AMES, Iowa -- A “funny phone call” led Carrie Dunn to AmeriCorps.

“I had a funny phone call one day from an old friend of mine who said, ‘I have this great job for you, it would be perfect. You’re working with kids and you’re going to get a lot of experience for school,’ and I was hooked,” said Dunn, an AmeriCorps member with Midtown Family Community Center in Sioux City and Iowa State University Extension in Woodbury County. She is the center’s youth program coordinator.

Dunn, a college student, said her AmeriCorps experience has helped her choose a career.

“I had never thought of working in a school that is at-risk before I started this program and now … that’s what I’d like to do,” she said. “I would love to work in the schools that are considered ‘at risk’ because those are the kids I work with now. It is so fulfilling. … You do a little thing for these kids and they just think the world of you.”

Volunteers like Dunn are part of the Iowa AmeriCorps State of Promise program hosted by ISU Extension 4-H Youth Development in collaboration with Iowa’s Promise and the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service. These AmeriCorps members serve with youth development programs in communities across the state. Membership is open to U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents age 17 and older.

“The program encourages people to be involved and helps them accomplish things for their communities,” said Judy McCarthy, ISU Extension’s director for the program. “AmeriCorps members help solve problems, bring communities together and set an example of caring and community spirit that America needs.”

AmeriCorps members can serve on a full or part time basis. They receive a modest living allowance and an education award of up to $4,725 per year, which can be used for higher education tuition or loan repayment after completing a full term of service.

Dunn is a first-year AmeriCorps member and hopes to renew for a second year. She plans to use her AmeriCorps reward dollars to further her education. She also would like to get others involved as AmeriCorps members.

“I hope I can make a funny phone call,” she said, because AmeriCorps “has been a true blessing for me.”

AmeriCorps Week is May 9-16. Learn more at http://www.americorpsweek.gov/.

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Get more information about Iowa AmeriCorps State of Promise.

Listen to an interview with Carrie Dunn.