Scott Meyers, 22, of Le Roy, recently began an 11-month term of service in the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), an AmeriCorps program. Meyers, based out of the regional campus in Sacramento, Calif., is currently serving on his first project.
Founded in 1994, AmeriCorps NCCC is a residential national service program that supports disaster relief, the environment, infrastructure improvement, energy conservation, and urban and rural development. Over the past 23 years, more than 1 million Americans have served the nation through the family of AmeriCorps programs. Currently, about 80,000 people serve in AmeriCorps programs nationwide each year, with about 2,000 of those in AmeriCorps NCCC.
As a Team Leader, Meyers is responsible for managing the daily activities of 12 to 14 Corps Members on their service projects. He serves as a role model, educator, safety manager, and liaison between the campus and project sponsor. He began his term of service with a month training in September.
Meyers then assisted with Corps Member training, which began in Sacramento in mid-October. This training emphasized teamwork, leadership development, communication, safety, and project preparation.
Twenty-three teams composed of 279 Corps Members and Team Leaders began service projects in November throughout the Pacific region and areas affected by recent hurricanes. Some of these projects include supporting wildfire response and recovery in California and Washington, renovating transitional housing for homeless youth in Wyoming, and assisting with hurricane recovery in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, among a variety of other projects.
There are four additional NCCC campuses located in Denver, Baltimore, Vinton, Iowa, and Vicksburg, Miss., each of which is a hub for its respective area of the country.
Before joining the NCCC, Meyers graduated from Le Roy Jr. Sr High School in June 2013, then attended State University of New York Brockport, which he graduated from in 2017 with a degree in Political Science.
Meyers said, “I joined AmeriCorps NCCC to serve communities around the country, and develop my leadership skills.”
Meyers is the son of Carol Meyers.
AmeriCorps NCCC members, all 18 to 24 years old, complete at least 1,700 hours of service during the 10-month program. In exchange for their service, they receive $5,815 to help pay for college.
Other benefits include a small living stipend, room and board, leadership development, team building skills, and the knowledge that, through active citizenship, they can indeed make a difference.
AmeriCorps NCCC is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service. For more information about AmeriCorps NCCC, visit the website at www.nationalservice.gov/nccc.
