Green Bay Conservation Corps AmeriCorps Volunteers host Make a Difference Day project at John Muir Park

On October 24, the AmeriCorps Volunteers with the Green Bay Conservation Corps (GBCC) hosted their annual Make a Difference Day project at John Muir Park. The day of community service across the nation on October's fourth Saturday dates back to 1992, with GBCC hosting a project every October since their launch in 2022.

This year, the GBCC AmeriCorps Volunteers were joined by community volunteers to complete a project to help remove invasive buckthorn at John Muir Park to help clear the way for a future nature trail. To date, GBCC has cleared over 300 acres of buckthorn with the help of volunteers through a variety of community projects and the service of GBCC AmeriCorps Volunteers.

The project also featured a biochar demonstration, which uses a specific process to burn the buckthorn that was removed and turn it into a from of charcoal that acts as a sponge for water and nutrients. Just this year, biochar made from invasive buckthorn has been used to help support the planting of over 100 trees in Green Bay.

Maria Otto, the program director for Green Bay Community Corps, described that keeping invasive buckthorn out of Green Bay's parks requires year-round work. She explained that the buckthorn would take over without these removal efforts and that they would would lose many of the native plant species in the parks. She expressed thanks to the volunteers that came out and described their importance, with Otto saying "Every single person that comes out to volunteer is really just taking us one step closer to that final goal."

Marshfield Clinic Recovery Corps recognized for impact supporting individuals on their recovery journeys

Marshfield Clinic Health System - Recovery Corps was recognized this month by Helios Heuristic, a nonprofit that offers substance abuse and recovery services, with its Community Accomplice award during its Wisconsin Recovery Alignment Tour, with Christina Garcia accepting the award on behalf of the organization. During the presentation, Helios highlighted Marshfield Clinic Recovery Corps’s pioneering role as the first Recovery Corps program and emphasized the critical impact recovery coaches have in supporting individuals on their recovery journeys. They highlighted how the program is building the next generation of recovery coaches in the Chippewa Valley, giving people with lived experience a real path into paid work supporting others. They cited the program as proof that recovery infrastructure grows when communities invest in their own people, honoring its work of turning recovery into a career, not just a milestone.

The AmeriCorps Volunteers with Marshfield Clinic Recovery Corps are trained in the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR) model of recovery coaching and serve as recovery coaches. Their focus is to reduce prescription drug, opioid, and other substance use disorders through working with individuals through recovery coaching and provide community education. Many of the individuals serving with Recovery Corps are in recovery and are able to use their lived experience to provide assistance to others while also building up their own skills for future employment.

The recognition event brought together community leaders and advocates committed to advancing recovery resources across Wisconsin, including State Senator Jesse James and State Representative Jody Emerson. The award reflects the ongoing commitment of Marshfield Clinic Recovery Corps to building stronger recovery support systems and improving outcomes for individuals and families affected by substance use disorders.

Applications due on January 12 for organizations interested in working with an NCCC AmeriCorps team for projects in April through June 2027

Are you part of an organization that is planning a short-term service project between April and June 2027 or do you know an organization that could use assistance on a project during that time period? If so, AmeriCorps NCCC teams are ready to support community-driven work across the country!

The deadline for submitting an application is January 12, 2027 for nonprofit organizations and government agencies interested in working with an AmeriCorps NCCC team next year between April and June 2027. Information on the application process is available in their 2026-2027 Request for Proposals and the application is available on the AmeriCorps NCCC website.

AmeriCorps NCCC teams are 18-24 year-olds traveling regionally to help communities meet their critical needs by completing projects that typically last multiple weeks. NCCC partners with a variety of nonprofit organizations, government entities (federal, state, or local), educational institutions, neighborhood associations, Native American Tribal Councils, and community-based or faith-based organizations to complete projects that address compelling community needs. These projects address five main service areas: natural and other disasters, energy conservation, environmental stewardship and conservation, infrastructure improvement, and urban and rural development.

As an example, the Maple 6 AmeriCorps NCCC team served at Gardner Dam Adventure Base (GDAB) in Whitle Lake during Spring 2026. The team worked with the Bay Lakes Council of Scouting America to increase camp capacity and improve facilities at GDAB. The AmeriCorps NCCC completing numerous projects, such as repairing and restoring a large campfire bowl, aiding in the restoration of a maintenance building, and improving trails and programming space.

Please contact ncccprojectapplications@americorps.gov if you have questions or want to talk through a project idea.

America Gives Initiative – Honoring our 250^th Anniversary by giving back to your community

America Gives is part of the national effort to celebrate the semiquincentennial of the United States in 2026 that challenges businesses, non-profits, schools, youth groups, faith-based networks, and organizations of all kinds to commit to increasing their level of volunteering and impact starting on January 1, 2026.

The U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, also referred to as America 250, has partnered with AmeriCorps and numerous other organizations to help build on America’s legacy of giving back and inspire a renewed culture of service for years to come.

Americans are able to add their own individual volunteer hours or for those serving at your organization, as well as find volunteer opportunities near them with their partner organizations on the America Gives webpage. So far this year, people have already recorded over 87.8 million volunteer hours on the website.

We encourage people in Wisconsin to help make 2026 a year dedicated to service by volunteering as part of local efforts throughout the year and to add their hours to the national totals. You can find volunteer opportunities by using our statewide database: volunteerwisconsin.org. Additionally, Serve Wisconsin encourages you to reach out to us at servewisconsin@wisconsin.gov if there are any volunteer projects that we can help highlight being done in recognition of the Semiquincentennial.

Serve Wisconsin | servewisconsin.wi.gov | AmeriCorps

FOLLOW US