Service Leads to Great Things at Great Plains Institute

Working to promote better energy for a better world, Great Plains Institute is a national non-profit that focuses on supporting the transition to net-zero carbon emissions. For Climate Impact Corps members serving at GPI, the experience has led to full-time jobs, recognition from AmeriCorps, and even a trip to Washington, D.C.! 

When organizations partner with Climate Impact Corps, it is a partnership in every sense of the word: the program places members at local changemaking organizations where they develop a service plan to support a variety of ongoing environmental projects. For the partner organizations, the members boost their capacity to advance important work. For members, the organizations provide an incredible opportunity to learn useful skills and kick start a climate-based career.  

Great Plains Institute (GPI) is part of the Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) and first began collaborating with Climate Impact Corps in 2022-23. This year, GPI continued the partnership with two new members, Keely and Kyle, both of whom have been working on a variety of sustainability-focused projects. Their service has incorporated their interests and experiences to create a great opportunity for professional development and growth. 

“We're really committed to making sure that our members have as many skills and experiences as they can to move forward from this program,” says Diana, CERTs statewide co-director and Climate Impact Corps member supervisor.

Keely

Keely earned a bachelor’s degree in business but stayed connected to her passion for the environment by joining her school’s sustainability club. After she graduated, she spent a few years catering with food co-ops before the Covid-19 pandemic began. It was during that time that she decided to make a change. After attending a GPI event, she knew right away serving with them through Climate Impact Corps was her next move. 

“I really wanted to get back into sustainability,” she says. “At the GPI partner event, I saw a glimpse of their really meaningful work, and I knew I wanted to be a part of it.” 

While serving at GPI, Keely’s projects have focused on connecting with the community and providing energy-saving resources for their homes. To make sure she’s reaching everyone in the community, especially underserved populations, she has visited food pantries and even gone door-to-door. 

“My realm is the energy burden, residential side of things,” she says. “At food shelves, we work with their shoppers and table with energy efficient shower heads, light bulb kits we get from utilities, information on energy assistance, or our home energy guides that they can just grab as they're going to get their groceries. Then we can answer any questions they might have.” 

Keely also supports outreach to manufactured home parks. This may mean providing energy kits, tips for saving money, sharing resources for local providers or answering questions about utility bills and connecting people with resources for energy assistance. Throughout her service, Keely has enjoyed outreach and working with the community. 

"A lot of people had questions," she says. "They were very thankful for the resources we could bring them." 

Kyle

Kyle already knew the power of service when he joined Climate Impact Corps: he had served in a summer AmeriCorps program before earning a degree in sustainable systems management. He was excited to join Climate Impact Corps after learning that GPI needed support on projects relating to electric vehicles, or EVs for short.  

“Once I got an interview and Diana started talking about electric vehicles, I was sold,” he says. 

Since then, he’s supported and developed several projects that have helped educate the community about electric vehicles including outreach, building websites, and giving presentations. Most notably, he worked with utility companies and car dealerships to lead his own “ride and drive” in February where members of the community could learn about and test drive electric vehicles. 

“Diana asked what one of our developmental goals was, and I said planning an event. A week later she asked if I would like to plan a ride-and-drive in Ely,” he says. “We want everybody to come out to experience what it's like to drive an EV or just experience what an EV looks like. It's a good way to introduce people to EVs or be able to answer questions. I was able to plan a lot of it, getting all the vehicles. That was part of the learning experience, and it was fun seeing it all go down.” 

Strong Partnerships Yield Incredible Opportunities 

As part of Climate Impact Corps, both Keely and Kyle have enjoyed the opportunity to network and learn about other environmental organizations and initiatives.  

This spring, Sonali Nijhawan, Director of AmeriCorps State and National visited from Washington, D.C. and had the opportunity to see Climate Impact Corps members in action. 

Her visit led to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – Keely was invited to Washington, D.C. to attend an Earth Day event put on by the White House to celebrate the launch of American Climate Corps – a new initiative to mobilize a new and diverse generation of clean energy, conservation, and climate. 

Another Climate Impact Corps member, Nich, joined Keely with Sandy Pulles of ServeMinnesota and Sonali Nijhawan in Washington, D.C.

The Great Plains Institute has been a wonderful partner to Climate Impact Corps! Reflecting on the two years they've been partnering with Climate Impact Corps, Great Plains Institute has seen incredible results.  

“One of the biggest things is, externally, the ability to be more places and engage with community,” Diana says. “Whether it's these events that we plan or the events that we attend, we can take on more because our members are helping support and do some of the logistics. That is probably the biggest piece, the ability to really be in our community more.” 

Serving in Climate Impact Corps is also a great opportunity to launch a career in the environmental community. Both of the members who served with GPI before Keely and Kyle arrived got hired as full-time employees and are continuing to work on projects centered on equity, reducing energy burdens, transportation, and fuels. 

Are you or someone you know looking to build your professional skills and gain experience in the environmental community? Climate Impact Corps is still looking for members like Keely and Kyle to join an organization like GPI and be a force for nature in their communities! Visit ampact.us/environment to learn more and apply.