SPRINGFIELD — Growing up in the McKnight neighborhood, a young Black man raised by teen parents, Michael D. Smith didn’t have much money or access to opportunities. He did have the Boys & Girls Club Family Center on Acorn Street, though, and that made all the difference.
Smith, appointed by President Joe Biden to lead AmeriCorps, the federal agency for service and volunteerism, reflected on the lessons he learned at the club and from his community — and how they shaped his beliefs and led him to this new role.