AmeriCorps Builds Community With Summer Programs

More than 100 young participants and 17 AmeriCorps volunteers turned a vacant building once covered in graffiti in to a bustling community center full of life. Spanish, English and laughter drifted down the mural-painted hallways on a recent afternoon.

The Maryland Multicultural Youth Center is a partnership between AmeriCorps and the Latin American Youth Center.

"It's amazing to see youth grow," said Eunice Humphrey, the site coordinator in Riverdale. "Before we came, this building was a spot for the gang members to tag. A lot of graffiti and claiming of territory took place. Since we've been here, there has been a decrease in graffiti."

Humphrey also cited gains in attendance and overall GPA growth of student participants as results of the center's volunteers and gang prevention programs such as Leaders Like Me.

"What we saw was a lot of students who did or wanted to join gangs start joining things like soccer, and their grades started increasing," she said. "The only way they can come to our programs is if they come to school in the morning."

Humphrey said she can find out whether or not a child was in school any particular day.

Program Specialist Toneice Evans said their Efforts to Outcomes tracking system showed "definite increases in attendance and retention."

Evans said that the effect of the program on GPAs was more difficult to track, but that would change soon. In the future, the center staff plans to develop its own curriculum and assessment methods.

The efforts of everyone at the center were so successful that it won the 2010 Best Corps Award, nominated and presented by the National Council of La Raza, a national Hispanic civil rights organization.

Beyond gang intervention, the Maryland Multicultural Center also runs a bicycle shop where participants are taught to fix and ride bikes; a community garden; back-to-school night; and volunteerism. AmeriCorps participants also develop leadership skills, financial literacy and job readiness skills.

As an incoming freshman, Eduardo Garcia, 14, said he learned a lot about nutrition this summer, but enjoyed the sports activities most of all.

Denise Aguilar, 14, is also going in to the ninth grade this fall.

"I really enjoyed making food healthier," she said of the cooking and nutrition classes.

However, Andrea Angel, 15, said she enjoyed the program the most because of the staff and AmeriCorps members.

In its third year, Humphrey said the program will soon start seeing former middle school participants heading through high school and coming back with AmeriCorps to teach a younger generation.

"Now they're going to be the ones providing the tutoring," she said.

For Garcia, it's his third year in the program, and he said he is considering returning as an AmeriCorps volunteer.

Humphrey said that participants often become invested in the community: "They want to give back."

"I will definitely come back and volunteer," Angel said.