Four members from across the country were recognized at the State of YouthBuild USA AmeriCorps and Member Award Presentation
Four YouthBuild leaders were selected from thousands of AmeriCorps members across the country to receive the 2023 YouthBuild AmeriCorps Spirit of Service award. The winners were announced at the State of YouthBuild USA AmeriCorps and Member Award Presentation on August 15.
Boe Boe, a 2012 graduate of YouthBuild St. Paul Westside in St. Paul, Minnesota, received the Alumni of the Year award.
Keith Brockhurst, an AmeriCorps member at Youth Action YouthBuild in East Harlem, New York, received the VISTA of the Year award.
Thalia Leon Medina, a 2023 graduate of Mile High Youth Corps YouthBuild in Denver, Colorado, received the Member of the Year award.
Steven Panos, a graduate and AmeriCorps member of YouthBuild Waukegan in Waukegan, Illinois, received the Full-time Member of the Year award.
All four recipients exhibit a desire to transform their lives, and the lives of others, through service. YouthBuild USA has been an AmeriCorps grantee since AmeriCorps’ inception in 1994. Since then, YouthBuild USA has enrolled more than 49,000 AmeriCorps members who have generated millions of direct service hours, including developing or repairing thousands of units of affordable housing for low-income individuals and families. Nearly 13,000 YouthBuild AmeriCorps members have earned their high school equivalency and a total of $40 million in Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards.
While transforming their lives through service, YouthBuild AmeriCorps members become the leaders they were always meant to be — and that the world needs,” said John Valverde, president and CEO of YouthBuild USA. “Their commitment and example reverberate across the country, and YouthBuild is honored to partner with them in their journey. We are so proud of these four outstanding leaders and their service to their respective communities.
Approximately 2,387 YouthBuild AmeriCorps members in 61 communities and 28 states build affordable housing and provide community healthcare, conservation efforts, recycling and sustainability, computer infrastructure, and child development services for individuals and families. Over the next year, YouthBuild AmeriCorps members will provide more than 750,000 direct service hours and will build at least 240 units of affordable housing for low-income individuals and families.
