AmeriCorps State/National

An * (asterisk) means the program is funded by Volunteer Maine, the state commission. The other programs are operated by national or regional nonprofits that send AmeriCorps members to their Maine affiliates. 

AmeriCorps Resilience Corps*

Primary Contact: Julia Breul
Address: Greater Portland Council of Governments
970 Baxter Boulevard
Portland, ME 04103
Phone: (207) 774-9891
Email: jbreul@gpcog.org
Counties served: Cumberland and Northern York Counties

Resilience Corps:

The Resilience Corps supports local government agencies, nonprofit agencies and regional cohorts in the Greater Portland area in their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and planning efforts towards regional resilience. Fourteen Corps Members assist projects related to regional, community, or organizational resilience and help to accelerate civic innovation, climate action, racial equity, and digital equity for all Mainers. The Resilience Corps adds new capacity in local governments to adapt and proactively respond to both short-term and long-term challenges to economic, social, and environmental systems throughout the region.

Resilience Corps Positions:

Corps Members offer direct service to local government entities or support regional efforts to address regional projects at GPCOG. They receive professional and workforce development as a cohort in data collection, analysis, and visualization, professional skills, and they participate in AmeriCorps National Days of Service. 

Service activities: 

  • Researching opportunities and supporting town committees to expand broadband access in Maine
  • Investigating new ways to connect Mainers through public transit and advancing equity and inclusion in the region
  • Conducting public engagement and community outreach around transit routes and changes, housing developments, racial equity and inclusion initiatives, and sustainability plans
  • Supporting small businesses by publicizing and helping to manage grant programs and opportunities for collaboration
  • Guiding municipalities and non-profits in their climate action planning, environmental data management, and sustainability communications
FoodCorps

Primary Contact: Ryan Parker 
  
Phone: (207) 558-2875
Email
Websitewww.foodcorps.org

FoodCorps seeks to drive systemic change in how schools educate our children about food, so as to nurture a nation of healthy children and address the causes of childhood obesity. FoodCorps’ program strategy is built on two broadly held conclusions of existing research. First, that increasing fruit and vegetable consumption is a foundational step toward reducing rates of obesity and diet-related disease (United States Department of Agriculture [USDA], 2015). Second, food and nutrition education programs with multiple, mutually reinforcing components and an environment-wide purview achieve a greater impact on children’s health than single-component nutrition interventions (Seo et al., 2010). In program year 2018-2019, 12 full-time FoodCorps AmeriCorps members will each complete 1,700 hours over 11.5 months in communities across Maine. Members will serve deeply in one to two limited-resource schools implementing interventions across three evidence based program areas that get kids eating healthy: hands-on learning, healthy school meals, and schoolwide culture of health.

I Know ME AmeriCorps*

Primary Contact: Ray Estabrook  
Address: Maine Youth Alliance 
78A Main St, Belfast, ME 04915–6825  
Phone: (207) 338-6447
Email: reps72@gmail.com
Counties served: Waldo (Towns of of Brooks, Freedom, Jackson, Knox, Liberty, Monroe, Montville, Thorndike, Troy, Unity, and Waldo)

The Game Loft is a Maine Rural State program hosting 4 AmeriCorps members providing mentoring to RSU #3 students, age 12-15, in Waldo County, using the I Know ME curriculum.

Each year the AmeriCorps members are responsible for preparing 36 at risk students for success in the classroom, within their peer groups and beyond the school walls. Additionally, the AmeriCorps members engage local volunteers in developing new mentoring relationships with the students and develop the host agency’s capacity to better manage volunteers.

AmeriCorps Mentors for Success*

Primary contact: Julie Smyth
Address: Maine Department of Education
23 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0023
Phone: 207-592-0949
Email: julie.a.smyth@maine.gov
Website: www.maine.gov/doe/home
Counties served: York

About

AmeriCorps Mentors for Success members support at-risk 9th grade students by providing mentoring, social emotional learning techniques and academic supports.  Students are given the tools they need to have a successful high school experience and build capacity for achievement.

Goals

Members offer direct service and supports to a cohort of an estimated 1-10 students for both mentoring and academic support each year.  They receive professional training from MDOE Social Emotional Learning specialists, grade level leadership and teacher in evidence-based best practices including curriculum, data collection and analysis, and social-emotional learning.  Members will also participate in community efforts for recruitment and service. 

Position overview

Members will 

  • provide direct support to at-risk 9th grade students with social emotional learning techniques and academic support
  • build strong relationships with mentees thus building emotional for resiliency and academic success 
  • receive training to better understand social-emotional development in adolescence, provide civic engagement experience 
  • collaborate with a team of like-minded people eager to support students’ high school success and community engagement 

Apply

Apply on ServiceYear.org -- Maine AmeriCorps Mentors for Success

Maine Conservation Corps AmeriCorps Program*

Primary Contact: Sara Knowles
124 State House Station 
Augusta, ME 04333-0124
phone: (207) 624-6085
fax:(207) 287-3342
emailCorps.Conservation@maine.gov
web site: www.maine.gov/dacf/mcc
Counties served: All 16 Maine counties

Mission statement

To accomplish conservation initiatives that inspire individuals and enhance communities. 

Goals

Maine Conservation Corps (MCC) strives to create equal access, understanding, and admiration of the natural world among participants and the public through service and community engagement, while cultivating the next generation of conservation stewards. 

Positions overview:

MCC offers a 88 service opportunities through two programs: Environmental Stewards and Field Teams.

Environmental Stewards accomplish a wide variety of conservation projects ranging from water quality monitoring, habitat restoration, mobilizing volunteers, banding and gathering data on songbirds, restoring eelgrass, teaching school kids about shellfisheries, mapping invasive species, and more.

Field Teams construct and rehabilitate sustainable trails in places, like Baxter State Park and on the Appalachian Trail, as well as land owned by local communities and land trusts; engage in habitat restoration efforts; irradicate invasive species; and complete other endeavors to manage public lands. Efforts of the Field Team provide access to Maine's natural areas and present recreation, education, and fitness opportunities for the public. 

Service activities

Activities of MCC AmeriCorps members are diverse, but have common initiatives focused on enacting the mission of the corps:

  • Accomplish conservation projects: This is the primary focus of all MCC programs. Members build and rehabilitate trails construct outdoor learning centers for schools, improve wildlife habitat and timber stands, survey watersheds, test water quality, oversee planting projects, and much more.
  • Promote conservation education: MCC strives to raise awareness and interest in the natural environment. Individual placement members help develop curriculum, train volunteers, and conduct outreach efforts. 
  • Engage volunteers: The MCC members recruits volunteers to serve at projects all over the state. Volunteers can join MCC on the trail, in the classroom, or on the water to get involved in local efforts to protect and restore the environment.
  • Develop transferable skills, earn certifications, and gain experience: MCC programs develop communication skills, teamwork, critical thinking, problem solving, self-esteem, confidence, safety, job skills and outdoor living experiences. Members participate in job readiness trainings and earn certifications to prepare them for life after AmeriCorps.

Apply

Apply on Service Year -- click here, or
apply using MCC's application -- click here.

Skowhegan AmeriCorps Outdoor Recreation Program*

Contact: Kristina Cannon 
Main Street Skowhegan
48 Court St., Skowhegan, ME 04976-1864
Phone: (207) 612-2571
Email: kristina@mainstreetskowhegan.org
Counties served: Somerset

About

The Skowhegan Outdoors AmeriCorps Program, an initiative of Main Street Skowhegan--is an effort to ensure that everyone in the Skowhegan community has equitable access to the outdoors, opportunities to participate in free outdoor activities, and the tools to experience the natural world on their own. Six AmeriCorps positions serve in support of this program.

Goals

Skowhegan Outdoors AmeriCorps Program offers connection to outdoor recreation for those in the Skowhegan community, including free outdoor programming, the implementation of a community gear library, the development of Run of River, and the expansion of the local trail network. Skowhegan Outdoors will help bring people together through shared experiences, promote our outdoor spaces and facilities, and catalyze a shift toward a more active lifestyle in Skowhegan--a lifestyle that is accessible to everyone.

Position overview

Skowhegan Outdoor AmeriCorps Program members serve the community directly by involving its members in outdoor recreation programming, which they plan, prepare for, and execute. The AmeriCorps members also train additional volunteers to lead the programs, promote the programs in virtual and real spaces, create online content, and are tasked with establishing a gear library so residents can borrow outdoor recreation equipment free of charge.

Service activities

  • Plan outdoor programming for each calendar month of the term they serve, for which members will plan logistics and prepare materials, then execute together.
  • Collaborate with new and returning community partners and volunteers to increase the program's capacity.
  • Use social media, email newsletters, the program website, paper calendars distributed around the community, and other means to promote Skowhegan Outdoors AmeriCorps Program.
  • Maintain and enhance the Free Community Gear Library, which may include cleaning and repairing gear, communicating with borrowers, applying for grants for additional gear, and promoting the library.

Apply

Apply on Service Year -- access here.

Trekkers AmeriCorps Aspirations*

Primary Contact: Amie Hutchison, Executive Director 
Trekkers 
325 Old County Road
Rockland, ME 04841
Phone: 207-594-5095
Email: amie@trekkers.org
Website: www.trekkers.org
County served: Knox 

About

Since 1994, Trekkers has been dedicated to helping young people thrive. Our mission is to cultivate the inherent strengths of young people through the power of long-term mentoring relationships. Trekkers is a unique six-year experiential learning program for students, starting in 7th grade and lasting through 12th grade. Throughout the school year, teams of up to 20 students meet to plan their annual expedition and participate in activities, like exploring the outdoors, volunteering, learning about new cultures, and more. Student voice and choice is essential, so every program looks a little different.

Goals

Adolescence is one of the most challenging times of life but also one of the most transformative. All young people deserve the opportunity to build critical life skills that help them thrive into adulthood. External evaluation shows Trekkers helps students increase personal resiliency, relationship-building skills, and aspirations for the future.

Position overview

As an AmeriCorps member, you will have a critical role at our organization. You will be welcomed as part of our Program Team, receiving hands-on experience serving with students from local schools, acting as mentors to them and building deep connections to teams. AmeriCorps members at Trekkers build leadership and collaboration skills by helping organize, plan, and lead trips and activities, helping shape our strategies for promoting positive youth development, and empowering our volunteer base and community connections to grow.

How to apply

Apply on Service Year -- access here.