By Tori Karpenko
One of my favorite sayings is, “many hands make light work.” A fabulous example of this phenomenon has come to the Methow Valley in recent years to help numerous nonprofit organizations accomplish their work. It’s called Americorps NCCC, which stands for National Civilian Community Corps.
Community service is a beautiful concept that connects a willingness to work with an opportunity to learn. In the NCCC model, 18-26-year-olds are assembled into teams of eight to 10 individuals that spend about 36 weeks working in three different communities. Team members learn how organizations do their work, acquire valuable work skills, get exposure to a new part of the country, and accomplish an incredible amount of work while they are in town.
Upon completion of their service, Americorps volunteers receive a very modest financial award that can be used to pay for current or future education expenses, such as college tuition.
TwispWorks has hosted five NCCC teams in the past and would like to do so again this year. Our model is to “share” a volunteer team with other organizations such as Classroom in Bloom, Methow Valley Interpretive Center, The Methow Valley Trails Collaborative, Red Shed and the Methow Housing Trust. Past teams have also helped organize Earth Day cleanups, assisted with staffing at Arts Fest, and pitched in after tragedies like the Carlton Complex Fire. The presence of an Americorps team in the valley is always a welcome flush of positive new energy, willing hands, and strong young backs. I have truly enjoyed working with them.
Housing needed
However, hosting a team comes with one very critical responsibility: we must provide adequate housing. This time around, despite numerous phone calls and inquiries, we have not been able to secure temporary housing for our dream team. We are appealing to the community for help. The application is due on Jan. 21, and we will not qualify if we can’t provide housing. Here are the important details:
• The dates of service this year are April 12-July 9.
• The housing requirements are daily access to a shower and kitchen facility for eight to 10 individuals.
• Team members do not need private bedrooms and can provide their own sleeping matts and bedding. For example, a large room or basement could accommodate multiple people.
• The team has their own vehicles and food budget.
Ideally the team would stay together for the 12-week period but if that is not possible, we are open to offers for a minimum of four people for a minimum of two weeks at one location. A patchwork approach takes more effort to coordinate, but it would be much better than no team at all.
TwispWorks will provide cleaning supplies and expendables like toilet paper.
Let’s rally and make this happen! Their willing hands will bring benefits that ripple through the community. Please contact me at tkarpenko@twispworks.org.
Tori Karpenko is director of campus operations at TwispWorks.
