UCC Deploys AmeriCorps Members to New Jersey for Hurricane Ida Response

The Utah Conservation Corps (UCC) at Utah State University is sending a crew of four AmeriCorps members and two staff to New Jersey to aid in Hurricane Ida response efforts. This crew will be completing mucking and gutting projects for affected homeowners through November 20. The UCC will be serving alongside 49 other personnel from six other AmeriCorps Disaster Response Teams. Teams will be based out of New Brunswick and will be serving in Somerset, Bergen, Essex, Union and Middlesex counties.

Individual Placement & Disaster Response Program Coordinator Mark Hrpcek commented “our Disaster Response Team is honored to be supporting FEMA's Mission Assignment in New Brunswick, NJ. This will be a very rewarding experience for the crew members since most are from the New Jersey and New York area and they will have the opportunity to help communities that are close to home for them. We are all very excited to get to work, helping as many people in the community as we can.”

AmeriCorps, the federal agency for volunteerism and national service, provides opportunities for Americans to serve their country domestically, address the nation’s most pressing challenges, improve lives and communities and strengthen civic engagement. Each year, the agency invests more than $800 million in grants for local nonprofit, community, tribal, and state organizations; places more than 250,000 AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers in intensive service roles; and empowers millions more to serve as long-term, short-term or one-time volunteers. Learn more at AmeriCorps.gov.

The UCC, based out of Utah State University’s Center for Community Engagement, was formed in 2001 with a mission to develop the conservation leaders of tomorrow. Since 2001, more than 2,200 UCC AmeriCorps members have served over 1.7 million hours creating or maintaining 4,091 miles of trail and 494 miles of fence, restoring 55,973 acres of public land and reaching 435,606 students with environmental education. More information on UCC can be found at http://www.usu.edu/ucc.