Eighty Corps members completed their 10-month national service commitment at AmeriCorps National Civilian Corps Southern Region Vicksburg campus with a graduation ceremony on May 18.

Guest speakers for this ceremony were AmeriCorps NCCC National Director Ken Goodson and a pre-recorded video message from Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves. In addition, Congressman Bennie Thompson’s field representative Stephanie Booker, the City of Vicksburg Alderman Alex Monsour, along with 50 family and friends, celebrated the members.

Graduating NCCC members responded to the Rolling Fork tornado, where they removed more than 16 tons of debris and helped almost 300 survivors shelter after the storm.

They also collected over 50 tons of food for disaster survivors and mucked and gutted 82 homes. Members worked in 17 states across the South East U.S. and with 54 organizations to complete 1,700 hours of service focused on natural and other disasters, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, energy conservation and urban and rural development.