencies and commit to a goal of helping others attend to critical needs within communities. AmeriCorps employs more than 75,000 Americans in service work each year.

AmeriCorps’s positive contribution is present in Maine. Last year, 300 AmeriCorps members met local needs in a wide range of areas across the state, creating an impact in communities while gaining skills and experience to advance their careers. In Lewiston, programs include AmeriCorps VISTAS, Maine Campus Compact VISTAS and Multilingual Leadership Corps.

Kyra Bleicher, an AmeriCorps VISTA member serving at St. Mary’s Nutrition Center, a community food and resource center in downtown Lewiston, describes how her AmeriCorps program is geared specifically to support community efforts to overcome poverty.

“Although I lived in Lewiston as a college student the past four years, serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA offers me opportunity to be immersed in the Lewiston community and to give back to it in a new and rewarding way,” Bleicher said. “I have learned so much through my involvement in the work to improve the organization’s systems, such as their volunteer program, and am continuously inspired services the nutrition center offers to the Lewiston community, ranging from the food pantry and the community gardens to cooking classes and youth programs.”

Multiple AmeriCorps members are partnered with Tree Street Youth, whose mission is to support Lewiston youth through programs rooted in academics, the arts and athletics in a safe space. Keenan Shields serves for AmeriCorps Multilingual Leadership Corps, which places members in schools and nonprofit organizations serving populations with English language learners.

In addition, AmeriCorps Campus Compact VISTAs, who spend a year of service on college campuses in Maine, are present at Bates College. Ella Ross serves at Bates College’s Harward Center for Community Partnerships. Her work centers on networking and connecting students and community members. She assists students in weaving community resources and concerns into their educational experience.

Learn more about AmeriCorps programs in Maine at Goodwill Northern New England’s website at https://goodwillnne.org/jobs/americorps/.


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