AmeriCorps*Texas: Austin Welcomes the Next Generation
By Sarah Pratt
On Friday, October 3, a joyful crowd gathered on the lawn of the Texas Capitol to celebrate the swearing-in ceremony for AmeriCorps*Texas members. In colorful t-shirts proudly bearing AmeriCorps and local nonprofit logos, the people cheered and applauded one another. In front of the Capitol steps, second-year members told inspiring stories from their life-changing experiences in community service. And at the end of the celebration under the warm Texas sun, the new members took a pledge for a lifetime commitment to engaging in community service.
Filled with first- and second-year AmeriCorps members, past AmeriCorps alumni and proud friends and family members, the swearing-in ceremony was an uplifting opportunity for people to hear from other members and collectively celebrate their accomplishments and futures. Among the line-up of speakers were Heather McKissick, executive director of Leadership Austin; Texas Representative Elliott Naishtat, a former VISTA member; and Rosa Moreno-Mahoney, Associate Director of Service and Volunteerism, OneStar Foundation.
"By becoming an AmeriCorps*Texas member, you are taking a bold step," Moreno-Mahoney told the crowd. "Being bold means having idealism, vision, risk and impact. You must be optimistic that no challenge can go unmet when you work together. Be confident that your service can be a powerful social strategy that addresses critical needs, not just something that is nice to do. By using your time, talent and energy to be a force for good, you are joining a legacy of individuals who are committed to making a difference this year, and for the rest of their lives."
Most AmeriCorps*Texas members present at the ceremony had already begun their term of service. Many will serve for a full year, but the positions range from about 10 hours per week to full-time commitments. AmeriCorps*Texas members represented at the ceremony serve with various programs, including:
• Goodwill Industries
• Front Steps
• College Forward
• American Youthworks
• Travis County 4H Capital
• Communities In Schools-Central Texas
• AmeriCorps for Community Engagement and Education (ACEE)
• Austin Habitat for Humanity
• College for all Texans - GO Center Initiative
• Catholic Charities of Central Texas
• United Cerebral Palsy Association of Texas
The words spoken on that warm October afternoon will be remembered by the AmeriCorps members for years to come. "In general, what we have heard from our members is that the ceremony is meaningful to them, and that they love meeting members from other programs," said Mary Ellen Isaacs from ACEE, at the University of Texas at Austin's Dana Center.
"The swearing-in ceremony is a great chance for the AmeriCorps members in Austin to see that they are a part of a larger national movement," said Kassi Darakhshan, AmeriCorps Coordinator at Front Steps, a program that works to end homelessness in Austin.
The national movement of AmeriCorps is growing larger every year. According to CNS.gov, this fall will bring an additional 75,000 members from across the country into the ranks of over 400,000 members who have pledged to strengthen their own communities and-as the AmeriCorps slogan goes-"get things done" since 1994.
Because the AmeriCorps*Texas members are serving with different organizations, it is likely that they will gather together as a large group only one more time during their service commitment-at AmeriCorps Awareness Week. Scheduled for the spring of 2009, this national event brings together AmeriCorps programs from across the country to share community issues and bring awareness to the methods through which current members are responding to rising community needs.
The AmeriCorps pledge can be found here.
More information on AmeriCorps*Texas can be found here.
More information on becoming an AmeriCorps member can be found here.
