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In August, our AmeriCorps Members (ACMs) embarked upon a learning experience from key communities who are deeply rooted in the Bay Area. José Magaño from , Imelda Rodriguez from , Mora Oommen from , and Kendra O’Donoghue from spoke to AmeriCorps members about the communities they are serving this year. Their perspectives gave AmeriCorps members a rich historical understanding of these resilient neighborhoods and the challenges faced in East Palo Alto and Eastside San Jose from food deserts to lack of tree canopy.

ACMs later visited the sites for the first time for Community Asset Mapping and observed wonderful parks like Cooley Landing and thriving mom and pop businesses like Peter’s Bakery. Experiences like this help root ACMs in the work intellectually and emotionally while cultivating awareness and empathy for the communities they are serving.