Lynn AmeriCorps members hone their team-building

The 12 AmeriCorps members were faced with a conundrum: where should they walk? They couldn’t talk to each other and they couldn’t make a wrong decision. This high-tension scenario was all part of a team-building exercise, designed to hammer a simple point home: they were all in this together.

Similarly, that’s what this group of 12 is faced with each day, as they work within the city of Lynn to help immigrant children and their families.  They are part of a tactical effort by United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley to make a difference in Lynn.

The initiative, organized by United Way, will run three years and represents a $1 million total investment, with funding by Massachusetts Service Alliance and the Corporate for National Community Service, matched by United Way.

This day’s event, held at Girls, Inc. in Lynn, was one of a series of regular meetings that brings the AmeriCorps members together; during the week, they’re working individually with various non-profits and organizations.

The game they played required teamwork and memorization as they tracked their path over a floor-sized game-board. The goal was to encourage team building and camaraderie, vital components to keeping an ambitious, coordinated effort like this fueled and moving forward.

Stay tuned to hear even more about this exciting new approach to community impact.