March - The Service Corps Members at CRIS

CRIS is privileged to host three AmeriCorps members and one member from the Episcopal Service Corps. Active community members seek such service programs, often soon after graduating from college or while transitioning careers, as an opportunity to contribute to and strengthen their communities while gaining professional experience in the field. Members apply directly to the service program and then specifically to the organization where they would like to serve. Service members are invaluable for non-profit organizations like CRIS. Members bring a passion and commitment to service, contributing fresh perspective and valuable skills to agency initiatives. With the needs of service organizations being great and resources often limited, CRIS is so grateful for the many contributions of our service corps members!

AmeriCorps members Zaina Ujayli, Rachael Kusak and Sarah Huffman and Episcopal Service Corps member Lydia Cleaver-Bartholomew have fully appreciated their time with CRIS. Now more than halfway through their programs, each member believes that they have personally gained more than they feel they could ever contribute to the communities they’ve served. Zaina serves as the Housing Intensive Community Orientation AmeriCorps member, working with CRIS’s Refugee Health and Wellness and Resettlement Programs stating, “I learned a lot about the current housing situation in Columbus, day to day in the experiences with our clients, and in meeting with community partners.” Lydia splits her time with CRIS’s Resettlement and Employment Programs, stating “I've learned a lot about the whole refugee process, from how people become refugees to how they come to the United States, the process of settling into a new country and the many barriers they face.”

Being a service corps member not only provides professional development opportunities for individuals, but the experience of serving at CRIS has inspired some to continue to work with refugees and immigrants in the future.

Rachael also works with CRIS’s Refugee Health and Wellness Program as the Health Intensive Community Orientation AmeriCorps member and shared,

“I have learned more about the process of refugee resettlement in the U.S. along with learning about many different cultures and languages by interacting with different people. I hope to take the experiences and knowledge that I have gained at CRIS and apply them to my future career and everyday life.”

Sarah shares this sentiment and says that after her time contributing to the community outreach and engagement efforts of CRIS’s Resettlement Program, “my long-term goal would be to work for an organization that provides research that demonstrates the value of welcoming refugees and immigrants.”

Please join us in celebrating our AmeriCorps and Episcopal Service Corps members, especially during AmeriCorps week beginning March 11th!