Central Point, Ore. – Over the last month, 22 FEMA Corps members have been supporting Oregon’s vaccination efforts at the Jackson County Vaccine Equity Center at the Expo.
Assigned to serve as greeters, traffic control, data entry, and community outreach staff, the FEMA Corps members are supporting the goals of equity, access, and partnership in providing vaccines.
“I’m a helper. I love to help people,” says Kyle Coburn, a member of the FEMA Corps Summit 6 team assigned to Jackson County. “Being part of a program like FEMA Corps where that’s literally 100% of what you’re doing has been really rewarding.”
Corps members are devoted to FEMA’s disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery efforts. Four FEMA Corps teams will be at the Jackson County Vaccine Equity Center until it closes on June 15.
In addition to their work at the Expo with vaccinations, the FEMA Corps teams have also been engaged in various Independent Service Projects—including cleaning the Central Point cemetery as well as creating defensible space for wildfire prevention and mitigation.
FEMA Corps is a full-time, 12-month, residential national service program for young adults. It is a partnership between FEMA and the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) that was formed in 2012 to help the agency respond to disasters while promoting an ethic of national service and civic engagement among members.
In exchange for their service, Corps members receive financial assistance toward their college tuition or student debt as well as a small living allowance, room and board, and leadership development. Many Corps Members also say that their service led to 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. For more information about the AmeriCorps NCCC program, visit www.AmeriCorps.gov/nccc.
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FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during, and after disasters.