Thrive Allen County, in collaboration with Americorps VISTA, has three generous and passionate women helping to wage the war on poverty.
Sabrina Greer, Yvonne Scott and Pepper Weathers are all “Volunteers In Service To America,” who have committed to a year of service in this area.
Greer, born in Olathe, is a native Kansan who moved to Iola in 2007. She relocated from Kansas City with two of her five children in order to raise them in a smaller, family-oriented setting. Her familiarity with the area stemmed from a year, in 1996, at Allen Community College, where she began a computer science degree. In 2015, she returned to ACC, taking business math classes.
Greer began the Americorps application process in December 2016 after receiving emails about an open position with Thrive.
“I kept on reading this email about this position and finally I called Georgia (Masterson),” Greer said.“I did not know it was to work with her at all.”
Greer already considered Masterson to be a positive influence in her life. Masterson encouraged her to apply for the position. That position, it turned out, was working at Humanity House Foundation with Masterson and founder Tracy Keagle, commencing February 2017. Thrive works as a supervising agency and has provided the pathway for that union to take place.
“I couldn’t pick a better couple of people to work with,” Greer said of her position at Humanity House.
Greer is an organizer by nature and is utilizing skills that were developed while she was employed by Sonic Equipment Company. For Humanity House, she develops spreadsheets for inventory, client information and classes and creates flyers.
“I am creating tools so that Humanity House can help the public and keep track of their records,” Greer said.
That may be a modest description of what she does. Keagle said Greer is a blessing not only to the non-profit agency but also to everyone who walks through its door.
“She has an amazing sense of humor (and) an amazing intuition when it comes to people,” Keagle said. “She understands poverty and the struggles that come with it. She has a quick wit and a sharp mind and is able to come up with great ideas and quick solutions to difficult problems.”
It is a placement well-suited for all involved and, if future funding permits, working with Humanity House is something Greer said she would like to continue even after her year-long commitment is over.
SCOTT, a mother of four and a grandmother of six, arrived in Humboldt at the end of March, from Sylva, N.C. It was a three-day drive, she said. Her passion for fighting poverty has been evident for some time.This is Scott’s second tour with Americorps.The first time she worked in Kentucky for a year.
“I managed the initiation of the Grow Appalachia program in our community, in Wolfe County,” she said.
Grow Appalachia in collaboration with Berea College seeks to resolve food insecurity issues by strengthening the relationships between people and farm lands.
“I got to see the porch in Harlan, Ky., where President Johnson sat when he decided ‘we have to do something’ and he created the war on poverty,” she said.
