News editor
It was a busy time last week as the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps group known as Alpine Seven rehabilitated apartments at Homestead Affordable Housing in Marion.
“We got a lot of work done,” team leader Ashley White said. “We got all nine apartments done that needed to be repainted and cleaned, and an extra 11 apartments needed to have carpets ripped up, and we got all that accomplished in four and a half days.”
With all that work plus extra mandatory physical activity, it was easy for the group of 18 to 24-year-olds to work up good appetites.
But they knew there were others in the community who also were hungry, so before leaving town Friday, White and Emma Hodgson went shopping at Carlsons’ Grocery and made a $300 donation of items to Marion County Resource Center and Food Bank.
“We were just realizing we had a little bit of extra budget money, and instead of using that to spend on ourselves we decided that we would use it to give back to the community we were working in,” White said.
AmeriCorps gives each worker a food allowance of $4.75 per day, but buying food in bulk saved money.
“Bringing the money together, it’s actually way more than you expect,” Hodgson said.
However, the team wanted to do more, so they tightened their belts a bit.
“We started getting a little bit more stingy with what we bought so we would have a good amount of money so we could donate a good amount of stuff at the end” White said.
The group’s assignment began in Holton, and they returned there Friday. Hodgson said they would be helping with a Christmas party and finishing work on an apartment they worked on prior to coming to Marion. At the end of the week, they’ll head back to the AmeriCorps training center Denver, take a holiday break, and then go to Tucson, Arizona, for their next assignment.