20 Years of AmeriCorps – Why Young People Serve

AmeriCorps turns 20 in September, and who better to talk about its beginnings than its co-founder, President Bill Clinton? Even though some of us at the Rebuilding Together Alexandria office have been members of AmeriCorps for more than a year, we have never learned as much about it as we have these past few months. Furthermore, we have, in ways, never felt more pressure about being a member of and representing AmeriCorps.

We constantly get asked why we’re here, why we chose to volunteer, to serve, to live in a world where you see horrible things every day and then go home to a place you can hardly afford but pay for with your stipend, and eat some food you bought with food stamps. Why would anyone choose to live like this?

Clinton claims that “young people everywhere were yearning to make a difference,” and that the focus would be “getting things done.” I was called to serve by something I can’t explain. I knew people required help, and I wanted, needed to try to be there for them.

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