Taylor Vandiver of Lewes is one of 186 men and women who pledged to perform 10 months of national service as part of the Southern Region’s 20th Class of the National Civilian Community Corps, as a member of the Federal Emergency Management Agency Corps.

As part of her service, Vandiver spent 10 months serving with FEMA in the administration of emergency management and long-term recovery activities.

“I first heard about FEMA Corps by going online to apply to AmeriCorps. After Hurricane Sandy affected the East Coast, I knew I needed to do something to give back to my community. FEMA Corps proved to be the perfect opportunity to volunteer in the field of disaster relief,” said Vandiver.

Vandiver graduated on June 5 in a ceremony held at the Massenburg Memorial Athletic Center in Vicksburg, Miss. She will earn an education award of $5,550, which can be used to continue education or pay back qualified student loans.

“Once graduated, I will begin another 10 months of national service as a team leader. I will be serving with the Atlantic Region’s 21st Class of the National Civilian Community Corps, as a member of FEMA Corps at the Baltimore campus,” said Vandiver.

The AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps and its FEMA Corps units engage 2,800 young Americans in a full-time, 10-month commitment to service each year. AmeriCorps NCCC members address critical needs related to natural and other disasters, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, and urban and rural development. FEMA Corps members are solely dedicated to disaster preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery work. The programs are administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service. CNCS is the federal agency that engages more than 5 million Americans in service through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund, and Volunteer Generation Fund programs, and leads the president's national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit NationalService.gov.