By Toska Cooper, Marketing and Outreach Coordinator – RESOURCE-EAC
So what is the ICC?
The ICC is a peer-led organization of AmeriCorps State, National & VISTA members that strive to promote engagement and education to empower the Minnesota community consisting of 28 council members and 15 ambassadors. Council members represent AmeriCorps programs within the Twin Cities and Ambassadors represent AmeriCorps programs in the Greater Minnesota community.
In the ICC we have four committees: Training and Education (TED), Social Networking (SoNet), Communications (CoCo) and Service. The TED committee focuses on providing professional development training and education opportunities. The SoNet committee is responsible for making everyone’s year of service fun and entertaining! SoNet works closely with the CoCo committee to reach out to the AmeriCorps community and get members involved. Speaking of CoCo, this committee publishes a monthly e-newsletter called Public Spirit and works within the Minnesota community to connect Minnesotans with AmeriCorps members. Last but certainty not least, we have the Service committee which is focused around the AmeriCorps motto of “Getting Things Done!” This committee coordinates service events such as the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service and AmeriCorps week. These committees meet on a bi-monthly basis and then provide their progress to everyone during council meetings. What makes these committees run smoothly is that every member was assigned to the committee of their first choice. This allows everyone to be enthused about their committee and really be the change the want to see!
Now that you’ve gotten the overview, let me tell you information you actually want to know.
Back in mid-October, we had our orientation meeting for all council members and I was elected Vice President! This meeting was imperative and really set the tone for this year. I can already tell that we will be very successful because of the positive energy in the room on that first day. Some members came up with an idea titled “Be an AmeriCorps Member for a Day,” which would allow people interested in AmeriCorps to join a current member on a service project or throughout their workday. Another idea was a themed dodge ball competition between the different branches of AmeriCorps. These ideas are a preview a promising term of service! Speaking of that, here’s what we’ve got planned to wrap up the first half of our ICC year:
We did an AmeriCorps presentation at Macalester College! Recruitment starts now!
- On Saturday, December 20th we will hold our first service project at Golden Valley Second Harvest Heartland
- Our “Ugly Sweater” ICC Holiday Party will be after our next council meeting — we will celebrate our members on completing half of our service year!
- And yes we have more in store…Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service and AmeriCorps Week are coming up soon!
Want to keep up with us even more? Yes, you do! Please subscribe to our Public Spirit Newsletter! Have questions? Want to get involved? Email us
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