In this episode of Work in Progress, AmeriCorps CEO Michael D. Smith joins me to discuss how taking part in the national service program can help you serve your community, giving you a sense of purpose, while also helping you develop hard and soft career skills. Since 1993, AmeriCorps has been providing opportunities for Americans of all backgrounds to personally address the nation’s most pressing challenges and improve lives in their communities. They are working in our schools, working at food pantries, and working to advance the U.S. march toward climate-resiliency.

Today, there are more than 200,000 AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps senior volunteers that are serving in nearly 40,000 locations across the country.

“AmeriCorps, for 30 years, has operated on this simple belief that we may not have enough tax money to pay all the people to do all of the things that our communities need, but what we do have is this unique American ethos where people want to give back. They want to serve,” says Smith, AmeriCorps CEO.

“There is something that is wonderful and beautiful about service that is selfless, and we love all the selfless, passionate, compassionate people that want to serve. In many cases, they’re serving full-time jobs. Sometimes they’re moving their whole lives.”

When you serve with AmeriCorps, along with the sense of purpose and giving back, you get a living allowance and education benefits, including an Eli Segal Education Award and student loan forbearance while you’re serving.

There is also the on-the-job training benefit.

“A year of service is going to help you accelerate on your career path. You might walk away with certifications or credentialing. You get a variety of benefits that will help you to live while you serve, but maybe even more importantly will help to take you really, really far into your chosen career path,” says Smith.

While conservation has been a part of AmeriCorps since the very beginning, the newly-minted American Climate Corps launched this year, attracting people of all ages, but particularly young adults interested in climate-resiliency.

“What’s really cool about it is the demand is through the roof. Within six weeks of launching the American Climate Corps, 50,000 people signed up saying we want to be a part of this. We believe that there is something that this generation wants to do here, and we’re giving them an opportunity to take action now,” Smith tells me.

“We’ve got 9,000 American Climate Corps members that are in the field right now. They are gaining skills while they’re serving, and they are also being connected with resources to make sure that they can get the green energy and climate jobs of the future.

“You’ve got some people that are doing the traditional trail work. Those are the folks out in the woods. You’ve got some people that are doing solar panels in inner city communities or urban farming. You’ve got some folks that are working on climate education. You’ve got some people that are working on tribal land. We’ve come up with a lot of different options depending upon what your interests are, and we’re just really excited,” Smith says.

Our conversation continues with Smith and I discussing more of the work the American Climate Corps is doing advance climate-resiliency. We also discuss how you can find a service opportunity that suits your passions. And Smith talks about how the national service program is changing lives throughout the country, both for community residents and for AmeriCorps members.

You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Episode 333: Michael D. Smith, CEO, AmeriCorps
Host & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNation
Producer: Larry Buhl
Theme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4
Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode here
Work in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here