Riverhead resident pledges 10 months’ service to Americorps

Luke Shea of Riverhead, New York, is one of 177 men and women pledging to perform 10 months of national service as part of the Southern Region’s 20th Class of the National Civilian Community Corps, as a member of FEMA Corps.

As a corps member, Shea will spend 10 months getting things done for America while strengthening communities and developing his leadership. Shea and his team will serve with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the administration of emergency management and long term recovery activities.

“Through web blogs, I found out about AmeriCorps NCCC and FEMA Corps,” said Shea.

After his 10-month stint, Shea will graduate on November 21, 2014 with an education award of $5,645, which can be used to continue education or pay back student loans.

“Knowing that I am helping make people happy motivates me to serve,” said Shea.

The AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps  and its FEMA Corps units engage 2,800 young Americans in a full-time, 10-month commitment to service each year. AmeriCorps NCCC members address critical needs related to natural and other disasters, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, and urban and rural development; FEMA Corps members are solely dedicated to disaster preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery work. The programs are administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). CNCS is the federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund, and Volunteer Generation Fund programs, and leads President’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit NationalService.gov.

Source: Americorps press release issued March 20, 2013