FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Amber Martin-JahnRENO/LAS VEGAS — October 1, 2013 – Nevada Volunteers, the Governor’s Commission on Service, is pleased to announce Amber Martin-Jahn as the Executive Director. Jahn previously served as the AmeriCorps Program Officer for Nevada Volunteers and prior to that worked for the City of Reno.

Jahn’s knowledge of the federal grants system and genuine appreciation for National Service in Nevada was developed as the AmeriCorps Program Officer, but her previous experience in the city’s municipality system, nonprofit field, and social work sector make her a true asset to the Nevada Volunteers team.

“We are incredibly pleased that Amber has stepped up to lead Nevada Volunteers at this exciting time in our organizational development. Her background in nonprofits and social work provides an ideal bridge from our AmeriCorps program subgrantees to Nevada Volunteers. Our Board is certain Amber will be a positive force for building an ethic of service in Nevada,” said Stacy Woodbury, Chair of Nevada Volunteers.
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New Direction at Nevada Volunteers

AmeriCorps Week 2013: The Start of Something Good!

After graduating from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Environmental Studies in the spring of 2010 and not wanting to just jump right into a career, Ben Nicklay looked for a way to gain experience in the field. He searched through numerous AmeriCorps positions and found an opportunity to serve through the Great Basin Institute Nevada Conservation Corps that would allow him to travel and work in the unique outdoors of Nevada.

Ben became an AmeriCorps*State member with the Nevada Conservation Corps and was put on a crew of about ten others outside of the Las Vegas office. His crew consisted of people who had never camped before, people who had majored in English in college, to those who had worked in other conservation corps. Despite all of their differences, they bonded fairly quickly. While on the crew, Ben helped build and maintain trails in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area. It gave him pride in knowing that his hard work would last for years to come. They worked on a variety of other projects around southern Nevada until spring including riparian restoration, habitat improvement, road decommissioning, and invasive species removal. (more…)

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AmeriCorps Week 2013: One Family’s Love of AmeriCorps

During AmeriCorps Week 2013, it is Nevada Volunteers’ privilege to share the stories of AmeriCorps members throughout Nevada. We hope that you’ll enjoy them and get a glimpse into why AmeriCorps members continue to serve multiple terms, how AmeriCorps helped them determine their pathway, and what an impact they are making in our Nevada communities!

Thank you to Ken Tran at AmeriCorps Alums and Brandon Greene (Janet’s son) for sharing the story of Janet Hughes, an AmeriCorps member serving her fourth term through the United Way of Southern Nevada.

I worked for the Clark County School District for 34 years as a classroom teacher, ESL instructor, Reading Specialist, after school tutor, and Speech Pathologist. After my first year of retirement, my son Brandon Greene, called me excited about starting his year of service of as an AmeriCorps member and encouraged me to also serve as an AmeriCorps member. I went online to the AmeriCorps website, and applied after discovering that there was a position available at Desert Rose Adult High School with Dr. Sandra Ransel. (more…)

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2013 Governor’s Points of Light Award Recipients!

Governor Brian Sandoval revealed this year’s recipients on Friday, January 18th, during the Governor’s Points of Light Awards luncheon, which was held in conjunction with the Volunteer and Corporate Engagement Summit. Nevada Volunteers is proud to be able to recognize some of the inspiring and incredible volunteer efforts that are happening in the Silver State!

Southern Nevada Individual: Raquel O’Neill

Raquel O'NeillThough she has no sight, she certainly has a vision. There seem to be no barriers to Raquel O’Neill’s mission to make a difference in her community. She is a new mother, she works fulltime with university students with disabilities, she mentors blind youth, and she works tirelessly to empower Nevadans with vision loss. Raquel identified a gap in services for blind and visually impaired youth. She set out to fill the unmet needs for training by enlisting volunteers to help. She developed and implemented a 60-hour blindness skills training program for youth ages 15-20. The program provides intensive training in daily living skills, cane travel, communication, Braille, and advocacy, and is the only one like it in Nevada. By utilizing skilled volunteers and those who live with vision loss, she is able to provide this program at no charge to the participants. (more…)

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Meet the Volunteer Manager Finalists!

Each year, Nevada Volunteers is overwhelmed by the amount of nominations and the inspiring stories submitted for the Governor’s Points of Light Awards. Our distinguished panel of judges selected the following three finalists for this year. These three individuals will be honored at the awards luncheon on January 18, 2013, and the recipient of the category will be announced. Congratulations to the finalists and thank you for your service to our communities!

Volunteer Manager Finalists for the

2013 Governor’s Points of Light Awards

Sharon Harding (Las Vegas)

Sharon Harding, Volunteer Program Coordinator, oversees the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s Metro Volunteer Program (MVP), which currently has over 450 volunteers. During the last fiscal year MVP volunteers contributed 157,000 hours of service. A large portion of their successful is due to Sharon’s follow up with volunteers to make sure that they are well trained and happy in the areas that they are serving. (more…)

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