AmeriCorps member Olivia helps at-risk kids in New Hampshire during the Covid-19 pandemic

Back in February, Olivia mentored fourth-graders after school. She made sure they did their homework, ate nutritional snacks and worked on any behavioral issues. She helps children build skills so they can succeed at school and in life. It’s work she loves.

But like all of our jobs, Olivia’s changed a lot in response to COVID-19.

Olivia is a Goodwill AmeriCorps member embedded at the Seymour Osman Community Center in Dover, New Hampshire, which helps children who have been in the foster care system or have adverse childhood experiences.

Now the 120 children served by the center can’t attend after-school programs in person, so Olivia’s host site pivoted. These days, she serves food three times a week to families in need at a pick-up site, which offers meals and groceries. The Center now offers online enrichment programming including science experiments, which she sometimes leads.

Olivia sees about 20 children online as they play games, work through homework and socialize. She worries about the children who don’t have access to technology or internet, who can’t access the program but need the support.

“The whole experience has been life changing,” she said. “I’m happy I’m an AmeriCorps member right now, because if I feel like I can help the kids. It made me like the job even more and exposes me to different experiences.” Olivia is a senior at the University of New Hampshire, in her last semester and she is serving with the Granite State Service Corps.

Goodwill manages the Granite State Service Corps, which places AmeriCorps members in New Hampshire schools and nonprofits to serve at-risk students and kids who have been impacted by the foster care system. Members work in and out of school in order to support students that have been impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES). Members efforts are focused on building resiliency and increasing childhood protective factors.

If you’re interested in becoming an AmeriCorps member, or becoming a “host site” partner agency, please visit goodwillnne.org/jobs/americorps/

Goodwill helps people improve their lives – whether through work, recovering from a brain injury or providing a safe place to call home. This work is possible because of support from people like you. Please consider a gift today to make sure people continue to build stable lives far into the future. Goodwill NNE is a nonprofit and your gift is tax deductible.