Tuesday, October 13, 2009 — Eight of the American Red Cross volunteers currently working on American Samoa were supposed to be in training this week, learning how to become team leaders within the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), the 15-year-old national service program that puts young people to work in communities across the United States.
But when the tsunami struck American Samoa Sept. 29, the eight leaders-in-training traded classrooms and textbooks for an open-air shelter and hands-on experience packing clean-up kits and erecting tents for the families whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the waves.
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