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meaningful service experiences for
AmeriCorps members by connecting them
to pressing community needs.
“The Knoxville-Knox County
Community Action Committee’s
AmeriCorps program has specifically
supported our municipal partners in the
areas of NPDES Stormwater management,
solid waste and recycling, parks &
recreation, sustainability and community
development,” he said.
Scott said these efforts “strengthen
communities while building our nation’s
servant leaders.”
“Through their service, our members
contribute 120,000+ hours annually to
improve over 1,000 acres of public lands,
provide environmental education to
thousands of students, and contribute
meaningfully to projects and capacity
building functions at their service sites,”
he said.
The CAC AmeriCorps’ Environmental
Program is its longest-running program. It
engages individuals in a variety of projects Knoxville Parks and Recreation, City
focusing on enhancing community
resilience through environmental
education, improving public land and
infrastructure and disaster preparedness
and response.
AmeriCorps Members Visited APWA
February Meeting
A group of water quality AmeriCorps
members attended February’s APWA
Upper East branch meeting to learn about
environmental sustainability. One of the
group members, Connal Boyd, said the
Townsend meeting and subsequent Bote
Mountain Tunnel tour gave them a chance
“to better understand how water can
impact infrastructure, and how important
it is to consider that impact when re-
building something like the Bote Mountain
Tunnel.”
Boyd said one of her favorite weekly
activities involves stream monitoring.
“Each week, weather permitting of
course, our AmeriCorps team at Knox
County Stormwater Management goes
out into the field to assess streams in Knox the careers and impacts that follow are
County as part of our regulatory practices.
We walk the streams and look for any
issues related to severe erosion, impaired
vegetative buffers along the streambanks,
and litter and debris.
“While in the field, we collect data
using ArcGIS (geographic information
system software) that will later be used to
determine good sites for stream cleanups
and revitalization projects,” she said.
Boyd said she was attracted to the
AmeriCorps experience after college
graduation because she was interested
in working with the public and the
environment, “but I had no idea what kind
of career I wanted to pursue. AmeriCorps
offered me the perfect opportunity to
explore these interests while also serving
my community in a more hands-on way.”
Between Aug. 3, 2020 and June 25, 2021,
the next “class” of environmental associates life, diversity and inclusion, education/
will serve 1,700 hours during 47 weeks and
receive a living allowance of $14,000 over
the course of their year of service, then
receive their education award of $6,195.
Additionally, CAC AmeriCorps members
and alums receive 20% off tuition at Carson
Newman University when working on
their MBA in Nonprofit Leadership (30
credit hours).
Local Opportunities to Serve
During the 2020-2021 year, they
have opportunities to work with City
of Oak Ridge Stormwater, City of
of Knoxville Waste and Resources, City
of Knoxville Sustainability, Discover
Life in America, Bike Walk Knoxville,
Beardsley Community Farm, Great Schools
Partnership, Great Smoky Mountains
National Park, Ijams Nature Center,
Keep Blount Beautiful, Keep Knoxville
Beautiful, Keep Sevier Beautiful, Knox
County Stormwater, Knoxville Regional
Transportation Planning Organization,
Lenoir City Stormwater/ Tennessee
Stormwater Association, Sevier Solid
Waste, Inc., Town of Farragut Stormwater,
US Forest Service, Water Quality
Forum and a half dozen positions with
the University of Tennessee Office of
Sustainability.
Scott said he chose a career with the
AmeriCorps program staff “because it
allows me to change the world around me
by positioning and empowering others
in service-oriented careers in local, state
and Federal government, non-profit
organizations and even the private sector.”
“The year of service is important, but
the ripple emanating from the raindrop,
growing impacts over time,” Scott said. He
is the Governor-appointed representative of
National Service on the board of Volunteer
Tennessee and holds a Master’s degree in
environmental policy and management,
and an MBA from Carson Newman.
NEW: AmeriCorps Independent Service
Projects
Local, state, or federal governmental
entities and non-profit organizations
whose missions align with those of the
CAC AmeriCorps Program are now
eligible to work with AmeriCorps in their
new Independent Service Project (ISP)
partnering initiatives. These partnerships
must address issues such as environmental
sustainability, disaster preparedness, public
safety, community capacity, quality of
mentoring, poverty alleviation, and hunger
relief and healthy eating.
The end result of one of these projects
could be improved or added infrastructure,
development of a new program, organizing
an event, securing funding and/or in-
kind services, or an outreach/marketing
campaign. Projects cannot include voter
registration drives, or other partisan/
political activities, or activities that include
any form of religious proselytization
(although faith-based partners can apply
for projects serving the community.)
If your organization could utilize the
capacity of a small team of AmeriCorps
members on a limited basis, please contact
Mark Carper (mark.carper@knoxcac.org)
for more details.
AmeriCorps VISTA: 20 Positions In Poverty
Alleviation
CAC AmeriCorps’ VISTA Program
engages individuals of all ages to serve
with supporting organizations focused on
eliminating poverty in our region. VISTA
members build capacity in organizations
through program development, volunteer
recruitment, data collection, curriculum
development, and fundraising.
Members address these priorities
by removing barriers to employment,
increasing access to healthy food,
combating the rising rates of opioid
usage, and lifting people out of poverty
in partnerships with organizations such
as Next Step Initiative, Centro Hispano,
Nourish Knoxville, and Bridge Refugee
Services.
VISTA members serve a full 12 months
and receive a living allowance of $12,456
over the course of their service. Upon
completion, CAC AmeriCorps VISTA
members have the option to select an
education award of $6,195 or an end-of-
service cash stipend of approximately
$1,800.
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