Each year during the second week of March, we honor the commitment of the millions of people who have served in AmeriCorps, the federal service program that creates opportunities to serve communities across the United States. Members of all ages and backgrounds serve directly with local community organizations to tackle pressing issues like poverty, community development, and more. It is important to honor our AmeriCorps members as they are the backbone of our work at Ecolibrium3. Their commitment to serve our community builds our capacity to better support our neighbors in Lincoln Park and across greater Duluth.
Our organizational journey with AmeriCorps started 10 years ago with the VISTA program. Over the years, our program has supported over 130 VISTA members and secured over $43 million in funding for community-based projects in our community. So far this service year, our six members have served over 400 individuals and brought more than $150,000 to our community in grants and donations to support food access and education to improve health outcomes. We look forward to seeing these numbers grow throughout the rest of the service year!
Over the last year, we added an additional AmeriCorps program with the launch of our Energy Training Corps program. Our three current members are working hard to develop our training curriculum, recruit households for our energy services, and recruit additional members to join the program. This work is laying the foundation for future impact, as members will soon be well-equipped to conduct energy assessments, provide household education, and expand the capacity of our energy program to serve more community members by improving local housing stock and community health.
Our newest AmeriCorps program launched in the last month, the Food Corps. In this new program, members are providing direct service to increase access to local, healthy foods in our community through agricultural, natural resources management, and community engagement activities. Our Food Corps has four members so far. Our new members have been supporting the development and opening of LNPK Grocery and getting the Eco3 Urban Farm ready for the growing season. We can’t wait to see our members’ impact bloom as they dive deeper into their service to our community.
We have so much gratitude and appreciation for our current AmeriCorps members and alumni. Without their commitment and passion for working in our community, Ecolibrium3 would not be the organization it is today. Happy AmeriCorps Week!