Living Stipend: $600/week ($15/hr)
Housing: Provided on-site
AmeriCorps Service Term Length: 25 weeks, full time, in-person
Number of Positions: 1
Start Date: 09/09/2024
Application Deadline: 08/09/2024
Reports to: Park Superintendent of Springfield Armory National Historic Park

YES (Youth Empowerment Stewards) Program:
Are you passionate about disability rights and accessibility in National Parks and public lands? Do you identify as having a disability yourself?  Work with us and help increase access to the outdoors for everyone. Our health, our planet, and our collective future rely on diversity – in thought, ability, experience, and ideas.  That’s why we need YOU.  Become a Youth Empowerment Steward (YES) member and help make the outdoors more accessible for all!

Springfield Armory National Historic Park YES AmeriCorps Service Member:
Stewards Individual Placements, a program of Conservation Legacy, provides individuals with AmeriCorps service and career opportunities to strengthen communities and preserve our natural resources.  YES AmeriCorps Service Members focus on barriers to entry for individuals with disabilities in the outdoor work and recreation spaces.  Stewards, in partnership with the Springfield Armory National Historic Park are seeking a YES member who will work with the team at Springfield Armory to engage with local community partners through collaboration, education, and outreach opportunities as the park works to engage new partners in the community.  The YES AmeriCorps Service Member will assist with special events and programs developing a stewardship ethic and ladder of engagement in our neighborhoods, as well as help the park identify and work with partners in new and exciting ways.

Springfield Armory National Historic Site is developing an evolving and sustainable stewardship program, ensuring the long-term preservation of the park’s significant resources while promoting and encouraging public access to engage diverse audiences through relevant and inspiring stories. We are working to engage with community partners in areas of social justice including opportunities such as working with partner Fishing Friends. This connection is an opportunity to reach community members in new ways to engage generations in activities that focus on stewardship of our lakes and rivers as well as focusing on ecological impacts of industrialization and the impacts to the ecosystems.  A YES AmeriCorps Service Member will develop a strong link to tie our work at the Armory to local community members and partners of diverse backgrounds. 

The YES member will work with the Interpretation & Education team and all park employees to develop initiatives to work with the local community. This will include being a leading member of the worker weekend initiative where we develop Armory-specific programming that focuses on the laborers and people of the Armory in order to connect with our local community who many have ties to the Armory throughout it's almost 250-year history in Springfield.

Duties Include:

·       Strengthen and expand community engagement

·       Serve as a critical link connecting local stewardship events to local and national initiatives

·       Leverage partnerships to engage new partners in the community

·       Support and grow current initiatives to support special programs

·       Serve as a member of the park team developing the Worker Weekend program

·       Identify connections in the community and how they might be supported and included in park events

·       Conduct community outreach with stakeholders about park events and encourage participation

·       Create opportunities that meet the needs of the park as well as park partners

·       Assist with developing community outreach and engagement events designed to engage new and existing partners

·       Represent the park at neighborhood meetings

·       Work with local partners to engage local youth

·       Develop social media posts/strategies for engaging new audiences

Benefits:

·       Professional Development Opportunities

·       Eligible for AmeriCorps Education Award upon completion

·       Dedicated staff to ensure reasonable accommodations requests are met

·       Membership opportunities and dedicated cohort/affinity meeting spaces

·       Opportunity to make a big impact!

·       Housing provided at site