Scott County Partnership

Overview of Scott County AmeriCorps

The Scott County AmeriCorps Program recruits AmeriCorps members during the months of July and August.  Members are recruited from the participating communities,  local colleges, and from the national AmeriCorps recruiting website.  As an AmeriCorps member, you will gain valuable experience in an area that interests you that can translate directly into job experience in your chosen field. You will learn teamwork, communication, responsibility, and many other essential skills that will help you for the rest of your life while gaining the personal satisfaction of taking on a challenge and seeing results while serving your community.

Scott County AmeriCorps members perform many duties within the community that address the educational and crisis intervention needs of adults and children.  Members may serve at the Community Clearinghouse and through CASA, at after school programs, through adult education services, Head Start program, or the Circles Campaign.  Service project activities occur at various sites throughout the community with partner agencies throughout the course of the year.

For the 2011/12 year, AmeriCorps Members will serve at the following sites:

The Scott County Community Clearinghouse:  Owned and operated by the Scott County Partnership under the Clearinghouse Advisory Council in cooperation with the Ministerial Association of Scott County and the Salvation Army.  The Scott County Community Clearinghouse serves people of Scott County in crisis situations.  At the Clearinghouse they may receive emergency food, clothing vouchers to use in the Community Thrift Store, Red Cross assistance, Salvation Army assistance, energy assistance, access programs to make homes more energy efficient, and other such immediate kinds of help.

Adult Education Center: Located at the LifeLong Learning Center operated by the Scott County Partnership. This program provides GED classes and other adult learning opportunities to assist adults in becoming a vital part of the workforce.  Members assisting with Adult Education may also assist with the Scott County Attendance Review Board providing data collection or family follow-up visits.

21^st Century Community Learning Center, Scott School District 1: The Austin Learning Center located in the old Austin Middle School along with Partnership’s Family/Education Resource Center. This program provides academic enrichment opportunities and friendship to students involved during out-of-school times.

21^st Century Community Learning Center, Scott School District  2:  SCSD2 contracts with the Scott County Partnership to provide staff and programming for the EDGE. This program provides academic enrichment opportunities and friendship to students involved during out-of-school times.

Volunteer Recruitment: This position provides assistance to both school districts to recruit volunteers for a multitude of services that aid in educational outcomes of the county.  Examples of services are: Scott County Attendance Review Board, Reality Stores, Back to School Bash, etc.  This person also assists with the Scott County Attendance Review Board providing data collection or family follow-up visits.

Early Childhood:  Members assist Ohio Valley Opportunities with their Head-Start program.  Members who serve with Head Start assist teachers in classrooms by providing extra people to play with children and to help teach children various skills.  These members help by providing more one-on-one assistance to children in need.

Court Appointed Special Advocates:  Members assist by being trained as advocates and helping with the court cases.  Members also assist with data keeping required by this program, and assist with the annual Taste of Scott County, an event to raise awareness of the CASA program in Scott County.

Circles Campaign:  The Circles Campaign began in Scott County in 2009/10 to address poverty and to help alleviate poverty one family at a time through the Circles Model.  Circles campaigns were already happening in Muncie, Bloomington, and South Bend, Indiana.  Through the Recovery AmeriCorps grant in 2009, members began serving this initiative.  The Campaign is just beginning to have a powerful impact on our community.  Thus, members will serve in all four communities assisting with the Circles Campaign.

Muncie, Bloomington, and South Bend will recruit their own members for the Circles Campaign.  Those who would like to assist the Circles Campaign in Scott County will apply through the Scott County site.  If you are in one of the outlying communities listed above, complete the application and send it to one of the addresses listed below that is the most appropriate.

For Muncie:                TEAMWork for Quality Living

                                    PO Box 468, Muncie, IN 47308

For Bloomington:      South Central Community Action

                                    1500 West 15^th St. Bloomington, IN 47401

For South Bend:        St. Joseph County Bridges Out of Poverty

                                    PO Box 1078, South Bend, IN 46624

For all Other Areas and for Circles in Scott County:

                                    Scott County Partnership, Inc.

                                    PO Box 214, Scottsburg, IN 47170