AmeriCorps pitches in at Fort Stanton

A team of AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps members is renovating and rebuilding parts of Fort Stanton, the historic 1955 complex north of Ruidoso.

The group of 10 young adults arrived on July 19 and will serve at the state historic site through Sept. 14.

Since 2013, the volunteers and staff working on Fort Stanton have renovated and repaired large sections of the fort for public enjoyment, preserving the rich history of the fort and surrounding area, according to information from AmeriCorps.

Over the course of the nine-week project, the AmeriCorps NCCC team will further those efforts by renovating buildings and cataloging historic artifacts.They also will also maintain and repair trails in Lincoln County.  

 AmeriCorps NCCC began serving with Fort Stanton as a primary project sponsor in late 2018. Since then and before the current project, two teams served 7,694 hours with the organization. 

The fort project is the first of several to be completed by this particular AmeriCorps NCCC team.

They began their term of service on June 18, with three weeks of training at the Denver regional hub. After Sept.14, the group will travel to a series of other six- to 12-week projects in communities throughout the central and southwestern United States.

They will graduate from the 10-month program on March 19, 2020.

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AmeriCorps NCCC is a full-time, residential, national service program in which 1,700 young adults serve nationwide annually. During the 10-month term, Corps members, 18 to 24 years old, work on teams of eight to 12 on projects that address critical needs.

Reporter Dianne Stallings can be contacted at dstallings@ruidosonews.com.