Governor Evers recognizes outstanding service at the 2024 Governor's Service Awards and celebrates

30th Anniversary of AmeriCorps in Wisconsin

Governor Tony Evers congratulated the honorees at the 2024 Governor's Service Awards, stating that "So much of our local impact rests on the shoulders of dedicated volunteers and organizations such as yourselves, and we could not have the reach or influence that we do in this state without partners like all of you. Whether you have been doing this work for two years or twenty years, rest assured, the work you are doing is truly making our state a better place for Wisconsin kids, families, and communities everywhere."

Highlighting the difference that the honorees made through their service, Serve Wisconsin Executive Director Jeanne Duffy reflected that "these individuals have gone above and beyond to make a difference in the lives of others. They are assisting homeless youth, offering compassion and care to our vulnerable seniors, and ensuring our youth have the necessary resources, education, and love to thrive. Their selfless efforts have made a tangible difference in the lives of countless fellow community members."

The Governor's Service Awards honors outstanding Wisconsin volunteers, AmeriCorps members, AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers, and national service organizations that address serious issues across Wisconsin. The 2024 ceremony recognized nine individuals and two organizations from throughout the state for their outstanding volunteerism and service and 28 AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers for reaching the milestone of twenty years of volunteer service in their communities. The awards were presented on May 15 in conjunction with the celebration of the 30th Anniversary of AmeriCorps in Wisconsin and are sponsored by Serve Wisconsin, the state commission for national and community service.

Reflecting on the legacy of AmeriCorps to the more than two hundred AmeriCorps members and program directors gathered from across the state, Governor Evers stated, "The success of our state has always relied on the service and sacrifice of individuals and organizations like yourselves. AmeriCorps has served Wisconsinites well over the past three decades, and for that, we are very grateful. As AmeriCorps members, you truly embody what we mean in Wisconsin when we say that we value helping our fellow neighbors." Demonstrating the scope of this impact, he said "last year alone, more than 8,300 AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors members combined served over 800 locations across the state, and the value of the services you provide can not be overstated."

Ceremony and Honoree Information

• Recording of the 2024 Governor's Service Awards ceremony
• Service Descriptions for the 2024 Honorees
• Additional information about the Governor's Service Awards, including past winners, can be found at https://www.servewisconsin.wi.gov/governors-service-awards

Wisconsin AmeriCorps members gather from across the state for Celebration of Service

As part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of AmeriCorps in Wisconsin and across the nation, Serve Wisconsin hosted a celebration of service event this May in Green Lake attended by roughly 200 Wisconsin AmeriCorps members and program staff. The attendees began their day together, with Serve Wisconsin Executive Director Jeanne Duffy highlighting the impacts that they and their programs have made for the people of Wisconsin. The AmeriCorps members participated in training designed to help them following their service, and had the opportunity to meet their fellow AmeriCorps members from across the state, joining them in numerous activities and the recognition of outstanding service at the Governor’s Service Awards.

During the day, AmeriCorps members attended training sessions about several topics, including resume building, job interview skills, furthering their public service careers in Wisconsin, self-care and mental health resources, and using their Segal Education Award following their service. They also spent part of their afternoon participating in several different activities, including sand volleyball, basketball, hiking, a low-ropes course, painting and other crafts, yoga by the lake, and enjoying various other games and spaces with their fellow AmeriCorps members.

The event concluded with the AmeriCorps members gathering to hear from Governor Evers and celebrate individuals and groups from across the state for their service, with Governor Evers informing the attendees that “AmeriCorps has served Wisconsinites well over the past three decades, and for that, we are very grateful." As part of the event, Governor Evers presented the AmeriCorps Member of the Year award to Kathryn Yang from the Wisconsin Association of Homeless and Runaway Services, as well as recognizing sixteen additional AmeriCorps members from across Wisconsin that were nominated for the recognition. Governor Evers reflected to all of the attendees that “as AmeriCorps members, you truly embody what we mean in Wisconsin when we say that we value helping our fellow neighbors…Last year alone, more than 8,300 AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors members combined served over 800 locations across the state, and the value of the services you provide cannot be overstated."

Recognitions during Celebration of Service (click links to view/read)

• AmeriCorps Member of the Year nominees
• List of Nominees and Photo with Governor Evers
• Best Service Reflection
• Emily Stockinger - DPI Farm to School
• Journey Sutter - DPI Farm to School
• Best Service Photo
• Kourtney Carrico - Easterseals Wisconsin
• Julie Severance - DPI Farm to School
• Best AmeriCorps Logo Photo
• Green Bay Conservation Corps
• Emma Lather - WisCorps

Marshfield Clinic Community Corps AmeriCorps member participates in 'Supermarket Sweep' to benefit new food pantry opened by St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marinette

To raise awareness of a new food pantry that St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marinette opened this May and highlight the need for ongoing pantry donations in a community where the need is strong, St. Vincent partnered with Stephenson National Bank & Trust to organize a two-minute “Supermarket Sweep” with all of the groceries collected supporting the new pantry. This was one of six similar events taking place across the state, as each of Stevenson’s branches in Wisconsin sponsored a “Supermarket Sweep” as part of the Wisconsin Bankers Association’s annual Power of Community Week.

AmeriCorps member Deana Elson, who is serving this year with Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS) Community Corps at St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marinette explained that “We were approached by our local Stephenson National Bank about them wanting to make a donation to our food pantry in the form of a Supermarket Sweep…We jumped at the chance to be part of such a fun event!"

Deana was one of the two shoppers chosen to race through Jack's Fresh Market, grabbing food for the pantry during the two-minute sprint through the store. Reflecting on their planning, Deana explained that “we scoped out the store and came up with a game plan to attack the meat section first. Our reasoning for this was because meat is an expensive item that many people can't afford, and it's also something we can freeze so we don't have to worry about it going bad before we can give it all out.”

Even with this advance planning, Deana discussed the challenge they faced during the event, stating “we had two minutes to get as much as we could, but we couldn't take more than 10 of the same item, so we really had to think on our feet.”

Their two-minute shopping spree was a success, with Deana describing that “we ended up with over $800 in groceries in 2 minutes time! We were pretty proud of ourselves. It was such a blast!” This event helped St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marinette obtain food for their new pantry and spread awareness about the need for donations to support it. Deana is hopeful that this event will have an impact beyond the food gathered that day, reflecting that “I am hoping this idea will spur other businesses to support their local food pantries in such a fun way.”

 Media Coverage and Video of the Marinette Supermarket Sweep

• TV6 & FOX UP - ‘Supermarket sweep’ event supports Wisconsin St. Vincent’s new food pantry
• St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marinette - St. Vinny's Market Sweep video

Service story from Schools of Hope AmeriCorps member

May episode of The S-Files podcast

This month on The S-Files, we explored the service story of AmeriCorps member Rowan Russell-Berry, who is serving this year with Schools of Hope. Check out this month's episode below. You can access all of the episodes on The S-Files podcast series website.

Building Literacy Skills and a Love of Reading with Schools of Hope

In this episode of The S-Files, we are exploring the service done by AmeriCorps member Rowan Russell-Berry, who is currently serving with Schools of Hope at Lake View Elementary in Madison. Rowan discusses their service this year as a literacy tutor, describing the different activities they are doing and their work coordinating and supporting volunteer literacy tutors at the school. Rowan describes several additional projects they are working on this year, including the program-wide Books of Hope project that provides books to all of the students the program serves, a new interactive training for volunteer tutors in the Madison Metropolitan School District, and new surveys to gauge student attitudes as readers. Listen in to learn how Rowan has worked to boost student interest and enhance participation in literacy tutoring, incorporated song writing, comic writing, and a dice rolling story creation activity, as well as forging connections with students through assisting with the walking school bus program and numerous clubs at the school. (listen to the episode here)

Serve Wisconsin offering funding to support volunteer engagement in rural Wisconsin

Serve Wisconsin invites non-profit organizations, Indian Tribes, local governments, schools, institutions of higher education, and state agencies to apply for mini-grants ranging between $2,000 and $4,500 that focus on strengthening volunteer engagement in rural areas of Wisconsin. Rural communities are defined as having populations fewer than 2,500 residents.

Funding can be used to support or promote general volunteerism, volunteer trainings, volunteer engagement, or agency capacity building through volunteerism. Serve Wisconsin encourages applications from rural communities working with older adult volunteers and youth-led volunteer programs. If awarded, the last day to incur expenses reimbursable by the mini-grant will be September 30, 2024.

The application for these grants is currently open. Serve Wisconsin will begin reviewing the next round of applications for this cycle on June 15, and awarded entities will be notified by June 30.

For more information on how to apply for these mini-grants please visit the VGF page of our website: https://www.servewisconsin.wi.gov/volunteer-generation-fund.

If you are interested in learning more about the Volunteer Generation Fund, please contact Rachel Donaldson at rachel.donaldson@wisconsin.gov.

Serve Wisconsin seeking consultant to provide training for future AmeriCorps programs

Serve Wisconsin is seeking a consultant to provide training to future AmeriCorps programs during the next program year. The required training must cover AmeriCorps rules & regulations, logic models, performance measures, evidence-informed program development, AmeriCorps budget development, and applying for federal AmeriCorps funding.

The contract is for September 1, 2024- August 31, 2025 (depending on funding availability, as funding is currently available through June 30, 2025).

If interested, please submit a proposal by the end of the day on June 7, 2024, to Jeanne Duffy at jeanne.duffy@wisconsin.gov. Questions can also be directed to jeanne.duffy@wisconsin.gov.

For those interested in taking an active role in promoting national service and volunteerism in Wisconsin, the Wisconsin National and Community Service Board has one vacancy for a board member for the following appointment type:

• A representative of local labor

Those interested in serving must complete an application to the governor for the appointment. The online application for a board position can be found HERE, with additional information on the application process found at Apply to Serve - Governor Tony Evers. If you are interested in serving on the board and have any questions, please contact Serve Wisconsin Executive Director Jeanne Duffy at jeanne.duffy@wisconsin.gov.

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