Where are they now? – Catching up with 2009 Corpsmember of the Year, Sarah LaRocque

Sarah LaRocque, a former member of Heart of Oregon Corps, won Corpsmember of the Year in 2009 for her commitment to service and self improvement. Read below to find out what she’s been up to since accepting her award, or find out more about Sarah and her Corps experience by reading her bio from our 2009 National Conference. 

Sarah LaRocque certainly has her hands full. With a 5-year-old daughter in kindergarten, an 18-month-old son, two of her boyfriend’s children coming to stay every other weekend, and a newly adopted English Bulldog, Sarah is busy, but happy.

“I think we could start our own soccer team, here!” she said.

During the summer of 2013, Sarah will celebrate having worked for the same company – Bend Broadband – for five years. She was recruited to join the company through Heart of Oregon, the Corps that helped Sarah get back on her feet after an unstable adolescence that involved family loss, homelessness, and substance abuse.

Sarah heard about Heart of Oregon Corps from her parole officer when she was 22. She had recently finished her probation, given birth to her first child, and achieved sobriety. As a single mother with bills mounting, Sarah needed to find a job. Unfortunately, without much formal education, it proved very difficult to compete for well-paying positions. Joining Heart of Oregon seemed like a good way for her to gain job skills and maintain some of the positive gains she had recently achieved.

“I liked the idea of helping,” said Sarah. “At that time I was doing some bad stuff, so giving back to the community that I had – in a sense – hurt, made me feel really good. It seemed like a great opportunity to give back and show people that I could do something good.”

During her time with Heart of Oregon between 2007 and 2008, Sarah earned her GED, participated in a program that delivered free firewood to the poor and elderly, participated in debris cleanup efforts, and helped build Habitat for Humanity homes. She says these projects helped her learn valuable lessons about the importance of teamwork.

“We had to work a lot on communicating and making sure everyone was communicating together and working as a team,” said Sarah. “I think that’s a skill you can carry with you for your whole life, in any job.”

Sarah, who is now 29, isn’t sure what her life would look like had she not found Heart of Oregon, but she believes that a main reason why she can feel comfortable and happy today is because she had a successful Corps experience.

“I might have been working at McDonald’s or something. Who knows where I would’ve been. But I definitely think that without [Heart of Oregon] I wouldn’t have gotten the job that I got and I don’t think I would have the drive to do what I am doing today,” said Sarah. “I don’t know if I would be doing bad, but I definitely wouldn’t be striving for a better future for my kids the way I am now.”

Sarah says Heart of Oregon helped her learn how to budget and save money. They helped her put aside old regrets and learn how to see herself as a good person again. She is certain her life today would be harder if it weren’t for her experience in the Corps.

These days, Sarah is a Senior Customer Care Representative with Bend Broadband. She also finds time to volunteer at her daughter’s school. In a few years, when her children are a little older, she plans to go back to school to earn a degree or professional certificate. For now, her main goal is to become a homeowner within the next year.

“We have a good savings going, so we should be able to own a house and have a place that we can raise our children in,” said Sarah. “I’m trying to just have fun with the kids while they’re young and they still like us!”

To any young people planning on joining a Corps, Sarah would remind them that it is their own choice whether to take the opportunities the Corps presents and run with it, or not take the opportunities seriously and continue to struggle. She says:

“I would just tell them to stick with it. It’s hard sometimes, but you’ll be very proud of yourself in the end. You get through it and, if you take it seriously, the rewards outweigh the struggles that you go through. You can look back on it and say ‘that’s something that I did.’ It can be hard these days to look back on your youth and be proud of something you accomplished.”

Sarah can certainly look back and be proud of what she accomplished with the help of Heart of Oregon Corps.

 

 

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Los Lonely Boys to Play Austin City Limits Benefit for American YouthWorks

It’s time once again for “the best musical fundraiser in Austin” – Help Clifford Help Kids!

Los Lonely Boys – the Grammy award winning band from San Angelo, Texas that plays what they have dubbed “Texican Rock n’ Roll” – will perform at Austin City Limits on Thursday, November 8, 2012 to benefit American YouthWorks. The band – comprised of brothers Henry, Jojo and Ringo Garza – was formed in 1996. The group is associated with such legendary performers as Carlos Santana and Willie Nelson. They are perhaps best known for their 2003 song “Heaven.” The group will perform songs from their newest album, “Rockpango.”

Doors open at 8:30 p.m. and the show begins at 9:00 p.m. 

Click here to buy tickets and get more information on the event. Money from the concert benefits American YouthWorks.

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New Video from Jobs for the Future – “Back on Track Through College: Voices from the Field”

 

Watch Jobs for the Future’s new video — Back on Track Through College: Voices from the Field. This video showcases three years of work with national network partners — YouthBuild USA, The National Youth Employment Coalition, and The Corps Network — to build a new education pathway across our nation to reengage disconnected youth and young adults (ages 16-24) and put them on a path to postsecondary success.  

The video showcases JFF’s Back on Track to College model, outlines the components of its design and provides testimony on its impact.  Early data results from the networks show high percentages of formerly disconnected youth gaining secondary credentials, entering postsecondary education and persisting through the first year of college.  JFF wishes to acknowledge the funders of this effort: Open Society Foundations; Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; New Profit, Inc.; the Nellie Mae Education Foundation; and our evaluators, The Center for Children Youth and Communities at Brandeis University. 

 

 

Vermont Youth Conservation Corps Storm Recovery Crew Uncovers the Recent Past

From the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps’s October 17, 2012 newsletter 

Every time the flow of the White River changes, more debris from Tropical Storm Irene makes its way down river and carves away river banks.  An eight-person Recovery Crew is currently working along the Tweed and White Rivers in Rochester to appropriately extract and discard hundreds of pounds of debris, including over 200 tires.

The job requires physical strength, safety and risk management, and problem solving skills.  In chest-high waders, members ferry debris to pick up areas.  Along the floodplain, the crew bushwhacks through thick sections of the infamous invasive Japanese Knotweed to reach piles of debris. Rockbars and pick mattocks are used to dig out tires, pry out painted or treated wood, and maneuver waterlogged mattresses. Sturdy trash bags hold antique bottles, pieces of cable, and toys. The crew will tell you that it takes patience, a sense of humor, and great teamwork to make this project successful.

Learn more about this crew here. 

The VYCC is committed to Irene Recovery.  In the wake of the storm, crews helped 60 families clean out their homes in Waterbury, Richmond, and Montpelier. This year, crews are completing several projects related to Irene including trail repair and invasive species removal.  We also welcome Matt DeFrange to VYCC Headquarters Staff as an AmeriCorps VISTA through SerVermont.  Matt’s focus is Irene Recovery through our Development Office.

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National Council of Young Leaders

Members of the National Council of Young Leaders at the 2012 Opportunity Nation Summit

From YouthBuild USA

The National Council of Young Leaders is a 14-member body comprised of diverse young men and women from across the United States. These Council Members, who range in age from 18 to 34, provide information and insight to elected officials and policymakers on the issues that affect low-income and disconnected youth from their communities.

Because of their very different backgrounds, each Council Member offers a different and unique take on what services and policies are needed to improve opportunities for disconnected youth. The Council’s Recommendations to Increase Opportunity and Decrease Poverty in America include policy prescriptions in the areas of education, criminal justice, community development and family. 

The Council was formed in July 2012 in response to a recommendation from the White House Council on Community Solutions, with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Open Society Foundations. The founding partners of the National Council of Young Leaders are:

  • Jobs for the Future
  • Opportunity Nation
  • Public Allies
  • The Corps Network
  • Year Up
  • Youth Leadership Institute 
  • YouthBuild USA

Click here to read bios for each of the Council Members and get more information on the Council’s founding partners.

The Corps Network is proud to be represented on the Council by 2012 Corpsmembers of the Year Ladine “JR” Daniels and Philandrian Tree.  

Click the links below to read more Corps Network stories on The National Council of Young Leaders: 

 

  

Philan Tree (left) and Ladine “JR” Daniels (right) – 2012 Corpsmembers of the Year and members of the National Council of Young Leaders. Pictured at the 2012 Opportunity Nation Summit.

2011 Congressional Visits

Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa Staff members Candice McElroy (left) and Cindy Green (center) talk to Matthew Forbes (right), the Environmental Legislative Assistant for Representative Colin Peterson (MN).

While some individuals were able to meet and talk to their Representatives at the Capitol Awards Ceremony, other Forum attendees spent their afternoon on Wednesday pounding the halls of Congressional office buildings to meet their Representatives and Senators.

For some individuals the meetings were a routine practice but for many the experience was new, exciting, and intimidating. Earlier on in the Forum, a short session was led by The Corps Network’s government relations team to help coach attendees in how to talk to their Representatives about supporting local and national priorities such as Americorps funding, the Public Lands Service Corps Act, and the Youth Corps Act.

2011 Capitol Hill Awards Ceremony

 

U.S. Congresswoman Mazie Hirono (third from left) poses with the staff of KUPU, who operate the Hawaii Youth Conservation Corps and the newer Urban Corps. Corpsmember of the Year Mari-Takemoto Chock is third from the right.

On Wednesday morning Forum attendees made their way to the Cannon House Office building to honor The Corps Network’s 2011 Congressional and Federal Champions. Many Congressional Representatives and staffers took time to express their appreciation and support. U.S. Congresswoman Mazie Hirono (Hawaii) came to receive an award but also honored Mari Takemoto-Chock, a former member of her staff who was also honored as a Corpsmember of the Year. Congresswoman Hirono pledged her support for the Youth Corps Act and soon thereafter introduced the legislation in the House of Representatives.

The 2011 Friends of National Service Reception

 

Actor Brandon Routh (third from left), was excited to meet the Corpsmembers of the Year. His best known role to date was as Superman in 2006’s Superman Returns. Corpsmember De’Andre Alexander spoke powerfully at the reception and is on the far right.

The 2011 Friends of National Service Reception was held in the East Hall of Union Station and took on the form of a pep rally as National Service leaders rallied the crowd in opposition to proposed federal budget cuts. 

Numerous speakers voiced their support for Service including Senator Barbara Mikulski, AnnMaura Connolly, President of Voices for National Service, actor Brandon Routh, and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour.

According to the Washington-based publication known as The Hill, “the most moving speech of the evening was given by De’Andre Alexander, The Corps Network’s Corps Member of the Year, who recounted his journey from the penal system to a life of service.”

The Washington Scene: How Service and Conservation Corps Fit the Picture

 

John Bridgeland, CEO of Civic Entreprises and a veteran of Washington politics, engaged the Forum audience on Tuesday afternoon with a discussion about current politics and what proposed budget cuts might mean for Service and Conservation Corps. With energy and concentration in the audience fading after two intense days of workshops, plenaries, and socializing, Bridgeland (pictured right) stirred the crowd with a bold statement: he told the audience that if they made Congressional visits to Republicans they should avoid using the word “Americorps.” This prompted a defensive posture in the audience and served as an excellent means for discussing how the delivery of a message is equally important to the merit of the message itself.

Strategies for Postsecondary Success: Green Career Pathways

 

In a Tuesday afternoon plenary session several speakers discussed the opportunities and challenges that exist in getting young people who have dropped out of traditional school systems enrolled in postsecondary education. Adria Steinberg, Vice President of Jobs for the Future got things started showing how the facilitation of this connection is of vital importance. Mimi Clarke Corcoran, Director of the Special Fund for Poverty Alleviation at Open Society Foundations (left below), and Steve Patrick (center below), Senior Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, followed up discussing how tying postsecondary education to green job credentials will be essential for preparing young people for the middle-skills jobs that will largely comprise the green economy forecast in America’s future.