ANN ARBOR—At 7:30 a.m. on a Friday when most University of Michigan students are still sleeping, Kourtney Rice is in her car, driving to southeast Detroit to volunteer at the Northstar Community Development Corporation. During the course of the day, Rice researches the history of land acquisition throughout Detroit, attends community meetings, or strolls around neighborhood streets talking to people.

Rice, a graduate student in the School of Social Work, is just one of 20 U-M student members of AmeriCorps, a national service program which provides U.S. citizens the opportunity to be involved in community service. Especially designed to be accessible to university students, “AmeriCorps is being hailed as the new Peace Corps, a service that offers young people a way to use their skills to help others,” says faculty director Marian Krzyzowski.

Alison D’Amico of Brighton, Mich., a student in the School of Public Health, says that there were many influences in her decision to participate in AmeriCorps. “They were offering some relevant positions to my field of interest, community organizer, and I was looking for an internship for this summer.” Once she found out that “it is a year commitment, and that the position was paid and that you receive an educational stipend upon completion, I was hooked.

“What a great way for students to gain practical experience in the field of public health and earn money to be used for tuition,” she says. “I also feel that the year commitment is a great way to get your feet wet while you are attending classes and to have practical experience to use for future employment.”

Krzyzowski attributes the recent success and growth of AmeriCorps to its “extensive network.” It is one of the largest engagements U-M has with the city of Detroit, and the institution of AmeriCorps in the city of Detroit is one that serves as an easily replicable model, he says.

One of the strengths of the AmeriCorps program at U-M is that it works with the Michigan Neighborhood Partnership (MNP), a group that represents 21 community based organizations in metropohttp://www.umich.edu/~mserve/americorps/litan Detroit. The entire group is called the Michigan Neighborhood AmeriCorps Program (MNAP). With the help of the MNAP, U-M AmeriCorps students have been integral in developing a summer after-school curriculum for youth, a “Shop your Block” event which highlights local business, and planning a transportation summit to build collaboration among organizations interested in transportation issues.

For example, an AmeriCorps volunteer attends every local community council meeting in Detroit. Volunteers such as Rice begin the process of facilitating their community work by walking through the neighborhoods talking to people. On one of her walks, Rice saw an excess of bulk trash littering the streets of the Bagley community. She helped community members raise the issue at City Council meetings, and helped them identify who to contact to solve this problem.

As a result, police are partnering with sanitation workers to identify, then fine those people who leave bulk garbage, such as couches and large boxes, on the streets except on designated removal days.

AmeriCorps volunteers also help the local residents with beautification projects and publishing newsletters.

AmeriCorps members organize their own projects, and they direct their own schedule and implement it themselves, says AmeriCorps program manager Kim Andrews. These include educating members of public housing complexes about traffic safety, organizing committee meetings and forums, and bringing in experts to talk with community members about issues ranging from lead poisoning to health care delivery services.

Reflecting on her experiences with AmeriCorps, D’Amico says “the experience has been great! It was the individuals involved who made the transition into my position very smooth, and I am very proud to be working for an organization committed to providing a positive and enriching experience to interested students.”

For more information, contact Marian Krzyzowski at (734) 998-6201 or mjsk@umich.edu, or contact Alison D’Amico at alisond@umich.edu.

School of Social WorkSchool of Public HealthMichigan Neighborhood Partnershipmjsk@umich.edu