Northern Wyoming News - Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years

WORLAND – In honor of local volunteers and what they do for us, Worland Mayor James Gill proclaimed April 3 as National Service Recognition day, encouraging residents to recognize the positive impact that the national service has in our community and to thank those who serve and to find ways to give back to the community.

At a meeting Tuesday night, Gill presented a proclamation in honor of the volunteers from around the community.

“The Corporation for National and Community Service shares a priority with local leaders nationwide to engage citizens, improve lives, and strengthen communities; and is joining with the National League of Cities, the National Associations of Counties,

Cities of Service and local leaders across the country for National Service Recognition on April 3, 2018.” The proclamation reads.

“AmeriCorps and Senior Corps participants address the most pressing challenges facing our communities, from educating students for the jobs of the 21st century, to fighting the opioid epidemic, to responding to national disasters, to supporting veterans and military families.”

The proclamation recognizes the service that expands economic opportunity by creating more sustainable, resilient communities and providing education, career skills and leadership abilities for those who serve.

AmeriCorps volunteer Sydney Montgomery spoke at the city council meeting about what she does as a worker for the program.

“I had been looking for a job at the time,” Montgomery informed. “And my boss had asked me to come fill out an application and discuss what my responsibilities would be.”

Montgomery got involved due to her love of helping people, and due to the scholarship provided. “Being in AmeriCorps lets you face real life problems and situations,” she explained. “It really helps you give back to the community.”

Montgomery works at the Crisis Prevention Resource Center as an advocate to work closely with clients who deal with domestic abuse. Part of her job as an employee includes reaching out to the community to spread information about the Resource center, accompany clients to court, connect with other associations, and, as an intern, clean bathrooms.

A large portion of being a worker for the center and AmeriCorps is to serve the community.

“If there’s a local disaster, or a disaster in Wyoming, I may be called to help,” Montgomery stated. Overall, one of the main goals of the program is to better the community.

Montgomery grew up and graduated in Worland, giving her a better sense of what the community is like as well.

The mission statement of AmeriCorps is ‘to strengthen communities and develop leaders through direct, team-based direct national and community service.”

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) oversees Senior Corps and AmeriCorps. The branches of the AmeriCorps are AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), AmeriCorps NCCC and AmeriCorps State and National, according to AmeriCorps official website.

Some responsibilities of volunteers may include helping with natural and other disasters, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, energy conservation and rural development.

Program director Jennifer Wetherbee explained that their volunteers are not paid unless if they work for the 900 hour slot, in which they receive a very modest living stipend.

“Starting September 1, we give our volunteers until August 31 to complete however many hours they signed up for.” Wetherbee explained. “There’s 900, 450 and 300 hour slots.”

Part of the things they do include getting ‘matched up’ with youth to be their “lunch buddies,” along with mentoring, and attending meetings, such as the local parenting classes. Other ways that they may complete their hours is volunteering through their organization, working in the office, or possibly volunteer through other organizations in the community, Wetherbee informed.

According to Wetherbee, there are five local volunteers out of Worland, and roughly 15-20 volunteers statewide. The yearly amount of volunteers mostly differs on the amount of funding the program is presented with through the state.

“They all at the end of their service term receive an education scholarship to be used at qualifying institutions, which is basically any university, or any two-year to four-year college,” Wetherbee stated. “The scholarship comes from AmeriCorps itself. The funding that pays for the positions, which is basically the living stipend comes through Serve Wyoming. But the actual scholarship comes through AmeriCorps, which is a national organization.”

“We receive money monthly through the Serve Wyoming that helps cover costs for those incidental things that they’re paid for,” Wetherbee said. “It works out to be about $400 a month.”

“The living stipend is meant to show them what it’s like to live in poverty. There’s more information on that on the AmeriCorps website.”

“The volunteers are vital to the success of our program because the AmeriCorps program is about giving back to your community. It’s not about the money that’s attached to it,” Wetherbee informed. “When you break down the number of hours, and the education scholarship that you receive, it’s single digit numbers per hour that they’re working. So it’s not about the money you’re receiving. It’s about giving back. And when you’re mentoring, it’s about giving, and helping, and listening, and being that stable consistent person that somebody needs in their life that they don’t have. The volunteers that we get, I utilize them in my office and in our program where our other offices don’t. We utilize them to help with funding, and fundraisers. I utilize them in a lot of different ways in our programs here.”

“Those interested in becoming a volunteer can contact me through our 1-800 number. It’s better to get your application in sooner rather than later.”