The past couple of months have been hard for our Project REBUILD family. We’ve experienced three losses — each one different, each one deeply personal, and each one felt throughout our organization.
In September, we said goodbye to Matt Clerico, who served as our YouthBuild AmeriCorps Portfolio Manager on and off since 2013. Matt wasn’t just a partner in service — he was a friend, mentor, and advocate for what AmeriCorps could mean in the lives of young people. He helped our program make service more meaningful, connecting our members to their community in ways that still shape our work today. His steady guidance, humor, and genuine belief in people made him unforgettable.
Not long after, we lost Carolyn Hess, our founder and former Executive Director. Project REBUILD exists because of her dream. Carolyn believed in second chances, in potential, and in the power of hands-on learning to change lives. She sacrificed so much to build this organization and stayed in its corner even after retiring in 2010. Her voice, vision, and heart can still be felt in everything we do — from how we show up for our members to how we care for one another as a team.
And most recently, we are mourning Joselynn, a former participant from our July 2019 cohort. Her passing was tragic and far too soon. Joselynn was part of a special class — one that faced the challenges of finishing school during the 2020 pandemic. She met those challenges with strength, resilience, and determination. She’ll be remembered for her spirit, her smile, and the promise she carried with her.
Losing Matt, Carolyn, and Joselynn within such a short time has reminded us how connected we all are. They each represent a different piece of our story — the mentor, the founder, the young person whose journey we were proud to be part of. Their legacies challenge us to keep moving forward with love, purpose, and faith in the work we do.
Even in grief, we’re grounded in what they taught us: serve others, believe in people, and never lose sight of the young lives at the center of it all. We’ll carry their memory with us — in our classrooms, on our worksites, in our service projects, and in our hearts.
