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MCHS Community Corps AmeriCorps members serving with Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes lead a group of scouts on an overseas adventure
September 2, 2024
When Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS) - Community Corps AmeriCorps members Sigourney Vandeveer, Miranda Schomberg, and Lauren David started their service last year at the Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes, they had little idea it would lead them to an overseas adventure this summer to chaperone a group of girls to Italy, Austria, and Germany in addition to all of their planned service activities.
MCHS Community Corps AmeriCorps member Lauren David explained that “I knew it was an option to chaperone a trip when I interviewed for Girl Scouts last summer. What I didn’t know is that it would be an international trip.” Reflecting on the opportunity, Lauren described that “I had always wanted to go to Europe, but it wasn’t feasible to take a trip there myself…I was so excited to be a part of this trip and to take in the cultures as much as I could.”
Over the course of nine days, they helped lead the participating girls through their travel and helped open their eyes to the world during their exploration of Rome, Pisa, Florence, Innsbruck, Munich, and the Dachau concentration camp. “I loved getting to know the people in my chaperone group and in the overall tour group. Watching them open up to new experiences was amazing,” said Lauren. “It was definitely one of the highlights of my service term and I will always be grateful to AmeriCorps and Girl Scouts for allowing me the chance of a lifetime.”
This sentiment was echoed by her fellow AmeriCorps members, with Sigourney Vandeveer beginning her detailed reflection on each element of the trip by stating that “it is appropriate that I begin by thanking with every fiber of my being the following: Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes, Marshfield Clinic Health Systems, AmeriCorps, Community Corps, EF Tours, and all the friends, family, and community members who helped me prepare for my first journey across the Atlantic. It was nine days to remember, though it peeled past, or maybe through me like lightning.” The trip provided her with the opportunity to visit many of the sites she had previously studied as a humanities major. Thinking back on her overall journey following their visit to Dachau on the final day before returning home, Sigourney explained how she “silently thanked my teachers, professors, mentors, and all the others in my life who’d taught me well and given me an appetite for learning and seeing the world as its true, beautiful, ugly, heartbreaking self.”
For more about Sigourney's service this year before the trip, check out the episode of The S-Files podcast featuring her service: Finding Joy Providing Opportunities through the Girl Scouts while serving with MCHS Community Corps
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MCHS Community Corps and Recovery Corps AmeriCorps members attend national conference
September 6, 2024
Sixteen AmeriCorps members with Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS) - Community Corps and Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS) - Recovery Corps were awarded full scholarships to attend the NACCHO360 national conference in Detroit near the end of July. The NACCHO360 conference is organized by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and is the largest convening of local health department leaders and public health professionals in the United States.
MCHS Community Corps AmeriCorps member Miranda Golberg described that “attending the NACCHO conference was a great opportunity for development. The program brought AmeriCorps members across the nation together for networking, and through sessions and other opportunities there was time to connect and network with other health officials.”
The MCHS Community Corps and MCHS Recovery Corps AmeriCorps members were joined by approximately 90 additional Public Health AmeriCorps members serving at sites nationwide, which offered the opportunity for the participants to learn, network, and share experiences and best practices with health-focused professionals from across the country.
“This conference provided great insight on the array of opportunities and career paths inside of public health,” continued Golberg. “The sessions were informative and intriguing, going past the statement ‘here is the issue” and focusing on what the organization did successfully and how one can implement or take this with them. I definitely walked away feeling proud of the service I do and the impact it creates! It was fulfilling talking to thousands of other individuals who share the same fiery passion.”
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AmeriCorps 30th Anniversary Celebration of Service
May 15, 2024
The AmeriCorps community gathered at the picturesque Green Lake Conference Center to celebrate three decades of national service. The "Celebration of Service" event brought together AmeriCorps members, staff, and supporters for a day of workshops, recreational activities, and the prestigious Governor's Service Awards ceremony. The workshops included valuable topics such as Resume building, Pathways to Self Care, Using your Education Award, Furthering your Public Service Career, and Telling your Story in the Job Interview.
At the Governors Service Awards ceremony, MCHS AmeriCorps members Nikki Stearns, LuTia Colbert, Braedon Richlen, Jessica Heinzen and were recognized for their nomination of "Member of the Year" award, and were presented with a certificate from Governor Tony Evers, champion of national service. Congrats to our nominees! 
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Marshfield Clinic Recovery Corps present on AmeriCorps service during National Public Health Week webinar
April 4, 2024
As part of the celebration of National Public Health Week during the first week of April, Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS) Recovery Corps helped lead a nationwide webinar organized by the American Public Health Association. MCHS Recovery Corps AmeriCorps member Jennifer Podeweltz and program director Meagan Barnett were featured speakers one the session entitled Innovative Workforce Solutions: Lessons Learned from Public Health AmeriCorps. 
They discussed how the program’s AmeriCorps members serve as recovery coaches assisting individuals with substance abuse disorders, often drawing upon their own personal experiences. Megan Barnett reflected on this, explaining that “having someone from the community who understands those unique features and barriers is really important. Lived experience is really valuable because you are helping other people go along that journey."
Jennifer and Meagan shared about their experience in the webinar, which focused on best practices in recruiting, training and nurturing early-career public health professionals from Public Health AmeriCorps. With public health facing a workforce crisis, the webinar discussed ways to help grow local talent and build pathways for community members to join the field of public health and become critical, trusted messengers for their community.
Jennifer explained that “when I came into my position, I didn't have any experience in public health. If you have a passion for helping people, they (Public Health AmeriCorps). can get you there.” She reflected on her overall experience, saying “on top of the experiences of working with peers, it's working with other coaches and learning from them. It's amazing to see the transformation in myself in the past two years.”
Webinar Recording: Innovative Workforce Solutions: Lessons learned from Public Health AmeriCorps.
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AmeriCorps Members Attend Midterm Training
March 1, 2024
February 28 - March 1, 2024, 80 AmeriCorps members and staff from Marshfield Clinic Health System’s Community Corps and Recovery Corps programs gathered at the Kalahari in Wisconsin Dells. This annual Midterm Training was intended to promote networking, professional development, and to inspire members as they continue towards completion of a successful term of service.
A variety of speakers were invited to share their expertise on topics such as building community partnerships, mental health, public speaking, resume writing, and self-care. Several members took advantage of the opportunity to practice their own public speaking skills by presenting to their peers on topics related to their service and passions. In the spirit of service, members came together to complete several service projects which included making fleece tie blankets for teens in a hospital, painting kindness rocks, and writing letters to veterans. Overall it was a successful interactive event that resulted in members and program staff alike more connected with each other and recharged for the remainder of the service term.
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