Medina Today

Whether it be offering students meals for the holidays or working to open a Cat’s Cupboard, AmeriCorps members Taylor Danner and Rebekah Gaus are advocating for students on OHIO’s regional campuses.

AmeriCorps is a nationwide program dedicated to placing volunteers in non-profits and community organizations to help build communities and address the problems facing those communities. As AmeriCorps members, Danner and Gaus are doing just that.

Danner completed her first year with AmeriCorps in Pike County when she was 19. Now, 10 years later, she is participating in the program again and serves as the student resource center coordinator at the Hilltopper Resource Center(opens in a new window) at Ohio University Chillicothe. Danner said that she saw this as a full-circle opportunity to help others who could be in a situation she has been in. As a single mother with a lower income, she used the clothing closet on campus when she had a professional meeting. She also appreciates the opportunity to earn a living stipend to provide for herself and her family. Danner sees the value in the AmeriCorps program and loves the personal and development opportunities she has had along the way.

“Throughout the program, there are so many different training opportunities, and they really focus on professional development,” Danner said. “This isn't just an opportunity to make money. This is an opportunity to grow in your professional self and help people along the way.”

The Hilltopper Resource Center is relatively new for OHIO Chillicothe(opens in a new window) and Danner knew that a program needed to be created that spread the word about the center. Last semester, the center offered full Thanksgiving meals to students with support from members of the Chillicothe community and OHIO faculty. In the first 72 hours after posting the registration form, 12 students had emailed the center. Danner says many of the students who received meals also took advantage of the resource center by taking other food, hygiene products, and clothing.

Original source can be found here.