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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

Rochester AmeriCorps members complete two-week training at Damon City Campus


Rochester AmeriCorps members complete two-week training at DCC and start service terms at their host sites.

Celebrating its 21st year of service to the local community, Rochester AmeriCorps swore in the 2014-15 class of members on Friday September 19, 2014. The 44 members participated in a rigorous two-week training held at the Damon City Campus that provided them with a framework for their 50 week term of service working with students in the Rochester City School District. Members were welcomed to the college and the downtown campus by Acting Interim Dean Dr. Kim McKinsey Mabry on their first day of training, Monday September 8.

The new member cohort benefitted from the work of MCC History Professor Verdis Robinson exploring the 50 year anniversary of the riots that took place in July 1964 in Rochester. Members watched the film July ’64, heard an impassioned call to action from the filmmaker Carvin Eisen, and then took a walking tour of Joseph Avenue, coordinated by Professor Robinson and facilitated by MCC students who were present during the uprising. Members received additional trainings to inform and contextualize their service year including Cultural Competencies, Poverty and Behavioral Supports, Positive Youth Development, and Trauma Informed Care. They also learned new skills they will apply directly in the schools like Success Coach training, and Close Reading and Literacy Circles.

Members travelled to Albany, NY to join hundreds of other AmeriCorps members from throughout New York State to participate in the 9/11 day of service and AmeriCorps 20th Anniversary Celebration. Seeing first-hand the scope of AmeriCorps in New York provided the corps with a perspective that they are part of a service movement locally, regionally, and nationally, and that their decision to serve is one that will have a lasting impact on their lives and the lives of students in Rochester.

We want to thank the administration, staff, and custodians at DCC for working with us to host the training in the Community Room. We are grateful for the assistance, support, and resources we receive from MCC and DCC and acknowledge the work and effort that goes into hosting members and trainers over the two-week period. Having a home base where members feel they are part of a community is paramount as the group coalesces into a powerful, motivated, entity whose task it is to address pressing needs in our community.

To learn more about Rochester AmeriCorps check out our webpage at www.rochesteramericorps.org.


Garth Freeman
Rochester AmeriCorps
09/24/2014