AmeriCorps team completes six-week project with state parks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 11, 2023

CONTACT:

Mollie Rintala

Team Media Representative – On-site contact

858-900-4326

AmeriCorps team completes six-week project with state parks

VARIOUS, Southeastern Missouri – A team of AmeriCorps members is wrapping up a project this week helping with trail maintenance in two southeast Missouri state parks. The group of seven young adults arrived on November 3 and will be departing on December 15. This team is part of the 30th class of AmeriCorps members, with the agency celebrating its anniversary this year.

Over the course of this six-week project, this team, part of AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) program, served at Lake Wappapello and Sam A. Baker state parks. They helped to build and maintain trails at both parks, which included tread reconstruction, corridor clearing, vegetation and downed tree removal, and marking or blazing trails. They also helped the parks with tasks such as sharpening tools and painting furniture.

AmeriCorps NCCC first served with Missouri State Parks in 2002. Since then, 16 teams previously served over 47,000 hours at various parks across the state. Some of the cumulative accomplishments of those teams includes building or restoring nearly 150 miles of trail, assisting with prescribed burns on over 9,000 acres, and helping build or refurbish 58 campsites, as well as many other tasks.

Missouri State Parks’ mission is to preserve and interpret the state’s most outstanding natural landscapes and cultural landmarks, and to provide outstanding recreational opportunities compatible with those resources.

This is the first of several projects to be completed by this AmeriCorps NCCC team. They began their term of service on October 10, 2023, with three weeks of training at the Denver-area regional hub. After December 15, they will travel to a series of other six- to 12-week projects in communities throughout the central and southwestern United States. They will graduate from the program on July 18, 2024.

AmeriCorps NCCC (N-triple-C) is a full-time, residential, AmeriCorps program in which about 1,700 young adults serve nationwide annually. During their 10-month term, Corps Members – all 18 to 26 years old – work on teams of eight to 12 on projects that address critical needs. Traditional NCCC members travel to a variety of different six- to 12-week-long projects in a variety of service areas. Members of FEMA Corps, a branch of NCCC, focus their projects exclusively on emergency management work in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In exchange for their service, Corps Members receive $7,395 to help pay for college, or to pay back existing student loans. Other benefits include a small living stipend, room and board, travel, and leadership development.

AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism that brings people together to tackle the country’s most pressing challenges, is celebrating its 30th Anniversary between September 2023 and September 2024. AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serve with organizations dedicated to the improvement of communities. AmeriCorps helps make service to others a cornerstone of our national culture. Learn more at AmeriCorps.gov.

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