Meet Impact America AmeriCorps Program Staff

​Legal Applicant/Host Organization’s Name:

Impact America

AmeriCorps Program Name:

Impact Alabama AmeriCorps Team

AmeriCorps Program Staff Names and Titles:

Top left: Caroline Janeway, Alabama State Director

Top right: Rebekah Nordine, Director of AmeriCorps and Member Development

Bottom left: Grace Standridge, Director of AmeriCorps and Federal Grants

Bottom right: Channing Bethke, National Program Director

Counties of Service:

All 67 Alabama Counties

Describe your AmeriCorps program

Impact Alabama AmeriCorps members implement substantive service-learning projects related to health, economic opportunity, and education across the state of Alabama. AmeriCorps members serve with Impact America initiatives - FocusFirst, SaveFirst, and SpeakFirst. FocusFirst provides free vision screenings to preschool-aged children across the state of Alabama. SaveFirst ensures Alabama families have access to high-quality, free tax preparation services. SpeakFirst is a debate and college preparation program for high school students in the Birmingham area. Members contribute direct service, recruit, train, and manage volunteers serving with each program.

The number of Members Serving:

14

Responsibilities of the Members:

In FocusFirst, members contact centers to schedule screenings, conduct noninvasive vision screenings using the Spot screening camera and assist in collecting and processing screening results. This ensures both parents and daycare staff are notified and children who fail the screening receive a referral for follow-up care. While serving with SaveFirst, members will complete training in tax law and tax site operations, become certified as IRS Volunteer Tax Preparers, prepare returns, recruit and train college students to prepare returns and manage their service at tax sites, and plan and execute a marketing campaign to ensure community members are aware of this service. Members may also support the SpeakFirst debate program by assisting with debate practice and supporting students competing in area debate tournaments.

What the members and the program hope to accomplish by the end of the program year

During the 2021-22 program year, the Impact Alabama AmeriCorps Team goal is to provide vision screenings for 10,000 young children in Head Starts and daycare programs across the state of Alabama. All children who fail the screening will be referred to Sight Savers America for follow-up care services, including eye exams, glasses, or other needed treatment. Members will recruit and manage volunteers serving at tax preparation sites, providing free tax preparation services to 2,000 taxpayers at sites in communities across Alabama.

Thank you for your service!