AmeriCorps provides an opportunity for people to serve Habitat for Humanity in meeting the housing needs of communities and families across the United States. As a network of national service programs, made up of three primary programs, members commit their time to addressing critical community needs like increasing academic achievement, mentoring youth, fighting poverty, sustaining national parks, preparing for disasters, and more.
For Habitat, members serve in a variety of roles, from leading volunteers to raising resources, developing new programs, and building and repairing homes. Most importantly, AmeriCorps members help us in our mission to serve local families who need our help.
One such volunteer is Mackenzie Powell. Mackenzie joined us in early August and has been an invaluable resource on our Lake City construction site. Originally from upstate New York, Mackenzie attended the University of Rhode Island where she graduated with dual degrees in Chemical Engineering and French.
Upon graduating, Mackenzie decided that joining AmeriCorps for a year of service would be a great way to give back to the community, and that doing so prior to continuing her education made sense. We are so glad she decided to join us!
Mackenzie says she loves getting to work with the other AmeriCorps volunteers and really enjoys working with our partner families who are completing their “sweat equity” requirements.
“Working with families is always super rewarding. I love to see how excited the partner families are to get involved. I think what we do at Habitat is extremely important because everyone deserves a house!”
After her Habitat AmeriCorps experience, Mackenzie plans to continue her education by getting a Master’s degree or Ph.D., and eventually obtaining an engineering job in the pharmaceutical industry. Here at Habitat, we couldn’t be more proud of Mackenzie and appreciate all of her hard work!