Two women have come from afar to encourage those who live here to get involved in community volunteer work.

AmeriCorps workers Vassandra McDonald of Lubbock, Tx. and Amanda Miller of Fullerton, Calif. recently arrived in the area to partner with the Rockingham District Partners in Ministry (RDPIM) to help alleviate poverty in a three-county region.

They committed to be here for at least one year through AmeriCorps’ VISTA program, which fights poverty-related issues nationwide.

“Really, we’re here to try to get people involved, and get them excited about volunteering in their communities,” McDonald explained.

She is a community coordinator and will work with a program to rehabilitate homes in Richmond, Scotland and Robeson counties.

“We’ll be putting new roofs on these houses, and remodeling bedrooms, bathrooms and living rooms,” McDonald recounted. “Basically, whatever it takes to fix them up for the families that live there.”

Miller will be working as a youth service program developer, coordinating such programs as Y.E.S., Youth Empowered to Succeed.

“My goal is to get high school students from the three counties to give back to their communities,” she said. “That can be done through beautification projects like picking up trash, packaging and delivering food, volunteering with the program to rehabilitate homes or basically whatever the community needs.”

RDPIM Executive Director Dr. Melba McCallum explained there are more than 20 churches from the three counties involved with the faith-based group sponsoring the two Americorps workers.

“These girls are fantastic,” McCallum said Wednesday. “They have come here and hit the ground running. They’re very passionate about working with poverty in our communities, and all of us are really looking forward to working with the youth of these communities and trying to pull resources together.”

Their first project in Richmond County will come Saturday when they’ll turn ground on the group’s community garden in the Philadelphia community.

Wednesday, the two Americorps workers got their first glimpse of the garden with McCallum and Philadelphia United Methodist Church pastor, Rev. Dora Dorsey. The garden is located next to the church.

For Miller, it was the first time she’d seen collards.

“I’ve been impressed with these young ladies,” Dorsey said. Her church is one of the ministry partners. “Anybody who will come halfway across the world to learn other people’s culture and be involved in their communities is very impressive.”

McDonald graduated from Texas Tech University with a four-year degree in Communications in 2007, and earned her Master’s degree in Public Administration from the same institution earlier this year.

She previously worked for the City of Lubbock as a Parks and Recreation marketing professional, and hopes to be involved in the Peace Corps and set up her own non-profit to deal with women’s issues after her work here is done.

“Because this is also a non-profit that’s starting up, this should be good experience to work toward her goal,” McCallum noted.

Miller’s previous non-profit experience includes work in California with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Second Harvest Food Bank, the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Club.

“Especially with the last two non-profits, I was working with under-privileged youth to give them the same opportunities other children have,” Miller said.

In the future, she hopes to earn her Master’s degree in Public Administration Emergency and Disaster Management, and work with FEMA, UNICEF or the Red Cross.

Anyone with an interest in volunteering should contact The North Carolina Conference of United Methodist Churches, located at 1304 W. Church St. Laurinburg, N.C. 28352. The office can be reached by phone at (910) 276-6641.

McCallum is also available at (910) 895-3344.

Staff Writer Philip D. Brown can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 32, or by e-mail at pbrown@yourdailyjournal.com.