AmeriCorp VISTA member gives back at Crow Creek

Feb. 25, 2010

At first, Chelsea Druzbacky’s move from North Carolina to South Dakota might look like just one more in a long line of long-distance moves for the former military kid. But this move to South Dakota to work on the Crow Creek Indian Reservation was actually a move back.

One of the places Druzbacky’s family was stationed while she was young was Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City, South Dakota. During her time there, she witnessed firsthand the poverty that faces many individuals on Indian Reservations in the region. She never forgot what she saw. After graduating from Wayne Community College, Druzbacky wanted to take a timeout from her education to give back as a member of the AmeriCorp VISTA program. The Harvest Initiative seemed like the perfect fit for a sponsor. “Living here as a kid had a profound impact on the person that I am today,” said Druzbacky. “I joined AmeriCorp to help fight the poverty that I witnessed firsthand as a kid.”

In her first three months with The Harvest Initiative, Druzbacky has taken on a number of duties. She works primarily to support development of the native CDFI, Hunkpati Investments, but she also makes time to manage scheduling and intake for The Harvest Initiative’s tax preparation program, research and apply for grants, and administer the adult financial literacy course offered through the Bureau of Indian Affairs Social Service Program.