Special to The Leader

ORANGE – A team of nine AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) members are working with the community of Orange in connection with the Texas Baptist Men to assist with disaster response work that has occurred due to lake flooding. The team will be assisting with immediate flood disaster recovery work for two weeks and will depart April 30.

The mission of the Texas Baptist Men (TBM) is to promptly assist and support locations during and immediately after disasters. TBM was founded in 1967 and has assisted in prompt disaster response work around Texas. They serve with the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board which is the third largest voluntary disaster relief organization in the country. Their mission statement is “a cup of water in Jesus’ name.”

Over the course of the two-week period in Orange, the AmeriCorps NCCC team will be assisting six days a week with immediate disaster response work consisting of mucking and gutting houses as well as removing debris as a direct result of the floods. Each Corps member will be trained in safety procedures for handling and removing debris as well as proper tool usage that will enable them to work well alongside the TBM organization and help the community of Orange as much as they can during this recovery period.

Team leader Andrew Hausamman is excited and ready to help with the disaster response work. “I’m excited to get on the ground and do disaster relief, to hear people’s stories, and to assist with the community that has been greatly affected by the flooding in Orange Texas.”

After their service in Orange, Texas, the AmeriCorps team will head to San Marcos, Texas to assist with disaster recovery work for ten weeks. This is the third and final project for this team as they will finish their ten-month service commitment on July 19.

AmeriCorps NCCC (N-triple-C) is a full-time, residential, national service program in which 2,800 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 new 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 located in Baltimore, Md., Vinton, Iowa, Vicksburg, Miss., and Sacramento, Calif.

In exchange for their service, Corps Members receive $5,775 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 www.americorps.gov/nccc.