Come join the nation’s premier AmeriCorps program! Spend a year serving rural and emerging communities - you’ll launch your career in a place you're invested in, and you'll start changing this country for the better.
The American Connection Corps (ACC) is the flagship program of Lead For America (LFA), a national nonprofit that is building a new generation of public service leaders nationwide. ACC is LFA’s boots-on-the-ground service corps, aimed at building local leaders in rural and emerging communities. Through a year of service, ACC’ers become leaders who can tackle critical bipartisan challenges, advance economic prosperity, and spark needed change in the places they’re most connected to. Every corner of America deserves the leadership of great public servants, and ACC brings that vision to life.
ACC is among the fastest-growing AmeriCorps programs in the country – we’ll have over 100 corps members serving communities across 30+ states this year.
Service Activities
To give you a sense of the contributions you could be making in your community, here are some examples of ACC’ers past service activities - their placements, projects, and impact:
- Helping a rural Nebraska county secure $10M in public-private funding to bring high-speed internet access to 1K underserved households statewide.
- Supporting a rural Minnesota community with digital skills training for thousands of high schoolers and senior citizens.
- Developing a greenhouse gas emissions strategy for a Montana tribal government’s operations, allowing the nation to track its environmental footprint.
- Allowing citizens of an industrial, upstate New York town to play an active role in how their local school district allocates their tax dollars.
Community Need Addressed
Here's how the program works: ACC Members will be placed with a local nonprofit, government agency, or other community organization in the area they’re serving. Day in and day out, Members work for your host organization, building critical knowledge and skills while advancing progress on a critical challenge in your community. Members might serve a rural town with a triple-digit population, a small city of over 100,000 people, or they might be based in a larger metropolitan area while serving multiple smaller communities statewide.
ACC'ers will have a dynamic local supervisor at your host organization - someone who can be there for you and support both your personal and professional growth. They'll also be supported by ACC Program Officers on the LFA side - Program Officers are our public service experts who will connect you socially with your peer ACC’ers, facilitate a range of professional development opportunities, and support you with any questions/challenges that arise during your service year.
Position Outcomes
Individually, our members are addressing locally-rooted issues surrounding digital equity and economic prosperity in rural and emerging communities. As a collective, they are making grand strides toward a truly connected country: one where each inhabitant - regardless of their geography or income level - will have the ability to achieve their hopes and dreams.
Benefits
Education award upon successful completion of service, Health coverage, Living allowance, Stipend, Student loan forbearance
Every full-time member receives a $30,000 stipend and a $6,895 education award - which can be used to cover any education-related expenses after program completion. Additionally, all Members receive full healthcare coverage and access to financial hardship assistance funds, if necessary. Lastly, Members have even further opportunity to develop knowledge, sharpen skills, and build connections at ACC’s three fully-funded, in-person retreats throughout the year. Retreats are week-long experiences that will take you to Wichita (KS), Minneapolis (MN), and Washington DC; you’ll put your host site responsibilities on pause while you get to know your ACC cohort and discuss the challenges you’re each addressing in your communities. During each retreat, you’ll get to learn from nationally renowned community leaders, corporate executives, policymakers, and more.
Education Benefits
College Degree, GED/High School Diploma, Credential or Certification
Skills you will gain
Members become capable, rising public service leaders in their home communities.
Competencies You Will Develop
Communication
Lead group discussion, Listen to and consider others' viewpoints, Maintain open lines of communication with others, Write cleary and effectively
Creativity & Problem Solving
Able to identify and define the problem, Capable of generating possible solutions, Communicate the problem to appropriate personnel
Teamwork
Interact professionally and respectfully with supervisors and co-workers, Use appropriate strategies and solutions for dealing with conflicts and differences to maintain a smooth workflow
Decisions
Accepts responsibility, Identify and prioritize the key issues involved to facilitate the decision making process, Involve people appropriately in decisions that may impact them
Tools
Carefully consider which tools or technological solutions are appropriate for a given job, Consistently choose the best tool or technological solution for the problem at hand, Operate tools and equipment in accordance with established operating procedures, safety standards, and ethical guidelines
Planning
Able to prioritize various competing tasks, Create plan of action, schedule tasks so that work is completed on time, Demonstrate the effective allocation of time and resources efficiently, Set goals
Service
Be pleasant, courteous, professional and respectful when dealing with internal and external customers or clients, Evaluate customer or client satisfaction, Honor the privilege of being able to work with and for those being served, Provide personalized, prompt, and efficient service to meet the requirements, requests and needs of customers, Recognize the importance of maintaining privacy and confidentiality of those being served, Understand and anticipate the needs of others, Understand the importance of one's role in the functioning of the organization