ACSTL Fellow Saroja Schwager wins Show Me Service Award!
The Show Me Service Awards are held each May on Missouri Service Day to highlight the daily efforts of Missourians who serve others and strengthen their communities. In addition to individual volunteers, businesses and community organizations are also eligible to be recognized. All nominees receive a certificate and letter of appreciation. Nominations are received online, with 2023 nominations opening later this year. To learn more, including details about this year’s recipients and their efforts, visit ShowMeService.org.
This year, we are fortunate that our very own Saroja Schwager was a recipient of this award! Saroja was awarded this honor in the category of AmeriCorps Member in the St. Louis region. From the website:
“Saroja currently serves as the Disaster Training and Exercise Coordinator for AmeriCorps St. Louis. Originally from Philadelphia, she studied at New York University and Columbia University. She has served four terms as an AmeriCorps Member with the Emergency Response Team at AmeriCorps St. Louis. Saroja has been deployed in response to hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and flooding throughout Missouri and across the United States. She also assists with Member recruitment and leadership development, as well as overseeing a new development program for ERT Members interested in emergency management as a career path.
Over the course of her service with ACSTL, she has trained, led, and mentored over 100 AmeriCorps St. Louis Members — as well as countless other AmeriCorps Members from other programs — and has worked diligently to develop training and professional development resources for those interested in Emergency Management as a career path. Saroja has assisted in the facilitation of a Team Lead Resource Manual and Member Resource Handbook, collaborated on leadership trainings for our Leadership Team, and created and implemented a Disaster Member Development Program to better prepare Members interested in disaster response beyond their service term with ACSTL. The Development Program supports increased emergency response training opportunities and professional development options for Members who may not gain actual field experience due to an absence of natural disaster occurrences. Saroja’s initiative, organization, and forward thinking have greatly increased the breadth of AC St. Louis’ Member development opportunities, allowing for a more well-rounded service experience for everyone who serves now and in the future. Her efforts will continue to have large ripple effects, as they both strengthen the program as a whole and foster the growth of service-oriented individuals who will keep making positive impacts on their communities well after their term of service ends.
Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic, Saroja supported and led AmeriCorps Members in Kansas City, Jefferson City, Springfield, and St. Louis. She has served on numerous disaster deployments in Missouri and across the country, including the 2018 Camp Fire in California, the 2019 historic flooding in Missouri and Nebraska, Hurricane Sally in Florida in 2020, and Hurricane Ida in New York in 2021. During these deployments, she spearheaded the AmeriCorps Disaster Response Teams in incident management and was involved in a variety of response tasks, including volunteer management, immediate and long term recovery initiatives, PPE distribution, COVID-19 testing and vaccination site support, and Incident Command Team support.
Saroja has positioned herself and her fellow AmeriCorps Members to respond effectively and efficiently to those communities, providing a high level of service to those in need during their darkest hours!”
Congratulations, Saroja! We are very grateful to have you on our team.