Member Spotlight: Megan Reimer

Name: Megan Reimer

Hometown: Hamilton, Ohio
Graduated from: Gardner-Webb University
Degree: Health & Wellness
Favorite Food: PB & J

So Megan, where are you currently serving? I am currently serving at the Baker County Health Department as a Health Educator.

What exactly does a "health educator" do? As a Health Educator I do a variety of activities. My main responsibilities include facilitating classes in youth development and drug and violence prevention, tobacco, and dental.  I also participate in diabetes self-management follow-up's and several community presentations.

Wow,that sounds exciting! So what do you feel is the biggest impact you have made within the community through AmeriCorps? I think my Tobacco Education Classes I facilitate with underage users is where I feel most successful. Going into my term I knew I wouldn’t make a change with everyone I came in contact with, but I feel differently when serving with youth tobacco users. Even if I don’t influence each one to quit, I know that I made an impact on the way they view the consequences of tobacco. I can honestly say I believe each teenager learns something new by attending the four weeks of class.

That's great! What would you say is your favorite memory/experience thus far? My favorite experience so far was teaching dental education to 2^nd and 3^rd graders at the local elementary school. I enjoyed this day so much because it was out of the ordinary serving with a grade level other than ninth. The younger kids have so much enthusiasm and were so excited to learn something new from an outside speaker.

I'm sure the elementary students loved all the props you use! So what are you looking forward to the most for the rest of your term? I am looking forward to all of the outside service projects we have planned for the next couple months. Outside service is something I have really enjoyed over the first half of my term and I know the second half will be just as exciting. In April I plan to serve for the Special Olympics, Camp Boggy Creek, and Clean Green Earth. Another project I am looking forward to is volunteering with another AmeriCorps program with a local state park.

Final question...do you have any post-AmeriCorps plan? That is the mystery question! As of now I have no plans for after my service term. I will possibly be attending graduate school or looking for a job. I know whatever path I choose I will take my experience in AmeriCorps with me!

MS Day of Service

NFHC Mandy Chan

NFHC Alicia Seggelink

NFHC  Liana Broomans

NFHC Abby Bradfod



January was a great month for NFHC AmeriCorps members to provide service to the community of Jacksonville, FL.  In celebration of the National Day of Service, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, members partnered with the Multiple Sclerosis Chapter in North Florida to participate in a “MS Service Day.”  MS is a chronic, unpredictable disease of the central nervous system.  Symptoms are unpredictable and vary in severity from person to person but can include: blurred vision, loss of balance, poor coordination, numbness, fatigue, problems with memory and concentration, paralysis, blindness and more. Members spent the morning serving a person living with MS by completing a wide variety of household activities.  Yard work, de-cluttering the garage, and cleaning the bathroom were just a few of the tasks assigned to the Corps.  This service is very beneficial to a person living with MS due to the unpredictability of their symptoms. This was said to be one of the more meaningful projects of our service term due to the close interaction with members in our community.

NFHC AmeriCorps Members!

Photo Credit: Mike Hollan

Photo Credit: Tatiana Giustizia

“A day on, not a day off.”

“In 1994, Congress designated the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday as a national day of service and charged the Corporation for National and Community Service with leading this effort. Taking place each year on the third Monday in January, the MLK Day of Service is the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service.” (http://mlkday.gov/about/serveonkingday.php)

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a vision to empower individuals and build up communities to create one, beloved community. He showed us, as Americans, we all have a duty to our country to make it a better place to live and to form this “beloved community.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated, “What are you doing for others?” AmeriCorps thrives on that question. As AmeriCorps members, we took a pledge to get things done for America. Our goal is to bring Americans together to strengthen our communities. Martin Luther King Day is a perfect time to exemplify our purpose.

On January 19th, 2013, AmeriCorps members celebrated Martin Luther King Day (January 21st, 2013) by serving next to the American Red Cross. Volunteers canvassed through the neighborhoods most at risk for household fires. Volunteers went door to door talking to people living in different Jacksonville communities about fire prevention and, also, handed out resource flyers for free smoke detector installation.



AmeriCorps member, Lauren Pamas watched as an American Red Cross volunteer placed a fire prevention hanger on the doorknob after no one answered at home. A MLK day project had volunteers go door-to door in the nieighboorhood near Emmett-Reed Community Center on January 19th, 2013. Photo credit: Bob Mack/The Florida Times Union



Member Spotlight: Alicia Seggelink at Sulzbacher- Beaches Community Healthcare Location

Name: Alicia Seggelink
Position: Patient Advocate at Sulzbacher – Beaches Community Healthcare Location
Undergraduate Degree: Biochemistry and Spanish from Allegheny College, Meadville, PA
Hometown: Little Chute, WI
Currently Reading: Middlemarch by George Eliot

Whether you are someone who considers the glass to be half full or half empty, no optimist or pessimist can deny that this service term is half over for us. By this time, we have all really hit our stride here at our host sites, and I am excited to say that everything is going smoothly at the Sulzbacher Center-Beaches Community Healthcare location. Duval County has the sixth largest uninsured population in Florida, with 20% of the county residents having no health insurance coverage. Homeless and transitional residents are acutely at risk of going for years without medical care. The patients of the Sulzbacher center can now address health problems that may have or will develop into serious illness. Chronic diseases of the heart, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity, are rampant in the homeless community. The medical services of the two Sulzbacher clinics are designed as part of a community-wide “safety net” of health care providing primary and preventive care to the underserved population.