Questions and Answers

What is AmeriCorps?

AmeriCorps is a national service program often called “the domestic Peace Corps” that provides thousands of Americans of all ages and backgrounds the chance to make a difference in their communities through service. In return for a years service, members receive a living allowance, education award, healthcare benefits, education loan forbearance, professional training, and childcare benefits (if eligible).

What are the benefits of becoming a Ionia County AmeriCorps member?

Benefits include:

• A $10,197 living allowance
• An education award of $4,725
• Health care benefits
• Child care benefits (if eligible)
• Education loan forbearance
• Professional training
• Professional work experience

Where is Ionia County AmeriCorps located?

Ionia County AmeriCorps is located with its host agency, the Ionia County Intermediate School District, midway between Grand Rapids and Lansing. The administrative office is housed at the Ionia County Intermediate School District building at 2191 Harwood Road, Ionia, Michigan.

What are the expectations of an Ionia County AmeriCorps member?

To The Team

• Welcome the diversity among the team members
• Support and enjoy each other
• Look for the strengths in each other
• Calmly, with a positive heart, acknowledge and persist through any conflicts
• Ask for help in figuring out things
• Communicate, communicate, communicate, communicate
• Smile, laugh, and whistle while you work (Whistling is not really mandatory!)
• Attendance and active participation in Orientation
• Attendance and active participation in team meetings taking turns facilitating meetings in pairs (Create the agenda with the Program Director ahead of time, lead ice breaker or team builder, present a learning opportunity, facilitate agenda, type and distribute minutes)
• Actively participate in developing and distributing resources and training about developing and coordinating effective school-based mentoring programs
• One member to actively serve on the state Member Council
• Conduct the countywide F.R.E.E. (Families Reading Every Evening) Movie program together (Coordinate schools, develop activities for the monthly events, serve at the monthly events)
• Serve at the AmeriCorps night (first Friday of each month) at the Ionia Theatre
• Actively participate in the planning throughout the year and delivery of the weeklong Promise Daze summer camp
• Serve at the annual Water Festival at Bertha Brock Park
• Publicize Community of Promise and AmeriCorps on an on-going basis
• Develop a Community of Promise and AmeriCorps presence in the Ionia Free Fair Parade
• Recruit and support volunteers to serve in team activities
• Provide information to the media about your activities
• Create one team scrapbook of activities
• Create a team display for Celebration, team events, and recruiting

To The Sites

• Partner with your site supervisor and the Program Director to develop your site agreement
• Uphold your site agreement
• Promote mentoring as determined in your site agreement and/or with the team as a team activity
• Support service-learning as determined in your site agreement
• Support other school activities as determined in your site agreement
• Partner/meet weekly with your site supervisor
• Communicate, communicate, communicate, communicate
• Calmly, with a positive heart, acknowledge and persist through any conflicts
• Ask for help in figuring out things
• Recruit and support volunteers to serve in school activities
• Provide information to the media about your activities

To The Community

• Service to others
• Recruit and support volunteers to serve others

To the National Service Program

• A complete member file (Application, 2 letters of recommendation, national forms, copies of birth certificate and social security card, fingerprint records, program forms)
• Weekly timesheets
• Documentation of all activities, including volunteer contact information, service descriptions, and hours served
• Quarterly reports
• One member to actively serve on the state Member Council (Also listed under "Team")
• Attendance and active participation at the annual AmeriCorps Celebration (1 day in the Lansing area)
• Attendance and active participation at the annual Russ Mawby Signature Service Project (2 days out of town somewhere in the state)
• Actively participate in Citizenship training with the team