My AmeriCorps Experience – Carlie
The work we do at Habitat has a sense of urgency about it. Housing is a human right and the community members and families we serve deserve a home, along with the care and attention to detail the process requires. We are, however, a nonprofit operating in various systems that make affordable housing a challenging reality to create. For example, the pandemic has made materials and appliances not only more expensive but in some cases extremely scarce (looking at you, refrigerators!). Layers of paperwork both internal and external to our org ensure funding and compliance, but take time to complete accurately and regularly. Combine this with the natural delays and revisions that come with any collaborative project involving multiple people and we are seemingly always on a tight deadline, regardless of how far in advance we prepare. This is where I come in.
As an AmeriCorps member, I have a set amount of time (in my case, one year) to plug in as a support for the Construction team at Habitat. It’s my job not only to help out with established workflows but to see how I can make the workflows more efficient, whether that be through building online tools, suggesting adjustments to current processes, or creating evergreen training materials. Despite having no construction experience when I joined Habitat, I have found a welcoming and supportive environment that allows me to flex some organizational skills while contributing to the overall mission of getting people into homes. I’ve also gotten a crash-course in affordable housing, a cause I can now proudly say I contribute to. Serving with an AmeriCorps organization is a great way to learn more about a particular field or gain/ develop professional skills, all while doing good for the community.
My term with Habitat is actually my second time serving with AmeriCorps, my first being as a literacy tutor in the DC area back in 2015. While my overall duties and daily interactions differ significantly (practicing letter sounds with kindergarteners uses a different part of my brain than designing Google Docs!), I have the same sense that my efforts and participation are impacting the bigger picture. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day to-do lists and unexpected situations that need immediate attention and not think about how your work is making a difference. Taking a step back though, I can see that impact. My team can look at tracking spreadsheets I’ve created and know instantly where we are on a build, how many days we have until permits expire, what paperwork items need attention, what products have been ordered, and more. Additionally, my help in compiling data for reports allows our org to continue receiving funding and frees up time that my supervisors can spend researching options for land acquisition, aka future homes. In short, my work allows the team to have access to information and time that ensures more families in the community are served in a timely manner.
Being an AmeriCorps member has helped me get a better sense of what I want to do professionally. It was a foot-in-the-door to fields that generally require experience ahead of time, as well as a timeframe I knew I could commit to. Not only that, but the post-service education award allows me to pursue related certification at a much lower cost. If you are a recent grad, thinking about transitioning to a new field, or just wanting to give back, I highly recommend an AmeriCorps service year.
