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PHOTO BY MATT NAGLE

COMMUNITY SERVICE. In celebration of AmeriCorps Week, Drew Mikkelsen, South Sound bureau chief with KING 5 News, put in some volunteer hours at Goodwill Industries where he helped his client Robert (seated) learn Microsoft Office software with assistance from AmeriCorps worker and Goodwill Computer Lab assistant and intern Sheryl Tate.

Local leaders celebrate AmeriCorps Week by volunteering

By Matt Nagle

May 11 was not only Mother’s Day, it was also the official kick-off day for AmeriCorps Week 2008, which runs through May 18. In Pierce County, to celebrate the week and bring attention to how all Americans can serve their country locally, a handful of well-known Tacomans experienced what it’s like to work for AmeriCorps by rolling up their sleeves and going to work alongside Washington Service Corps/AmeriCorps members at various social service agencies around town.

Ken Miller, board member for Tacoma Housing Authority, served at the Lakewood Area Shelter for the homeless May 12. On May 13 Sharon Parker, chancellor for equity and diversity at University of Washington Tacoma, served at United Way of Pierce County, and Drew Mikkelsen, South Sound bureau chief for KING 5 News, served at Goodwill Industries. Jud Morris, director of the Family Support Center for Children’s Home Society in Pierce County, will work at the Tacoma Rescue Mission on May 16, the same day Tacoma City Councilmember Rick Talbert goes to work for a day at Bates Technical College.

For his stint at Goodwill, Mikkelsen brought with him a senior from Stadium High School, Sarah Hall, who is secretary of the school’s honors society. She and other Stadium honor society officers got involved in AmeriCorps Week after Dixon McReynolds, AmeriCorp program lead, spoke to the group.

“I never heard of AmeriCorps until Dixon came and talked to us,” she said, noting that she was looking forward to learning about Goodwill Industries with Mikkelson. He admitted he didn’t really know much about AmeriCorps either.

“It’ll be a good education to learn more about AmeriCorps and Goodwill,” he said before heading off to his “job” that day to help clients in Goodwill’s Computer Lab.

Mikkelsen assisted Goodwill client Robert in creating a sign using Microsoft software while Hall sat with another client, Svetlana, who recently emigrated from Russia, to work on an Excel document. Both Robert and Svetlana are learning new job skills as part of Goodwill’s Workforce Development program.

In our state, the Washington Service Corps is administered by the state Employment Security Department using funding from the federal AmeriCorps program. Members aged 17 and up commit to 10-and-a-half month to a year of community service that meets the educational, environmental, security and public safety needs of communities across Washington. In return, they receive a modest living allowance and an educational scholarship.

For more information on Washington Service Corps/AmeriCorps, visit www.wa.gov/esd/wsc or call (360) 438-4005.

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