Eleven years of AmeriCorps in Ponca City

“Giving back to your community is just one of the great opportunities you get when you join the AmeriCorps team”, states Ruslyn Hermanson, AmeriCorps program director. 

Thanks to funding from the Oklahoma Community Service Commission and the Corporation for National and Community Service, on September 1, 2007 the United Way/AmeriCorps program known as Partners Building a Stronger Tomorrow will begin its eleventh year of service to the Ponca City area with 18 full time, 6 part time and 10 education award only members serving with 14 non-profit sites.  Members are placed with area non-profit sites that supervise members, meet service criteria, help at-risk youth, and provide a cash match to participate. The United Way/AmeriCorps program has grown since it began in Ponca City in the fall of 1997.

August 31, 2007 marks the completion of 10 years of AmeriCorps service in the Ponca City area, sponsored by United Way. A total of 300 individuals have served as local AmeriCorps members since it began in the fall of 1997 in Ponca City. 

These 300 members have served a total of 364, 074 hours of service, recruited 1,822 volunteers- serving 4,221 hours, provided disaster preparedness information to 5,478 students, tutored 6,140 students, mentored 991 students, provided enrichment activities to 6,070 students, provided 54 community presentations to 1,463 people, helped secure family services for 2,243 parents benefiting 8,795 children, created and maintained 250 partnerships within the community. The AmeriCorps grant has brought $2,495,049.00 of federal funding to the community and members have been awarded $766,560.00 in AmeriCorps scholarship vouchers.

The AmeriCorps program in Ponca City touches the lives of thousands of children and parents in our community.  Each individual site affiliated with the program is able to reach more children because of the extra “muscle” provided by the AmeriCorps members.  The AmeriCorps motto is “getting things done” and the United Way/AmeriCorps program is dedicated to “getting things done” in our own backyard.

AmeriCorps members provide tutoring, disaster preparedness, violence prevention, mentoring and outreach services to enhance educational outcomes and life opportunities for children and their families.  Members recruit and train needed volunteers, develop and lead academically enriched after-school and summer programming and form community partnerships designed to enhance the quality of life for all citizens in our community.

AmeriCorps members serve individually at local sites throughout Kay County, northern Noble County, and western Osage County. They also work as a team to develop and implement community service projects for Make A Difference Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and Global Youth Service Day.

Recruitment for the September 2007 through August 2008 year is underway.  Available service positions include 1700 hours service for full time service and 900 hours for part time service.  Full time members receive a living allowance of $11,100 and part time members receive a living allowance of $5,876.  Full time members may also receive health benefits and if income eligible, child care assistance.  At the end of a successful year of service, members are eligible for an education award of $4,725 for full time and $2,362 for part time service. These awards or vouchers are accepted by Title IV institutions, from technical school to law school, and may also be applied to existing approved student loans.

An excellent training package, exceptional leadership development opportunities, deferment of government-guaranteed student loans, and the opportunity to make a real difference in their own life—as well as the lives of others -- are additional benefits awaiting those who serve as AmeriCorps members.

AmeriCorps service sites include public schools, tribes, and local non-profit organizations.

The end of a service year is a time for members to reflect on their accomplishments.  The following are comments from the 2006-07 members as they complete their year of service:  “When I first heard about AmeriCorps it was through a previous AmeriCorps member who told me about a program that sounded interesting and exciting.  I decided that I too wanted to help and serve others while earning an education award that could assist me in paying for school. An aspect that attracted me to serve through AmeriCorps was the way that I saw the community benefiting and growing.  Through AmeriCorps, I have learned many life lessons that I will take with me and put into practice.  The work may seem tough but it is worth the effort and so much more.  There are many challenges to being a successful AmeriCorps member, but there are also many more rewards for the service that you as an AmeriCorps member can provide.  Commitment, dedication, patience and hard work are keys to success for an AmeriCorps member.  Challenges present themselves in many forms, sometimes there may be student behavior and discipline problems or maybe it is getting a team to work together for a group goal, but overcoming these and other challenges have helped me gain problem solving skills that I would not have been exposed to had it not been for AmeriCorps.  Some of the rewards that an AmeriCorps member feels when we have completed service is to know that they have made a difference in the life of a child, that they have helped someone strive to be successful and watched a child meet their goal.  When others learn, when they grow in the way that they relate to others and to the world from the concepts that an AmeriCorps member has helped them understand, when you can see the idea click and the light bulb turn on, when you know that there has been more than just a lesson learned, when you can see the child become confident in themselves, that is the work of an AmeriCorps member.  The appreciation that can be seen in the eyes of those you help is one of the most rewarding things a person may experience and one that AmeriCorps members know. It means that they have done their best and helped another in this community succeed.”

Members must be at least 17 years of age and have a high school diploma or GED.  Those selected for service must provide a copy of their birth certificate; agree to drug screenings and background checks.

If you would like to help in “getting things done” or if you would like more information about the AmeriCorps State program and serving in the Ponca City area, please contact United Way of Ponca City, 205 N. 2^nd or call 718-0288. Applications are available at United Way or visit the AmeriCorps website at www.americorps.org.      

  
For More Information

If you would like to help in “getting things done” or if you would like more information about the AmeriCorps State program and serving in the Ponca City area, please contact United Way of Ponca City, 205 N. 2^nd or call 718-0288. Applications are available at United Way or visit the AmeriCorps website at www.americorps.org.