Southern Nevada AmeriCorps programs joined forces on MLK Day 2012 to increase the community’s capacity to serve families in poverty. Clark County, in Southern Nevada, has led the nation in foreclosure rates and unemployment. Clark County families continue to struggle to survive and organizations struggle to help families meet their basic needs. MLK Day was a day where over 300 AmeriCorps members and community members joined hands to strengthen the capacity of two key organizations meeting the needs of the community.

For Great Basin Institute Nevada Conservation Corps (NCC) AmeriCorps members “A Day On” meant joining with volunteers from Habitat for Humanity to build a house for a family in need. Members spent the day helping a single mother create a home of her own, and worked tirelessly to clean up three empty lots surrounding the house so that she could feel pride in her neighborhood when she looked out her window. In a city full of despair, the AmeriCorps members took the extra step of empathy and compassion by leaving words of inspiration on the house's framing.

Across town community volunteers joined United Way of Southern Nevada AmeriCorps members to revitalize the City Impact Center, an outreach center in the heart of Las Vegas that encourages, empowers and equips community members to better themselves and their families. The City Impact Center integrates faith-based solutions and mobilizes people to act in their community.

Volunteers spent the day cleaning up trash and overgrown plants, painting, and giving the Center a head-to-toe scrubbing. City Impact Center shined from the hard work of the volunteers. Mayra Duran, a United Way of Southern Nevada AmeriCorps member shared “Volunteers from all ages and backgrounds shook hands and shared their loving strength. It was as if a silent air wave flushed our souls and for that day, we forgot about all the troubles in our lives. It is better to give than to receive. On the other hand, we receive when we give. We received the reassurance that all had committed to a dream and made a difference, in our hearts and in the lives of others.”