1. AMERICORPS NEWSLETTER GETTING THINGS DONE! Issue 3
AmeriCorps
Newsletter
Getting Things Done!
March 2016
STEPHANIE, HEATHER, & SALLY LEAD THE PILLOWCASE PROJECT IN THIS ISSUE
March is Red Cross Month and this means
that throughout February the AmeriCorps
have been gearing up for a busy month of
service.
In Eastern South Dakota, the members will
participate in a two-state Home Fire
Campaign (HFC). South Dakota is teaming
up with Minnesota to do an all appointment-
based smoke alarm install event in Milbank,
SD and Ortonville, MN. This will be the first
time South Dakota has partnered with
another state to complete a HFC. The goal is
to reach 250 homes and the response for
appointments is already very encouraging.
The event will take place on March 12.
In Central and Western South Dakota, the
AmeriCorps will complete a HFC in Box Elder,
canvassing 40 homes. They will also be doing
a service project on March 12, cooking meals
for women and children at the Cornerstone
Mission in Rapid City as part of AmeriCorps
Week which is March 6 through March 12.
Incident Command
During the HFC events, we follow the
Incident Command Structure (ICS) which is a
unified system that has been adopted by
Emergency Personnel across the board so
that when they need to collaborate on a
large event they are all speaking the same
language and understand exactly who
reports to whom. As they do more and more
Home Fire Campaigns, the AmeriCorps take
on bigger leadership roles, fulfilling one of
the ICS roles such as Operations, Logistics, or
Planning Lead, and sometimes even Incident
Commander. The Red Cross has been
making a push to get its volunteers trained in
ICS so that when they are deployed on state
or national disasters they will know how they
fit in to the structure that is already in place.
Events- Past, Present, Future
Disaster responses, Pillowcase Projects, and so much
more!
Page 2
Meet the Members
This month we meet Marissa Tran, a half-time member
in Sioux Falls, SD.
Page 2
March- Red Cross Month
Christina Olinger assists volunteer Sean
Mommerency with MLK Day follow-up installs
in Belle Fourche

2. AMERICORPS NEWSLETTER GETTING THINGS DONE! | Issue 3 2
February
In February, the AmeriCorps kept busy with
several appointment-based installs coming in
from the GetASmokeAlarm.org website
which has recently been implemented
nation-wide. The online form allows
community members to sign up for a smoke
alarm installation and then is routed to the
appropriate Red Cross office. This month
alone, the South Dakota AmeriCorps
members have gone to 12 homes and
installed 47 alarms through this process.
To thank the volunteers who so often assist
with Home Fire Campaigns, the AmeriCorps
in CWSD offered installs to the Rapid City
volunteers in return. They went to 3
volunteer homes and installed 19 alarms.
Also in February, the ESD AmeriCorps set up
a table at a blood drive on the USD campus
and offered appointment-based installs to
those donating blood (pictured above).
Future
We have several big HFC s planned for March
and April, including the event in Milbank and
Ortonville, one in Box Elder on March 19,
Lead on April 2, and one in Hot Springs and
one in Sioux Falls both on April 9.
AmeriCorps in ESD will be leading an
emergency preparedness class for the USD
Nursing students on March 21.
Marissa Tran
“I first began as a volunteer at the Red Cross
in 2014, and then started in a position as a
Medical Services Intern at the Red Cross. As a
volunteer and intern I was given so many
cool opportunities to get involved in the
Sioux Falls community. When the position
for a part-time AmeriCorps position opened
up I jumped at the opportunity to not only
help my local community, but to reach out
into various other communities in South
Dakota. As a born and raised South Dakotan,
I love getting the opportunity to venture out
and spread the AmeriCorps message to other
communities in South Dakota.
I am currently a nursing student at SDSU,
and look forward to a career in public health
nursing and eventually volunteering my
services abroad (hopefully volunteering with
the Red Cross on medical relief missions). In
the long run, I hope to pursue my Doctorate
in Nurse Practitioner.”
Goals
Some of Marissa’s goals for her 2015-2016
term of service are:
 Increase the number of free smoke
alarm installations as well as increase
fire preparedness around South Dakota
 Increase AmeriCorps awareness
 Teach CPR classes with the Red Cross
EVENT STATS
AmeriCorps-Involved Events
(2015-2016 Service Term)
Events: 12
Homes Entered/Educated: 393
Smoke Alarms Installed: 1035
Pillowcase Project Students: 116
Completed Regionally Since July 1, 2015
Events: 19
Homes Entered/Educated: 813
Smoke Alarms Installed: 2061
Pillowcase Project Students: 718
Events- Past,
Present, Future
Meet the Members!
Featuring: Marissa Tran - Sioux Falls, SD