Category Archives: Corps Members

06.17.09
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A Pride Month Interview: The First Known Transgender Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Speaks Out

A Pride Month interview.

A recently-Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, and the first known transgender person to serve, writes about his experiences—first on the website for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Returned Peace Corps Volunteer group (also known as the LGBT RPCVs), and now in an interview with my intern Sara Lozito and me.

The interview here is timed to appear on the same day as our podcast interview for Pride Month. The RPCV has chosen to remain anonymous for security purposes.

To give you a little background here are some excerpts from the LGBT RPCVs website:

My desire to become a Peace Corps volunteer stemmed from not only believing in the mission and goals of PC, but because I wanted to gain valuable international experience Continue reading →

06.17.09
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Pride Month Podcast Transcript

Gay Pride 8-colors Flag by Stonewall Veteran<br> Gilbert Baker

Gay Pride 8-colors Flag by Stonewall Veteran Gilbert Baker

Below is the transcript of our June podcast, “Lesbian and Gay Perspectives in AmeriCorps and Peace Corps.” Huge thanks to podcast intern Sara Lozito, an AmeriCorps member, for work in creating the transcript.

Amy: Welcome to the Idealist podcast. I’m Amy Potthast and this is the The New Service Podcast from Idealist.org – moving people from good intentions to action.

June is Pride Month, so The New Service podcast is taking a closer look at the experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals serving in Peace Corps and AmeriCorps. The terms lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender are abbreviated throughout the show as LGBT or GLBT.

Today’s guests are lesbian and gay former service corps participants: Continue reading →

06.01.09
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Iowa AmeriCorps Members Grow, Bond, and Reflect at the National Leadership Institute

Team 2 tackles the low ropes courseGuest blogger is Joseph Piearson, second year AmeriCorps State of Promise Member, writes about his experiences at the Iowa National Leadership Institute.

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the National Leadership Institute, an intensive two-day experience for AmeriCorps Members in Iowa hosted by the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service .

Upon my arrival at the Wesley Woods Retreat Center near Indianola, Iowa, AmeriCorps Members from across the state were chatting casually and settling in to the campgrounds.

After a brief welcome to the grounds we were split into four teams comprised mostly of unacquainted members. Our first order of business: challenge games. The Wesley Woods camp staff provided four Continue reading →

05.15.09
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Mental-Health Related Disabilities and Reasonable Accommodations

Picture 6May is National Mental Health Month. Given that AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and Learn & Serve programs have service members with non-apparent disabilities, including members with mental health related disabilities, information and suggestions for providing reasonable accommodations are shared provided below.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health “an estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older—about one in four adults—suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. When applied to the 2004 U.S. Census residential population estimate for ages 18 and older, this figure translates to 57.7 million people.”

Mental health related disabilities “refer collectively to all diagnosable mental [conditions]…[which] are characterized by Continue reading →

05.07.09
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AmeriCorps Video and Photo Contest 2009

picture-21During the month of May, current and formerAmeriCorps members can enter award-worthy videos and photos to the annual contest that shows off their skill in getting things done.

For the video contest, your task is to create a 60-second video that AmeriCorps programs can use in future recruitment efforts. The film can feature live action, animation, or any thing else you can think of as long as it’s not offensive. You can take a look at past winners from 2007 and 2008.

You can vote for the winning video, from the five finalists, between June 15 and July 6. Learn more about how the video contest will be judged.

For the photo contest, you’ve got to capture the impact of AmeriCorps in one shot. Take a look at the guided questions here, Continue reading →