Spring 2009
First Lady Mari Culver’s Shelter Awareness Day
Service Spotlight- AmeriCorps VISTA Member Melissa Simmermaker
Governor Culver recognizes National Volunteer Week in Iowa
President Obama Signs Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act
Legislature Acts to Expand Service and Honor AmeriCorps
President Obama Issues FY10 Budget Request for National Service
CNCS Launches National Listening Tour on Serve America Act
Service Spotlight-
AmeriCorps VISTA Member Melissa Simmermaker
The Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service (ICVS) nominates VISTA member Melissa Simmermaker for the 2009 Spirit of Service Award for embodying the spirit of service during Iowa’s natural disasters during the summer of 2008. The widespread devastation from tornados and flooding cleared the way for people to act in exceptional ways – and, as a VISTA, Melissa selflessly and tirelessly preformed well beyond the call of duty to help Iowans in need. The service she provided undoubtedly changed many lives – not the least of which, her own. The ICVS believes Melissa clearly represents the ideals of national service and appreciates the commission’s consideration of her as a nominee for this award.
Melissa began VISTA service in June 2008, expecting to help develop mentoring programs in the state. She demonstrated a quiet compassion and the organization skills that the ICVS believed would make her a success in the position. Instead, after an F5 tornado wiped out the southern third of Parkersburg, Iowa, she was immediately assigned to take over the makeshift volunteer reception center. She was initially apprehensive about the assignment, but that all changed when she arrived on scene.
Melissa said, “My first impression was one of disbelief. I couldn’t quite believe that a disaster of this magnitude had happened in my own state. I knew I had to get to work. Each morning, I drove through the devastated town on a Kobota to scout work sites, create a master list of top priorities, and prepare for the arrival of volunteers who I knew would be coming. I managed between 15 and 200 spontaneous volunteers each day.”
Melissa displayed the qualities of a compassionate leader from the start of her VISTA service. This, and her positive and determined attitude, helped her take on a role that might have had some VISTA members heading for the door. Early on, however, Melissa says she didn’t always have confidence in her leadership skills.
Melissa said, “In those first few days after I arrived, I doubted nearly every decision I made and often pretended to be much more confident that I actually felt. In retrospect, it was that uncertainty in those first days that eventually helped me to become a better leader. I had to learn to independently problem solve and prioritize. My work in Parkersburg slowly changed me for the better.”
Melissa’s attitude, coupled with her new, confident leadership abilities, became contagious in Parkersburg. Under her guidance, many victims still reeling from shock joined in with the volunteer teams to make a tangible difference in their town. Volunteers worked side-by-side with homeowners to clean up a land of debris. A few community members, grateful and flabbergasted by the volunteer response, stopped by the trailer that was used as an office to express their deep appreciation.
Melissa said, “I don’t think it is possible to witness the type of generosity and compassion I saw in Parkersburg without being changed and being inspired to become a better leader in the community.”
After returning from Parkersburg, Melissa provided many tangible results related to statewide disasters in Iowa. During the fall, she spent up to 20 hours per week developing a tool to track volunteers working on disaster recovery statewide. This tool documented volunteer hours, which the State of Iowa used to match FEMA funds. To gather this information, Melissa contacted more than 100 organizations that had provided volunteer support and coordination in Iowa. This volunteer tracking tool will be an invaluable resource for documenting volunteer hours in the event of any future federally-declared disasters in Iowa. Also due to Melissa’s extraordinary work, the ICVS is developing standard operating procedures for all future natural disasters.
With the new disaster volunteer tracking tool she developed, Melissa collected the following information from July through October 2008:
- Total number of volunteers = 33,843
- Total number of volunteer hours = 798,413
- Total volunteer contribution = $12.45 million (2007 - $15.59 Independent Sector value of a volunteer hour) – This figure was used as the state match for FEMA funds.
Since the disaster, Melissa has increasingly put her new leadership skills into practice. She’s accomplished much more than was expected, including developing and managing a record number of volunteers in her mentoring programs. She also organized a mentoring day at Iowa’s Capitol building where she led educators in meeting with legislators. Finally, she has inspired young people to get involved in mentoring through a new social network she has developed for the ICVS.
In the face of a natural disaster, the ICVS staff would trust no one more than Melissa Simmermaker to help Iowa communities. While others could have quickly become bogged down with the sheer weight of a natural disaster, she rose to the extreme situation and inspired Iowans to help themselves. The town came a long way in her time at the volunteer reception center. At her arrival, conditions were nearly unbearable with loose debris littering yards and fields, make-shift street signs created out of plywood and paint, and a constant chaotic parade of cranes, skid-loaders, and other forms of heavy machinery. With her help, and the work of the thousands of volunteers she managed, things improved in a relatively short period of time. Homeowners and businesses were able to begin to rebuild. No one in Parkersburg will forget the work performed by Melissa and her crews of volunteers who helped the community rise up once again.