My name is Mike Kamer and I'm a 2nd year AmeriCorps VIP member. I stepped into social service after finding inspiration from Geoffrey Canada and his work with the Harlem Children Zone. Having seen the power of curing social problems by attacking their roots, I found myself empowered with hope and needing an outlet. This led me to AmeriCorps. I took years of skills developed running promotions for a Las Vegas nightclub and - thanks to the VIP program - have been using them for the last 2 years to organize and activate volunteer efforts in my community to address problems form the ground up.
For my second term as a VIP member I have been placed at The YMCA of Orange where I have been honored and lucky enough to lead up one of the coolest projects I've ever been involved with. My supervisor and I agreed that The Y could take an active roll in fighting childhood obesity as well as unhealthy habits in the children that attend The Y's programs. To do this, we decided to have them get excited about making the right dietary choices by involving them in the process of preparing their food - from the garden to their plates.
Through 3 days of service and the work of over 300 volunteers, we took a hazardous, weed-ridden, and derelict field and created both a fruit tree orchard and children’s' learning garden. The orchard will have 20 different fruit trees of multiple varieties by the time I leave. The garden meanwhile consists of ten 10x12 plots which contain tomatoes, watermelons, cucumbers, herbs for tea, various greens, corn, peppers, and so much more! We've even created a comic book that will come out quarterly to document the progress of the garden, while also explaining to the kids the power of volunteerism and the importance of serving in their community.
AmeriCorps has been such an amazing experience. It has allowed me to do the work I'm compelled to do in communities, while also preparing me for a career in the world of NPO's. As members we save billions of dollars for organizations by utilizing volunteers and our own professional skills to serve local communities. It's a powerful organization and one that all of you should take great pride in being a part of. I know I do.
