Orestes Jackson and Sean Kuprevich were looking for a chance to help people when they applied to be team leaders at AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps.

That chance came sooner than either could have imagined.

Jackson was a senior at Penn State when he joined AmeriCorps*NCCC last October. He and Kuprevich, a May 2001 graduate of the university who joined last month, were two of 14 team leaders from the NCCC's Capital Region campus called to assist the American Red Cross during the days after the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon.

Jackson and Kuprevich, along with the other team leaders, helped the Red Cross establish a temporary disaster headquarters in Falls Church, Va., three days after the attacks and just four days after taking their posts as team leaders.

Both jumped at the opportunity to become involved.

"There was a real sense of helplessness around here," Kuprevich said. "We could see and smell the smoke from the Pentagon. We felt like, 'This is what we're here to do.' We wanted to get something done."

Members of AmeriCorps*NCCC, a national service program for men and women ages 18 to 24, assist non-profit organizations and state and local agencies in areas such as disaster relief, education and environmental issues.

Though more than 150 members make up the Capital Region campus, only team leaders were on hand in the days after the attack. Both Jackson and Kuprevich were still going through training meetings when the Red Cross' call for help came.

The two men were part of a team that helped establish the Red Cross' temporary home, setting up communications equipment and carrying furniture into an abandoned apartment store that housed hundreds of officials and volunteers.

"It helped to get everything off your mind," Jackson said. "You just wanted to get out there and say you did something."

Erin McNamara, community outreach coordinator for emergency services at the National Capital Chapter of the Red Cross, said the job of establishing the headquarters was comparable to setting up an office for a Fortune 500 company in 24 hours.

"It was the behind-the-scenes work that people don't see, but it's the part that makes everything happen," McNamara said.

McNamara said the Red Cross frequently calls on AmeriCorps for assistance, especially in disaster relief operations. AmeriCorps has been involved in every national disaster effort since 1995, according to a press release.

As Americorps team leaders, Jackson and Kuprevich will supervise teams of 10 to 15 corps members. During the 10-month program, teams are assigned to a variety of projects, from tutoring children to trail building, said Fran Campion, community relations specialist at the Capital Region campus.

Jackson joined the program last October as a change of pace from college life.

"It's a totally different experience every few weeks," Jackson said. "You bring a different part of yourself to each project. You learn a lot about yourself."

Jackson and Kuprevich will receive their first team projects on Oct. 31. Though the details of those assignments are not yet known, both said they are excited about the possibility of assisting efforts relating to last month's attacks.

"I'm just want to go out and get everything done that I can," Kuprevich said. "Whatever we can do, wherever we can do it, we're going to put our all into it."

"If they called us tomorrow, I don't think you'd find anyone who wouldn't be ready," Jackson said.