AmeriCorps Connecticut Programs

Serve Connecticut is proud to share that the following AmeriCorps Connecticut programs are currently serving our state. Whether you are an individual seeking an opportunity to participate in national service here in Connecticut, an organization looking for opportunities to partner with national service providers serving our state, or a community leader exploring resources for the people you represent, these AmeriCorps Connecticut programs are creating impact and meeting needs -- and would love to hear from you!

College Advising Corps AmeriCorps members provide college advising and postsecondary motivational support to low-income, first-generation, underrepresented students in 10 underserved high schools across Connecticut. College Advising Corps AmeriCorps members help students discover their motivation for college and assist them with completing the processes to apply to, finance, and enroll in a postsecondary educational institution through providing one-on-one and group advising, coordinating college and financial aid workshops, holding family/parent meetings, and providing technical assistance in the college application process. Contact: Courtney Witherspoon, courtney.witherspoon@uconn.edu

ConnectiCorps AmeriCorps members help nonprofits reimagine how to engage volunteers with innovative and inclusive strategies focused on volunteer recruitment, utilization, retention and coordination. Our program seeks to place civic-minded, passionate leaders at nonprofits which have been adversely impacted by continuing impacts of COVID-19 and need support from volunteers to build their organizational capacity. Contact: Dana Mingolello, dmingolello@ctnonprofitalliance.org

HEALTHForward AmeriCorps members tackle health disparities and the impact of social determinants of health in underserved communities. With the goal of reducing health disparities, HealthForward AmeriCorps members serve full-time at one of the five centers that comprise the CT AHEC Network and engage high school, college and health professions students from underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds in select service-learning programs, such as the Youth Health Service Corps, Collegiate Health Service Corps and Field Placements. Contact: Andrew Oravecz, oravecz@health360.org

Healthy Communities AmeriCorps members create cohesion in vulnerable communities and promote healthcare and support services through outreach, awareness, linkage to care and support. A Public Health AmeriCorps program of Community Health Center Inc., Healthy Communities is designed to identify the unique and integral needs of our communities and neighborhoods and to establish strategic plans to address them. Service delivery directly addresses the public health crisis in vulnerable communities and makes healthcare and support services accessible through flexible delivery of services. Healthy Communities AmeriCorps members conduct community outreach, education, patient engagement, and link patients to CHCI care and referrals to community-based assistance. Additionally, they participate in statewide and local activities which promote awareness of health and health services. Contact: Raneda Porter, porterr@chc1.com

Jumpstart AmeriCorps members provide language, literacy, and social-emotional programming for preschool children from under-resourced communities and promote quality early learning for all children. Jumpstart is a national early education organization working toward the day every child in America enters kindergarten prepared to succeed. Since 1993, we’ve trained more than 58,000 college students and community volunteers to transform the lives of over 133,000 preschool children nationwide. Contact: Jasmine Clayton, jasmine.clayton@jstart.org

NESS SEA (STEM Education Ambassador) AmeriCorps members engage students in STEM-based ocean adventure learning. New England Science & Sailing SEA AmeriCorps members serve to provide students with additional support and mentoring during the academic school day. They also design and implement STEM-based, extended learning and summer programs utilizing marine science, adventure sports, and sailing as the educational platform. Contact: Bridget Nelson, bnelson@nessf.org

Prevention Corps AmeriCorps members serve to educate and empower communities across Connecticut to end the opioid crisis. Prevention Corps AmeriCorps members deliver Narcan trainings to the community at large to prevent overdose deaths as well as educate individuals on current opioid trends, distribute information on safe storage/disposal of medication, implement education sessions on substance misuse and mental health, and create/support awareness campaigns to reduce stigma. Prevention Corps AmeriCorps members serve at a variety of placement sites, including colleges and universities, health departments, town youth/community services, Regional Behavioral Action Health Organizations, and nonprofits related to substance misuse. Prevention Corps AmeriCorps members serve on a three-quarter time (35 hours per week) or part-time (23 hours per week) basis. Contact: Austin Terreri, austin@ryasap.org

Public Allies AmeriCorps members, or Allies, serve in a variety of public and nonprofit settings to provide capacity-building support to those organizations in delivering critical services to the community. Public Allies is a social justice organization committed to changing the face and practice of leadership by recruiting and training talented young leaders, with a passion for social impact, to create meaningful change in our community. Our Allies are diverse, equity-centered, innovative problem solvers, dedicated to mobilizing community assets to develop solutions to local challenges. In partnership with nonprofit partners, we deliver our nationally recognized, values-driven, results-led apprenticeship to advance our mission to create a just and equitable society and the diverse leadership to sustain it. Public Allies Connecticut is intentional about recruiting young leaders whose promise and potential are too frequently overlooked, dismissed, or ignored, including young adults aging out of the foster care system; our brothers and sisters who must remake their lives following incarceration; and single mothers seeking a bridge from GED to college and career. They need – and deserve – opportunities like Public Allies to activate their full leadership potential. Public Allies Connecticut is a program of Regional Youth Adult Social Action Partnership (RYASAP). Contact: Shanee Ransom, shaneer@publicallies.org

Service to Improve Community Health (STICH) AmeriCorps members serve in federally qualified health centers and health-focused nonprofit organizations across Connecticut to 1) implement standardized health insurance literacy training at health centers and other locations like community centers, local libraries, and colleges/universities, and 2) organize and provide community-specific health education initiatives which address prevalent, chronic conditions currently outside the scope of traditional clinical interventions. Through focused care coordination and navigation of the health care system, STICH AmeriCorps members address obstacles to patient access for patients of all ages. Health education initiatives may be offered in numerous languages depending on the need of that specific community. STICH AmeriCorps Members also attend community events and health fairs to raise awareness of these services. Contact: Maya Severson, mseverson@chcact.org