Taylor and Chloe, AmeriCorps members, join our construction team for a year of service

The Flatirons Habitat for Humanity construction team has grown by two.

On Sept. 12, AmeriCorps Vista members Chloe and Taylor joined our staff to serve 11 months as construction crew leaders.

Both are looking forward to exploring the natural beauty our lovely state has to offer, as well as gaining hands-on knowledge of construction and affordable housing.

Taylor, originally from South Dakota, has a master’s in architecture from Montana State University. She said she has always been interested in architecture and design and how it can benefit people.

Before joining AmeriCorps, she served a year with Global Health Corps, “a leadership development organization focused on health equity. We are building a global community of diverse young leaders changing the face of global health.” While with the corps, she worked for a nonprofit in New York City.

Chloe, a native of Long Island, attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. where she studied psychology and peace and justice studies. After graduating, she decided to take a year to travel and get involved with worthy efforts along the way. One year turned to three that had her visiting New Zealand, Australia, Asia, Africa and South America. She sailed, snorkeled, worked on farms and more.

Both said they were feeling the pull of the mountains, which was a key factor in their choosing Flatirons Habitat for their year of AmeriCorps service.

Taylor, who also has family in Colorado, including a sister in Boulder, said she loves all our outdoors have to offer -- hiking, camping and climbing.

Chloe said she is hoping to learn rock climbing before the weather turns, and then has plans to break out her skis when it does.

Both said working with Habitat aligned perfectly with their core principles: Taylor because of her belief in housing being more than walls and a roof, but rather something that can change lives; Chloe so she can learn concrete skills to further her commitment to making a difference.

A huge thanks to them, as well as to AmeriCorps for once again letting us be a host to amazing young adults.

For those unfamiliar with the program, AmeriCorps is a Corporation for National and Community Service program that “engages more than 75,000 Americans in intensive service each year at nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and community and faith-based groups across the country.”

Established in 1993, “the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is a federal agency that engages more than 5 million Americans in service through its core programs -- Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and the Social Innovation Fund -- and leads President Obama’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve.”

Welcome Taylor and Chloe. We can’t wait to see the impact you’ll make when joining us in our work to build strength, stability, self-reliance AND shelter.