Alex Brecht always has volunteered locally, but this summer he decided to take his volunteerism up a few notches.

Brecht spent his summer traveling with the Call to Serve, a nonprofit organization created by a high school classmate to aid volunteer projects across the country.

The experience inspired Brecht to join AmeriCorps and make volunteerism part of his career.

“I thought about continuing my education after college, but the Call to Serve made me want to continue volunteering,” Brecht said.

Brecht left on Aug. 29 for a year of AmeriCorps service at a community center in east Baltimore. He will tutor middle school students and work with them on study skills.

“Baltimore does get a bad reputation, and I’ll be in a rougher area, but I’m not worried about that,” Brecht said. “Maybe I should be, but that’s not my focus.”

Brecht said AmeriCorps volunteers are serving at several community centers in the area. He’ll meet with other volunteers every other Friday to plan activities for their students.

“I’m hoping I can help these kids in Baltimore see there’s more to education than just studying,” Brecht said. “I want them to break that inner-city cycle of not graduating.”

Adam Kunes, co-founder of the Call to Serve, said he and Andrew Blythe created the nonprofit, North Huntingdon-based organization to give local young adults volunteer opportunities

in other parts of the country.

“We want to serve communities all over the United States because it forces people to step outside their comfort zones and see the country,” Kunes said.

Kunes said he hopes all the volunteers will be inspired to continue their work in other venues.

“This just gives us tangible proof now that this worked,” Kunes said. “These trips do inspire and they do bolster volunteerism.”

Brecht graduated from Clarion University in May and knew about the Call to Serve because he and Blythe had gone to Greensburg Central Catholic together.

He joined the group’s summer trip

, and from June 12 to July 3, he and eight other volunteers traveled around the country in a recreational vehicle.

It was a road trip with a purpose. The volunteers worked in retirement communities at Virginia Beach, rebuilt an oyster reef in Savannah, Ga., continued clean-up efforts in New Orleans, and mentored teens at Camp Rocky Vine in Missouri.

“Over the summer, it really stretched my realm of volunteerism,” Brecht said. “There’s a whole lot of culture in our culture and you get to see people who had a lot of different experiences from what you’ve had.”

Brecht said he is looking forward to working in Baltimore because he doesn’t know much about the city. He wants to enjoy another new experience that could lead to more opportunities in the volunteer world.

“It’s easy to be involved in yourself and not notice what’s around you,” Brecht said. “I’ve been really lucky to have things go right in my life. I’ve known that for awhile.”

Rocky Vine Promo from The Call to Serve on Vimeo.

p.s. The Call to Serve team would like to wish all of their Dads a Happy Father’s Day.

Don’t be an oyster…. from The Call to Serve on Vimeo.

Back to RockyVine n@ from The Call to Serve on Vimeo.