Hometowner Press Release

A "Hometowner" press release was sent to the local newspaper of each of our AmeriCorps members to promote the YHSC_AmeriCorps Division Program and our stellar members. The press release describes the YHSC_AmeriCorps Division program and gives a snapshot of each AmeriCorps member serving in the program. Hopefully some of the papers will "pick-up" the story and give our members and program some good press.

The New Britain ran an article about Audrey. Follow this link for see below for the text of the article.

http://www.newbritainherald.com/articles/2010/12/05/news/doc4cfc59f523620377745073.txt

Americorp Has Valuable Ally in Local Woman

Sunday, December 5, 2010
By Erica Schmitt Correspondent

Audrey Zackery is one New Britain woman with a lot to offer. She is an Americorps member and now, a Youth Health Service Corps Coordinator in Hartford. Zackery works with high-risk students from Hartford High School in the YHSC program to help them pursue health-related careers.Zackery grew up in New Britain and is still a resident today. At Hartford High School she is training 10 students to volunteer in health care settings, mostly juniors and seniors from the Nursing Academy and Law and Government Academy. She meets with them every Thursday after school for one to three hours to work on real-world skills and community projects. After training, students choose service projects to get involved in, which will fulfill the 50-hour minimum requirement for program completion.The YHSC works most often with the under-served population, including those from low-income and single-parent homes. They connect with schools in Hartford to identify students who may benefit most from the program.YHSC site coordinator Eliana Cardeno thinks Zackery is a valuable asset to the program. “She’s been working really hard and not only doing a lot of projects in the office, but also working with other Americorps members to implement service projects at other schools in the state,” said Cardeno. “She is making sure her kids are doing well and that she’s meeting their needs, and has made herself available to tutor them after school.”

Zackery has volunteered after work for many years. Her primary career was never in the community service field until September. In fact, Zackery received an associate’s degree in business management from American Intercontinental University.“I worked in corporate for over 20 years as a financial analyst,” explained Zackery. “I was sitting at my desk daydreaming two years ago, and I saw myself standing in front of students and assisting them in some way. When I found out about Americorps and the type of work they do, I realized that was where I should be. I’m all for empowering youth and trying to get them on the right track by being a powerful role model so they can be the best they can be, so I retired and followed my heart.”Sometimes she deals with challenging cases, like students who are involved with drugs or come from families that are homeless. “We want them to have positive values, and we have high expectations for them,” said Zackery.Funding from Americorps supports its 14 members working at high schools across the state, implementing the YHSC program. For more information on the Youth Health Service Corps, go to www.centralctahec.org.