Woodland Park, CO -- (ReleaseWire) -- 01/19/2017 --A team of AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) members is working with Habitat for Humanity of Teller County (HFHT) doing a variety of tasks including landscaping, construction and roofing. The group of 10 young adults arrived on January 6th and will be serving here through February 17th.
HFHT's mission is to bring people together to build strength, stability, and self-reliance through shelter. The organization wants to see a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Habitat for Humanity of Teller County was established in 1999 by a group of passionate volunteers. These volunteers worked tirelessly to fundraise, acquire land, select families, and manage the logistics to build the first Habitat homes in this community. Since then, HFHT has built homes in Florissant, Victor, Cripple Creek, Divide and Woodland Park.
Over the course of this six-week project, this AmeriCorps NCCC team will be framing sidewalks and gutters, prepping roads for paving, landscaping, building playgrounds, building retaining walls, and doing other general construction, to include roofing work.
"Habitat applied for an NCCC team to help finish and build the Clock Tower Condos to benefit families and the community of Teller County by providing sustainable and affordable housing," said Violet Hanratty, HFHT volunteer coordinator.
AmeriCorps NCCC first served with HFHT in 2015. Since then, three teams previously served with the organization. "Habitat for Humanity of Teller County counts on the significant gift of volunteer hours to be able to keep the cost of these homes down for our families. Especially during the winter months volunteer help is very scarce," said Jamie Caperton, Executive Director. "To be able to count on the gift of an AmeriCorps NCCC team working diligently through this time is incredible. It means we can keep right on building through even the toughest of times. We truly are thankful for what they bring to our families and our organization," Caperton concluded.
Prior to traveling to Woodland Park, members of this team served with the Jefferson County Action Center in Lakewood, Colo., Houston Parks and Recreation in Texas, FEMA in Baton Rouge, the United Methodist Church of Oklahoma in Maysville, Okla., and Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity in Oklahoma City. They began their term of service on October 12, 2016 with three weeks of training at the Denver regional hub. They will continue to complete other 6- to 12-week projects for communities in the central and southwestern United States until they graduate from the 10-month program on July 14, 2017.
AmeriCorps NCCC is a full-time, residential, national service program in which up to 2,200 young adults serve nationwide annually. During their 10-month term, Corps Members – all 18 to 24 years old – work on teams of eight to 12 on projects that address critical needs. Traditional NCCC members work on a variety of different six- to 12-week-long projects related to natural and other disasters, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, energy conservation, and urban and rural development. Members of FEMA Corps, a branch of NCCC, focus their projects exclusively on emergency management work in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Southwest Region campus in Denver is one of five regional hubs in the nation and serves eight states in the central and southwest parts of the country. The other campuses are in Baltimore, Md., Vinton, Iowa, Vicksburg, Miss., and Sacramento, Calif.
In exchange for their service, Corps Members receive $5,815 to help pay for college, or to pay back existing student loans. Other benefits include a small living stipend, room and board, travel, leadership development, increased self-confidence, and the knowledge that, through active citizenship, people can indeed make a difference. AmeriCorps NCCC is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The Corporation improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering.
For more information about AmeriCorps NCCC, visit the website at http://www.americorps.gov/nccc.
About Habitat for Humanity Teller County
People in Teller County and all over the world partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call HOME. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. Other projects completed in the community include Las Casas in Woodland Park, a Historic Housing Project in Cripple Creek, a home renovation in Guffey and 31 homes build throughout Teller County.
Learn more at www.tellerhabitat.org.
CONTACT:
Heather Dirck
AmeriCorps NCCC - Community Relations Specialist
303-844-7420
hdirck@cns.gov
Adam Bayer
Team Media Representative – On site contact
914-268-7133
