image of barnstable county courthouse

AmeriCorps Cape Cod Announces Swearing-in Ceremony for Year 21 Members

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 23, 2019
Media Contact: Joanne Harrington, ACC Program Coordinator
Email: joanne.harrington@capecod.gov
Phone: 508-375-6905

AmeriCorps Cape Cod Announces Swearing-in Ceremony for Year 21 Members

BARNSTABLE, MA –Twenty-one new members of AmeriCorps Cape Cod will be sworn in on the front steps of the Superior Courthouse at the Barnstable County Complex on Wednesday, September 25th, at 9:45 AM.  Barnstable County Commissioner Ronald Bergstrom (Chairman), Commissioner Mary Pat Flynn (Vice-Chair), Commissioner Ronald Beaty, the AmeriCorps Cape Cod Advisory Board, and the 2019-2020 Service Partners will all be in attendance.  Chairman Bergstrom will deliver the keynote speech.

After a month of training, AmeriCorps Service Members are about to embark on a ten-month journey of rigorous service work within Barnstable County’s 15 towns in addressing the environmental and disaster-preparedness needs of Cape Cod.  ACC members contribute their time, talents and energy to a remarkably wide range of projects including shellfish propagation, herring run clearing, wildland fuel reduction, dolphin stranding response, environmental program delivery for school children, coastal erosion control, and invasive species removal.  Each AmeriCorps member is required to serve 1,700 hours, with the entire corps contributing more than 35,600 hours of service worth over $1,000,000 to Barnstable County communities over the next year.

AmeriCorps Cape Cod Coordinator Joanne Harrington said, “The Year 21 corps is the latest in a succession of individuals who have served on Cape Cod since 1999. AmeriCorps members have served 883,575 hours since the program’s inception, an estimated value of more than $29,794,048 accruing to Cape towns, state and federal agencies, and non-profit organizations engaged in natural resource management, disaster preparedness and response, and environmental and community education.”

During the swearing-in ceremony, AmeriCorps members take the following pledge:

“I will get things done for America – to make our people safer, smarter, and healthier.
I will bring Americans together to strengthen our communities.
Faced with apathy, I will take action.
Faced with conflict, I will seek common ground.
Faced with adversity, I will persevere.
I will carry this commitment with me this year and beyond.
I am an AmeriCorps member, and I will get things done.”

Barnstable County AmeriCorps Cape Cod is a residential fulltime service program committed to addressing the critical environmental and disaster response needs of the Cape Cod community.

Barnstable County AmeriCorps Cape Cod is funded by a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service through the Massachusetts Service Alliance and match funded by Barnstable County. Residences are provided by Barnstable County, Town of Barnstable and the National Park Service, Cape Cod National Seashore. AmeriCorps Cape Cod is managed through the Barnstable County Resource Development Office. For more information about AmeriCorps Cape Cod, contact the Barnstable County Resource Development Office at (508) 375-6872 or americorps@capecod.gov.

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WHO New AmeriCorps Cape Cod Members
WHAT Celebrate their swearing-in
WHEN Wednesday, September 25, 2019 9:45 AM
WHERE Front steps at the Superior Courthouse – Open to the media.