Jessica Grimes of Hermiston was inducted into a 10-month term of service in the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), an AmeriCorps program. 

She entered the program Oct. 8 and began work on the first of several longterm service projects the week of Nov. 3. 

Founded in 1994, AmeriCorps NCCC is a residential national service program that supports disaster relief, the environment, infrastructure improvement, energy conservation, and urban and rural development. During the past 20 years, more than 900,000 Americans have served more than 1.2 billion hours across AmeriCorps programs.

Grimes arrived at AmeriCorps NCCC’s Southwest Region Campus in Denver to receive training for 10 months of full-time service with the program. The training emphasized teamwork, leadership development, communication, service learning and certification by the American Red Cross.

As a corps member, Grimes will be responsible for completing a series of service projects as part of a team. Their first service project ends Dec. 16, at which time her team will break for the winter holidays and begin a new project in a new location in January.

Before joining NCCC, Grimes graduated from Hermiston High School in 2010 and Western Oregon University in 2014, where she studied community health education. She is the daughter of Patrick and Vernadine Grimes.

“I chose to join NCCC because I just spent three years completing a health degree and I wanted a way to use my skills to give back to my community and my country,” Grimes said. Jessica is the daughter of Patrick and Vernadine Grimes.

AmeriCorps NCCC members, all 18 to 24 years old, complete at least 1,700 hours of service during the 10-month program. In exchange for their service, they receive $5,730 to help pay for college. Other benefits include a small living stipend, room and board, and the knowledge that they can make a difference. 

For more information, visit www.nationalservice.gov/nccc.