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It’s AmeriCorps week! The week of March 10-18, 2012, is a time to recognize the commitment of AmeriCorps members by highlighting their extraordinary impact.

United Way of East Central Iowa will spotlight one of our AmeriCorps members each day during AmeriCorps week.

Nathaniel Otjen

On this year’s Martin Luther King Junior Day, VISTA volunteers came together to help work on projects in both Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. Two members both worked at the same site helping to weatherize a resource center in the Wellington Heights Neighborhood of Cedar Rapids.

“I attended two service projects [on] this Martin Luther King Junior Day,” said one VISTA volunteer. He went on to say, “[On] the first project, I decided to volunteer for my previous service organization, Green Iowa AmeriCorps, to help weatherize the Wellington House. The Wellington House is one of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites in Cedar Rapids and is instrumental in providing assistance to those in need in the Wellington Heights neighborhood.”

He added, “I appreciated seeing new Green Iowa AmeriCorps members empowering communities with education, outreach and weatherization; they agreed with me that the service is very intrinsically meaningful work.”

“The second service project I attended consisted of organizing, sorting and boxing non-perishable donations for HACAP at my current term’s site Mount Mercy University. I enjoy working with the students and staff at Mount Mercy University because they have a strong tradition of service,” said this VISTA.

The other VISTA volunteer also worked with Green Iowa on improving energy efficiency at the Wellington House. He worked to seal up various air leaks around the windows in the upstairs portion of the Wellington resource center.

“I met many great people, and in particular in was nice to get to know a couple [of them] among the new crop of AmeriCorps*NCCC leaders who came down from Vinton, Iowa,” he said.

“The experience was both informative and effective. After performing the final tests, the volunteers were happy to see huge improvements in energy efficiency,” he said.

The VISTA who worked at the Wellington House and also at HACAP summed up the day by saying, “After my service projects, and the other tasks I had planned for the day, I listened to speeches given by Martin Luther King Junior. His message of working for a just, equitable and fair society, working for positive social change through the work of your life and service is always inspiring.”

Nathaniel Otjen

One VISTA member organized a project for Martin Luther King Junior Day. Her project involved installing shelving in the new Lundby Townhomes library and cataloging approximately 1300 books.

She said, “It was wonderful to be a part of such a diverse group of people united to serve others. The spirit of service advanced by Martin Luther King Junior was present in the attitudes of those who came to volunteer. It was a joyful and rewarding experience!”

She added, “The day of service was very productive here at Lundby Townhomes. We had 30 volunteers serve for a total of 89 hours. We accomplished more than I thought we could. Thanks to our volunteers, the Lundby Library is really shaping up!”

Nathaniel Otjen

The Martin Luther King Junior Day was a great success once again this year! VISTA’s all throughout Cedar Rapids and Iowa City took part in this day by cleaning, organizing and promoting volunteerism.

One VISTA worked on a project for the Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP). Another VISTA worked with the Leadership and Resiliency Program at Matthew 25 and yet another VISTA volunteered at Iowa Legal Aid to help supervise volunteers and assemble homeless survival bags.

The VISTA working in HACAP said, “Originally it was supposed to be a semi-large group of about twelve volunteers preparing emergency food boxes for families within the community. However, when I showed up I was informed I would be crunching numbers that pertained to how many meals HACAP delivered throughout the 2011 fiscal year for various agencies in Linn County and neighboring counties.”

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Nathaniel Otjen

Many VISTA’s in Cedar Rapids volunteered their time on Martin Luther King Junior Day this year. It was a great experience for everyone involved!

One VISTA helped with the 26^th Annual Remembering Martin Luther King Junior Luncheon at the Hotel at Kirkwood. She said, “This event recognized the work of 22 individuals who demonstrated exceptional characteristics of service and leadership though volunteer work, school attendance, academic performance and positive behavior. I assisted the staff with collating program booklets, stuffing envelopes and creating table tents. On the day of the event, I assisted with setting up, greeting those in attendance and providing program booklets for the event.”

Overall her day of went very well, “I enjoyed giving tribute to a man, who against all odds, pushed to accomplish what many thought was impossible. The Keynote speaker, Judge Romonda Belcher, encouraged us all to find our purpose (calling) and commit to it. In doing so, we will be able to accomplish what many might think is unattainable. The race of life is not for the swift but for those willing to endure the hardships of this life, yet with compassion and a smile!”

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