ServeMontana Symposium Brings Over 150 AmeriCorps Members to Helena

More than 150 AmeriCorps members, program staff, and volunteers wrapped up three days of training and networking at Carroll College this week, concluding the annual ServeMontana Symposium on March 13 after sessions that ran from Tuesday through Thursday.

The gathering drew AmeriCorps State & National, VISTA, and NCCC members alongside AmeriCorps Seniors personnel and staff of the Montana Commission on Community Service. Organized by the Governor's Office of Community Service, the symposium is described as the most significant gathering of AmeriCorps members and staff in Montana, convening participants from programs spread across the state to learn, network, and work through solutions to Montana's most pressing community needs.

"Bringing AmeriCorps members together for the ServeMontana Symposium on AmeriCorps Week is as important as their service to Montana," said Director Sarah R. Sadowski of the Governor's Office of Community Service. "These current service members join a legacy of thousands of people who have answered the call to serve Montana, and across the country."

The three-day program included breakout sessions, formal training, and presentations from former AmeriCorps members. Session topics ranged from leadership and outreach to youth to mindfulness meditation and food insecurity, reflecting the breadth of issues AmeriCorps programs address across Montana. Participants collectively serve in six focus areas: Economic Opportunity, Education, Environmental Stewardship, Healthy Futures, Veterans and Military Families, and Capacity Building.

Carroll College's Helena campus has hosted the symposium for multiple consecutive years. The event's theme for the annual convening, as promoted by ServeMontana, has been "Elements of Service," framing the programming around the interconnected roles volunteers play in sustaining Montana communities.

AmeriCorps functions as a federal program that connects workers to community projects in areas including housing, social services, and education. In Montana, those placements span both team-based and single-site arrangements, meaning members may work alongside cohorts or embed directly within a single nonprofit or agency.

More information about AmeriCorps programs in Montana is available at serve.mt.gov/americorps/americorps-programs.