My AmeriCorps Story -- Daria R deCastro

Where Can Volunteering Take You ?

If you would have asked me a year ago what AmeriCorps  was or what members did would have given you  a blank stare and shrugged my shoulders "I don't know." 


I spent most of my life volunteering in Broward County with my church, school or family. We volunteered in our family because that is what we did, it was who we were as a family. I never really considered where volunteering might take me. Well in January of 2010 volunteering took me to Volunteer Broward.


After I began volunteering with Volunteer Broward I began to receive their newsletters with all the upcoming projects and their announcements. One newsletter I read in May or June was different from all the rest it had a call for members to apply to become AmeriCorps Members to serve at Volunteer Broward.


I wondered what is AmeriCorps and what do members do? I hit the web and began to research exactly what AmeriCorp was. I learned that AmeriCorps was like the domestic Peace Corps. People from all over our nation.... 

serve through a network of partnerships with local and national nonprofit groups......AmeriCorps is an opportunity to make a big difference in your life and in the lives of those around you. It’s a chance to apply your skills and ideals toward helping others and meeting critical needs in the community....As an AmeriCorps member, you’ll gain new skills and experiences—and you’ll also find the tremendous satisfaction that comes from helping others. In addition, full-time members who complete their service earn a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award to pay for college, graduate school, or to pay back qualified student loans; members who serve part-time receive a partial Award. Some AmeriCorps members may also receive a modest living allowance during their term of service.

I thought, "Sounds good to me". I applied online at AmeriCorps.gov and was invited in for an interview at Volunteer Broward. I started my term as an AmeriCorps member in October of 2010.


Without AmeriCorps and Volunteer Broward I would have never realized the work one person does can truly change in our community. 

• One person can teach 100 teachers who teach 1600 preschoolers to garden and eat healthy
• One person can organize one project that plants close to 5000 tree and shrubs in a year
• One person can help collect 6000 books for under-resourced elementary and preschools
• One person can inspire lots of volunteers to BE THE CHANGE they want to see in their community

You never know what YOU can do until you try. Check out AmeriCorps.gov for more information about the 75,000 AmeriCorps opportunities offered each year. My name is Daria R deCastro and this is my AmeriCorps Story.