A Summer of Service with Keystone Smiles AmeriCorps

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What Are You Doing This Summer? 

 

It is a question that a lot of college students are being asked as finals season approaches. Whether they are going on vacation, taking some summer classes, or working a summer job or internship, everyone has plans for how they will spend their three-month break. This summer, I have been given the opportunity to spend my summer in Clarion County, Pennsylvania as a member of Keystone Smiles AmeriCorps! 

 


 

What is Keystone Smiles AmeriCorps? 

 

Founded in 1994, Keystone Smiles AmeriCorps is a nonprofit organization based in Clarion County, PA. They recruit AmeriCorps members to provide educational services such as tutoring, hands-on service learning, and education-based programming in their respective communities. Over their eight county service range, they have been able to provide these services and more to over 100,000 at-risk students. Over the years, Keystone Smiles AmeriCorps has been featured as 1 of 51 of the “Most Innovative AmeriCorps programs in the United States” by Innovations in Civic Participation Northwest and has even been featured in a documentary on National Service.






 

Why I Chose to Join AmeriCorps 

 

I chose to join AmeriCorps this summer because I saw the opportunity to work with youth while doing community service. As a pre-service teacher, I would like to gain more experience in the role of an educator and grow my professional network. I also joined AmeriCorps to learn about the surrounding community. Although I am not from Clarion County, I have seen some of the ways that the community comes together to support each other and I would like to be a part of that. 





What I am Most Excited About as an AmeriCorps Member 

 

Keystone Smiles AmeriCorps gives its members the freedom to choose a cause that they are passionate about and do service projects that help address that cause in the community, along with the member's other duties. These causes include education, environmental wellness, and more. Although I am very excited to work with youth, I am also excited to see what service projects I can do for the community too. I am still thinking about what I will try to do, but I think I would like to do a book drive for a local elementary school, a feminine product drive for the local high school, or a hygiene kit drive for the local women’s shelter. Although I am not sure which service project I will try to execute, I am excited to give back to the community, because that is something I am passionate about. 

 



What is Next for Me 

 

As the Spring 2022 semester winds down, all I have left to do are my final exams and I will be on my way to Clarion, PA for my term of service! I am so thankful for this opportunity and look forward to updating all of you throughout the summer! If you would like to learn more about the programs offered by Keystone Smiles AmeriCorps, you can find information here.  

 


 

Thank you for your endless support, 

 

Ms. Cusate 



Information found to construct this blog is cited here:

"About Us," accessed April 21, 2022, https://sites.google.com/smilesamericorps.org/keystone-smiles-inc/about?authuser=0.

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