AmeriCorps: Making a Difference at ACCT

Last month, ACCT said goodbye to our Community Engagement Coordinator, Melissa Nelson, whose efforts at ACCT pioneered our entire Community Engagement Program.  Over the course of her AmeriCorps service year at ACCT, Melissa helped nearly 200 residents gain access to healthy food through an edible landscaping project at ACCT parks in Starksboro.  Additionally, she helped 78 ACCT applicants and residents with housing placement services, and organized two dozen volunteers to lend a hand painting, raking, and doing other projects that enhanced our residents' housing.  She also led the planning for our first Addison County Housing Summit, among myriad other activities that made ACCT and our properties a better place to live and work, and we are immensely grateful for her service.

This month, ACCT welcomes Ryan Gyukeri to the position of Community Engagement Coordinator.  Ryan is a senior at UVM and we are very excited to have him on board for this next year of AmeriCorps Service.

Finally, our Community Engagement Program wouldn't be possible without the support of some very generous funders, including the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) that sponsors the VHCB AmeriCorps program in VT, and the Vermont Community Foundation's Walter Cerf Fund, which provided a generous grant to cover some of the costs.  We are so thankful to be a part of such a generous community that supports affordable housing through grants and community service.