September 9, 2008, St. Wenceslaus Church, Cedar Rapids. A team of 11 AmeriCorps NCCC members have been busy since August 12 cleaning and repairing the gymnasium at St. Wenceslaus church in the southeast Cedar Rapids Oakhill Jackson Neighborhood.
The team of NCCC members assigned to repair the damaged gymnasium building at St. Wenceslaus Church in Cedar Rapids poses with two leaders from National and Community Service (the federal organization that oversees AmeriCorps programs including NCCC) on August 12, 2008, at a ceremony in Cedar Rapids.
(What is NCCC?)
Central Cedar Rapids Weed & Seed's Neighborhood Resource Center had been housed on the building's second floor. Floodwater reached about 5 feet on the gymnasium floor level.
The NCCCs will complete their work at the church on October 3.
Their work has included redoing the gymn floor, scraping the kitchne floor, cleaning appliances, putting up walls, tearing out the stage floor. The team has chipped tar off the gymn floor in preparation for a new concrete floor.
Five days a week they leave Vinton, Iowa at 8 a.m. and head to Cedar Rapids. They arrive back in Vinton at about 5:15 p.m. On days when they are waiting for supplies, NCCCs work with AmeriCorps VISTA members mucking out houses. They assisted as mucking leaders on August 23 when numerous Cornell College students mucked houses as part of a day of service.
Their Team Leader is Carman White of Mediapolis, Iowa.
The NCCCs put up studs, insulation, plywood and drywall to create walls in the gymnasium.
Below, Casey McDermott adds a third coat of mudding compound.
NCCCs tore out the kitchen's tile floor and cleaned flood-damaged appliances for St. Wenceslaus Church. Sean Batingan shows off some of the group's work.
Below, Kate Dibbern and Andrea Lemhouse help muck and tear out a house in northwest Cedar Rapids.
What is NCCC?
AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) is a full-time, team-based residential program for men and women age 18–24. Members live on one of four regional campuses, located in Denver, Colorado; Perry Point, Maryland; Sacramento, California; and Vinton, Iowa. The mission of AmeriCorps NCCC is to strengthen communities and develop leaders through direct, team-based national and community service. In partnership with nonprofit organizations, state and local agencies, and faith-based and other community organizations, members complete service projects throughout the region they are assigned.
Drawn from the successful models of the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s and the U.S. military, AmeriCorps NCCC is built on the belief that civic responsibility is an inherent duty of all citizens and that national service programs work effectively with local communities to address pressing needs.
How AmeriCorps NCCC Works
AmeriCorps NCCC requires an intensive, 10-month commitment. Members serve in teams of ten to twelve and are assigned to projects throughout the region served by their campus. They are trained in CPR, first aid, public safety, and other skills before beginning their first service project.
AmeriCorps NCCC members serve communities in every state, but live and train at three regional campuses. Sponsoring organizations request the assistance of AmeriCorps NCCC teams by submitting a project application to the regional campus that covers that organization’s state. The campuses provide assistance in completing the application, developing a work plan, and preparing the project sponsor for the arrival of the AmeriCorps NCCC team.
