AmeriCorps Connections

Eric Ragone & Laura Rog | AmeriCorps ConnectionsWhat does it look like when your service year doesn't just change your path — it catalyzes everything that comes after? That's the through line in this conversation.Today I am here with Eric Ragone, Major Gifts Officer for the 40 Forward Capital Campaign at God's Love We Deliver, and Laura Rog, Chief Service Officer for New York City and Director of NYC Service. We're recording from the Himan Brown Charitable Trust Media Room at God's Love We Deliver's Liberty Brooklyn location in Sunset Park — which, yes, is as cool as it sounds.Eric was recently recognized at Gracie Mansion by Mayor Mamdani with the 2026 AmeriCorps Alum Impact Award through NYC Service — an honor that recognized not just his own work, but the 20,000 volunteers and dedicated team behind God's Love We Deliver's mission. Two AmeriCorps alums who found their life's work through service — one who deferred a full-time job offer to serve and never looked back, and one who has built a career in national service from the ground upThe story of God's Love We Deliver: 40 years, 40 million meals, and a $40 million capital campaign expanding capacity to reach even more New Yorkers living with severe illness.What NYC Service is doing right now to keep New Yorkers engaged — and what both guests want anyone mid-service or finishing up to hearAbout AmeriCorps ConnectionsAmeriCorps Connections lifts up stories of AmeriCorps alums — 100+ featured! Honest, unfiltered truth about national service. These alums aren't just reflecting — they're still getting things done! We believe these voices deserve to be heard, and we're just getting started.If this episode moves you — don't let that feeling sit there! 💛 Check out our featured partner Idealist for social-impact jobs, volunteer opportunities, and ways to give back right where you are. Check out our first AC Connections Podcast guest blogger for the Idealist Career Advice blog Sarah Vagley Middleton 👩‍💻🍿 And snack smart while you listen — Pops Up Popcorn is a clean, chemical-free microwave popcorn from Somersworth, NH. Use code NICKI10 for 10% off at PopzUp.com 📺 You Tube 📲 Follow us on Instagram - AmeriCorps Connections💼 Connect with Nicki on LinkedIn - Nicki FioccoLinks & Resources:🏆 NYC Service — Mayoral Service Recognition Program (AmeriCorps Alum Impact Award) 🌐 NYC Service — Volunteer in New York City / Every Action Every New Yorker 🍽️ God's Love We Deliver 📦 God's Love We Deliver — 40 Forward Capital Campaign ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Three years later, she still goes back to volunteer. That's how deep service runs for Shelbie Simmons.Shelbie served as an American Connection Corps Fellow in Clay County, Kentucky — one of the top 25 poorest counties in the US — tackling digital equity, broadband access, and literacy in a place that's often overlooked. She built coalitions across three counties, co-created Little Free Libraries, taught senior digital literacy classes, and launched a "Seniors for Seniors" program pairing high schoolers with senior citizens. (Miss Helen now takes selfies. 📱)Today Shelbie works as a philanthropy officer at Reset 180, a nonprofit supporting women leaving human trafficking situations — and she's still going back to Eastern Kentucky at least once a year to serve.Her message is simple but powerful: you don't need an official name tag to volunteer. Helping a neighbor, sharing a skill, showing up — that's the spirit of service. And it doesn't have to be grand to matter."You don't have to be an AmeriCorps member to embody the pledge." — Shelbie Simmons#StillGettingThingsDone_______________________________________ 🤝 This episode is part of a special series produced in partnership with 250&Beyond: Our American Story and our partners: The National Museum and Center for Service — A national organization developing a truly national museum and center dedicated to honoring and inspiring service in ALL its forms. Independent Sector — The only national membership organization that brings together a diverse community of changemakers, nonprofits, foundations, and corporations working to strengthen civil society and ensure all people in the United States thrive. WETA — Founded in 1961, WETA is the leading public broadcasting station in the nation's capital, serving their community with educational, cultural, news, and public affairs programs and services. ________________________________________ AmeriCorps Connections lifts up real stories of AmeriCorps alumni — 100+ featured! Honest, unfiltered truth about national service. These alums aren't just reflecting — they're still getting things done! We believe these voices deserve to be heard, and we're just getting started! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

What does service look like 25 years after your AmeriCorps year? For Addie Madchen, it never stopped.In this special edition of AmeriCorps Connections — part of our 250&Beyond: Our American Story series — Addie shares what brought her from Connecticut to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and why she never left. From coat drives and AIDS runs with City Year to teaching jazz guitar to kids in her community, Addie's service has taken a lot of shapes. But the throughline is the same: show up for people, share what you have, and look for the helpers.Addie opens up about a raw moment during a 12-hour MLK Day of Service — flat on the floor of an empty school, exhausted and questioning the point — and how one act of service from a colleague changed everything. She also reflects on identity, belonging, and what happens when people who've been told to distrust each other end up serving side by side.This one is a mic drop moment. 🎤#StillGettingThingsDone________________________________________🤝 This episode is part of a special series produced in partnership with 250&Beyond: Our American Story and our partners: The National Museum and Center for Service — A national organization developing a truly national museum and center dedicated to honoring and inspiring service in ALL its forms. Independent Sector — The only national membership organization that brings together a diverse community of changemakers, nonprofits, foundations, and corporations working to strengthen civil society and ensure all people in the United States thrive. WETA — Founded in 1961, WETA is the leading public broadcasting station in the nation's capital, serving their community with educational, cultural, news, and public affairs programs and services. ________________________________________AmeriCorps Connections lifts up real stories of AmeriCorps alumni — 100+ featured! Honest, unfiltered truth about national service. These alums aren't just reflecting — they're still getting things done! We believe these voices deserve to be heard, and we're just getting started! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

What really happens during an AmeriCorps service year? Callie Fishburn did her VISTA year in Bennington, Vermont in the middle of a global pandemic — and came out the other side with lessons nobody prepared her for.She gets real about the financial sacrifice of national service, the hard truth about building projects that don't outlast you, and why she made the unconventional choice to stay in her service community after her year ended.Plus — what a community grocery store, a food desert, and MacKenzie Scott all have in common.🎧 This one's for the alums, the curious, and anyone who's ever wondered if a service year is worth it.📝 Rate, review and share - help keep these service stories alive.🎥Watch on YouTube @AmeriCorpsConnectionsJoin States for ServiceAmericas Service Commissions - National Service Advocacy AcademyShare your AmeriCorps story: nicki@americorpsconnections.com ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Cali Moore knew she would serve in AmeriCorps before she ever graduated college.After growing up in a community center staffed by AmeriCorps members, she intentionally chose to serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA with Horton’s Kids in Washington, DC. From there, she became a Segal Fellow at AmeriCorps headquarters, rotating across departments and even deploying for national disaster response.Her journey continued through Service Year Alliance, the Do Good Institute at the University of Maryland, and into tech consulting — where she now builds software for federal agencies and global nonprofits, including Peace Corps.In this episode, we explore:• How service builds lifelong adaptability • Translating nonprofit skills into for-profit spaces • The Segal Fellowship experience • Why alumni networks matter • The growing AmeriCorps Alums DC Chapter • What 1.3 million alums could accomplish togetherResources mentioned in this episode: Application for DC Board Alumni BoardDC chapter website -other chapters can connect through Do Good Institute – University of Maryland https://dogood.umd.eduThe Eli J. & Phyllis N. Segal Citizen Leadership Program ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

What happens when you say yes to service — and keep saying yes?In this powerful and deeply human episode of the AmeriCorps Connections Podcast, host Nicki Fiocco sits down with Alex Schwartz, an AmeriCorps alum whose journey spans nearly every corner of national service: AmeriCorps NCCC, State & National, VISTA — and now AmeriCorps staff.Alex shares the story that changed everything — a single moment during disaster recovery after the Camp Fire in California, when helping a survivor receive two pairs of donated pants revealed the true impact of service. From building homes in Montana, responding to wildfires in California and Maui, restoring prairies in Minnesota, and strengthening disaster preparedness with the Red Cross, Alex reflects on how AmeriCorps gave him purpose, perspective, passion, and community.In this episode, you’ll hear about: • How AmeriCorps helps people and the people who help people • Why service changes how you see the world — and yourself • The power of disaster response and community resilience • How AmeriCorps service can shape a lifelong career and calling • Why we can’t afford to lose national serviceIf you’ve ever wondered what AmeriCorps really looks like in action — or how service can become a way of life — this episode is for you.📝 Rate, review and share - help keep these service stories alive.🎥Watch on YouTube @AmeriCorpsConnectionsJoin States for ServiceAmericas Service Commissions - National Service Advocacy AcademyShare your AmeriCorps story: nicki@americorpsconnections.com ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this episode of the AmeriCorps Connections Podcast, host Nicki Fiocco sits down with AmeriCorps NCCC alum Zach Steaple (Class 23A) to talk about the kind of service you can’t unsee — and how those experiences quietly reshape who you become.Zach shares how a gray AmeriCorps sweatshirt from his mom and a youth sports program at Notre Dame first planted the seed of service, long before he knew what NCCC was. From planting willows and building beaver dam analogs in a national forest, to counting unhoused neighbors in North Las Vegas, to supporting fire recovery and hearing stories straight out of what felt like a movie — Zach unpacks how he realized he’d lived one of the biggest years of his life.Today, Zach is “Mr. Zach” in a kindergarten classroom, bringing NCCC virtues like perseverance, responsibility, and compassion into a school that centers social-emotional learning and a “private school with a public mission.” He talks about being a male educator of color, the power of simply seeing people — whether they’re kids in the hallway or neighbors on the street — and why it’s okay to change your mind about what service means to you.Whether you’re considering national service, still processing your own AmeriCorps year, or wondering how to keep serving long after your term ends, this conversation is a soulful reminder that service doesn’t stop when the program ends — it just changes shape.Join States for ServiceAmericas Service Commissions - National Service Advocacy AcademyShare your AmeriCorps story: nicki@americorpsconnections.com ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

🎙️ AmeriCorps Connections Podcast: AmeriCorps Seniors Voices — Featuring Gina OttrandoIn this special episode, host Nicki Fiocco kicks off the AmeriCorps Seniors Voices Series — celebrating those who continue to serve after their professional careers have ended. Today’s guest, Gina Ottrando of Staten Island, New York, shares how she found renewed purpose through AmeriCorps Seniors and her service with Meals on Wheels, Project Hospitality, and SCORE.Gina’s story shines a light on what it means to give back, stay engaged, and use a lifetime of skills to strengthen communities. After a 37-year career in a Fortune 100 company, she now dedicates her time to mentoring small business owners through SCORE, supporting local food pantries, and helping neighbors in need.💡 About AmeriCorps SeniorsAmeriCorps Seniors is part of the AmeriCorps federal agency, engaging adults ages 55+ in service that strengthens communities and fosters connections across generations.Each year, more than 170,000 AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers contribute over 40 million hours of service through three main programs🌟 Points of Light RecognitionGina was honored as a Points of Light Award recipient (No. # 7987), recognizing her exceptional volunteer service. The Daily Point of Light Award, established by President George H.W. Bush, celebrates individuals making meaningful contributions to their communities through volunteerism.https://www.pointsoflight.org/awards/empowering-the-staten-island-community-through-multifaceted-volunteerism/ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★