Leading Classes for Refugees and English Language Learners with MCHS Community Corps

In this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service done by AmeriCorps member Zu Bai, who is serving this year with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee (BGCGM) - ClubCorps. Zu discusses how he is assisting students participating in their Graduation Plus program by providing mentorship and guidance to high school students from their freshmen year through and after their graduation from high school. He describes assisting students with all of the stages of the college application process and their preparation in the summer after graduation as they prepare to enter college. Zu discusses how he strives to form connections with students to strengthen the support he can provide to students, understanding the value of this assistance from his own participation in the program as a student. Listen in to learn about how Zu has gained skills in communication and leadership, which he plans to build upon once he completes his own college coursework for his nursing degree.

In this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service done by AmeriCorps member Peter Laskin, who is serving this year with Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS) Community Corps at Friends of Beaver Creek Reserve. Peter discusses his service as an environmental educator at Beaver Creek Reserve in Fall Creek, including working with school field trip groups and the public at various events. He describes several different activities he has done with field trip groups based upon the season, as well as working with their various ambassador animals, including their owl Luna, to educate the public about the natural world and the local environment. Peter also shares about how he has been supporting their tree tapping and syrup making on the reserve, working with field trips and volunteers to create maple syrup over the last few months. Listen in to learn more about the different projects and events that Peter has supported, including dressing as a termite for their Halloween Boofest event as one of the “scary” animals their education team dressed as to let people know the real facts and impacts of the animals.

In this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service done by AmeriCorps member Cailie Kafura, who is serving her third term with the Green Bay Conservation Corps (GBCC). Cailie discusses the different conservation projects she has worked on across her terms, providing an overview of how the projects change according to the season, from invasive species removal in the winter to planting native plant species and later gathering their seeds as the year progresses. She also describes how GBCC engages the public in different projects, including their extensive MLK Day of Service Project that she helped organize at the Brown County Central Library featuring roundtables and resources focused around five community issues and packing over 100 care kits for homeless individuals and others in need. Reflecting on her service, Cailie discusses the skills, experience, and confidence she has gained through her service with GBCC and how it has prepared her for future positions in the conservation field following her service. Listen in to learn how her service not only helped her gain these skills, but also connections with the community and her fellow AmeriCorps members and why deciding to serve with GBCC was “honestly the best decision I've ever made because it's been probably one of the happiest years of my life.”

In this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service done by AmeriCorps alumna Barb Suozzi, who previously served three terms with Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS) Recovery Corps from 2018-2021. Barb discusses her service as a recovery coach at two different sites across her service, detailing how during her first year she helped individuals with substance abuse disorders to make and follow their recovery plans while serving at the Family Health Center of Marshfield Alcohol and Drug Recovery Center in Minocqua. She then described her service the next two years at Arbor Vitae - Woodruff School, where she was primarily working on prevention activities and support for counseling, with her activities and roles adapting due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including shifting to preparing and delivering lunches for students that needed them when school shifted that for several months to virtual in 2020. Barb later discusses how her service experience helped lead to a job at the school assisting students as a mental health liaison before retiring and then using her Segal Education Award to study and complete volunteer service in Italy. Listen to learn about the advice that Barb would share for AmeriCorps members that she gained from her own experience, and how it led her into new career pathways and the learning opportunity of a lifetime.

In this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service done by AmeriCorps member Debra Bappert, who is serving her second term with Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS) Community Corps at Stepping Stones of Dunn County and previously served terms with two programs in Minnesota. Debra shares about how her service supports multiple aspects of how Stepping Stones supports individuals in need through food and shelter. She discusses her role helping to manage volunteers and assist the public at their food pantry several days during the week, as well as supporting volunteers creating SAM bags for their Share a Meal Program, which packs easy-to-serve meals for school children that can be sent home to increase access to food during the weekend. She also describes serving at their homeless shelter, Cairn House, helping to manage the kitchen on certain days each week and creating lunch menus based upon food in stock at the pantry and from produce donated by local farmers and gardeners.Debra also describes her previous AmeriCorps service several years ago in Minnesota shortly after graduating college, first serving as an employment coach supporting welfare-to-work program participants with Minnesota Opportunity Corps, and later serving as a reading tutor for young elementary students as a part of Minnesota Reading Corps. Listen to learn how Debra’s AmeriCorps service journey with multiple programs has led to several full circle moments, including reconnecting with her supervisor from her first term years later in their time of need and returning to Stepping Stones as an AmeriCorps member the last two years after volunteering and sitting on their board two decades ago while a college student.