AmeriCorps offers rewarding work, benefits community
At 69 years old, Lida Mariotti found what she said was the most rewarding work experience of her life.
It came several years after her retirement, but Mariotti, now 73, is about to close out her fourth and final year as an AmeriCorps member at the nonprofit Suit Yourself, where she has worked 20 hours a week at 325 New Castle Road supplying clothing to people in need.
“This has been probably the most rewarding thing I have done in my whole career,” Mariotti said. “We help so many people. We help the veterans, the homeless. We help people who go through a fire and lose everything.”
Mariotti is one of the 23 AmeriCorps members working through the Family Service Corps of Butler Memorial Hospital, which became an AmeriCorps organization in 1996.
AmeriCorps was formed as the government agency for national and community service in 1993, and spread throughout the country through different agencies that appoint members to community positions, according to the AmeriCorps’ website.
On July 12, Gov. Tom Wolf announced more than $17.5 million in support of the community service work of 26 AmeriCorps programs, the most funding ever provided in Pennsylvania.
Matt McConnell, coordinator of the Family Service Corps AmeriCorps Program, said the health system has placed members in jobs at such organizations as Suit Yourself, the Butler County Veterans In Need Fund, Compeer Corps and Catholic Charities.
He said it is too soon to know how the additional funding through PennSERVE will impact individual AmeriCorps programs, but the workers in the Family Service Corps are a good representation of the program.
“Our members do a variety of services,” McConnell said. “Our older members are just giving back, because to a lot of them, staying active is a big thing.”
McConnell reviews the applications received through AmeriCorps and places members through the Family Service Corps in positions where workers are needed. The current service period is from Aug. 20, 2021, until Aug. 19, 2022, and a new yearlong session will begin the next day.
McConnell said the work designated through AmeriCorps is optimal for people looking to enter or reenter the workforce. Members receive a stipend of $8,000 for the year term, and an educational “scholarship” of $3,000 after each year of service.
“They get to gain skills and learn how to function in a work environment,” McConnell said. “We have a variety of ages; it ranges from college students and our oldest member is 83.”
McConnell said once members reach age 55, they can transfer their education credits to family members, which is what Mariotti plans to do for her grandchildren.
McConnell also said there are usually slots left vacant by the time the session begins in August. People can still apply and make up the necessary working hours later on.
“We can start members as late as October,” McConnell said.
Mariotti said she hopes to see more people get involved in AmeriCorps, because it is not only rewarding for members, but also needed by nonprofits in the community, like Suit Yourself, which is a clothing closet that relies completely on donations.
“There is a stipend, but really you're doing it for your community and veterans,” Mariotti said. “I definitely would recommend it. Helping your community feels so good.”
