National AmeriCorps Week raises awareness of the program

WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) - March 13-19 is National AmeriCorps week. It celebrates members of a national organization who work to make the communities they live in a better place.

Jean Abreu is a retired biology teacher in the Wausau School District who spent years subbing with the Enrich Excel Achieve school, Or EEA.

She was offered a full-time job at EEA, but knew filling a void in the school’s AmeriCorps employees would work better with her retirement.

“I signed up to do 1700 hours over the course of a year, and how I do those hours is up to me,” Abreu said.

Not everyone has to make such a big commitment.

“I took 1700 hours, there’s 900 hours, there’s 600 hours, there’s 300 hours so that a person doesn’t have to sign up to be, you know, full time-full time,” she said.

In Wausau AmeriCorps places workers with EEA, the Hmong-American Center . . . And the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service among others.

In addition to working in their jobs, members have weekly meetings where they interact with AmeriCorps members at other organizations, take part in community-building activities and can learn from ongoing-education seminars.

“Their offerings, their learning about poverty and racial justice and other issues dealing with community were very relevant,” Abreu said.

Despite a nationwide presence, AmeriCorps goes largely unnoticed.

“We’re kind of like the hands sort of below the surface. You know, people don’t necessarily know there are AmeriCorps people there.”

Positions pay a living allowance, offer enhanced health insurance and educational grants that can help with your or a dependent’s student loans.

But according to Jean Abreu, the best part is the feeling she goes home with at the end of every day.

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