[Community-service] AmeriCorps Week Spotlights AmeriCorps' Impact from Coast to Coast

Sun May 15 20:04:14 UTC 2011

*Note: I'm passing this along because I thought people might find this
of interest.  If you find any other  types of interesting information,
please feel free to share it!*

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 13, 2011

CONTACT: Sandy Scott
Phone: 202-606-6724
Email:
sscott at cns.gov
table end nesting level 1

AmeriCorps Week Spotlights AmeriCorps' Impact from Coast to Coast

Fifth Annual Event Comes at Time of Growing Demand for AmeriCorps

Washington DC -- Every day in communities across the nation,
AmeriCorps members are improving schools, rebuilding after disasters,
providing health services,
preserving the environment, fighting poverty, and meeting other local needs.

The fifth annual AmeriCorps Week, taking place May 14-21, honors these
public servants, who work quietly and without fanfare across the U.S.
to improve
the lives of millions of our most vulnerable citizens.

In the past 17 years, more than 700,00 men and women have taken
AmeriCorps's pledge to "get things done for America," providing more
than 860 million hours
of service. In 2010 alone, about 80,000 AmeriCorps members mobilized
2.6 million community volunteers, and tutored, mentored or served more
than 2.5 million
disadvantaged youth.

The coast-to-coast recognition of AmeriCorps Week includes hundreds of
service projects, recruitment events, alumni gatherings, open houses,
presentations
to schools and community groups, and other events. The aim of the
annual effort is to demonstrate AmeriCorps impact on critical issues,
thank the community
partners that make AmeriCorps possible, and recruit more Americans into service

"AmeriCorps members are building stronger, healthier, and safer
communities, and improving the lives of millions of our most
vulnerable citizens," said
Patrick A. Corvington, CEO of the Corporation for National and
Community Service. "During AmeriCorps Week, we salute AmeriCorps
members for their commitment
and encourage all Americans to discover how they can transform
communities and their own lives through service to others."

AmeriCorps Week comes at a time of growing demand for AmeriCorps by
organizations and individuals eager to serve. For the past three
years, the numbers
of organizations applying for AmeriCorps grant funding has increased,
and AmeriCorps applications from individuals jumped from about 360,000
in the 2008-2009
program year to more than 536,000 last year.

"The surging demand for AmeriCorps is a reminder that today's young
people – and those young in spirit - are eager to make a difference,
to have a purpose,
to serve a cause larger than themselves," said John Gomperts, Direct
of AmeriCorps. "AmeriCorps members provide a powerful boost of energy
and talent to
help nonprofits meet pressing local needs, and that experience often
turns into a lifelong commitment to public service."

An AmeriCorps Week website, located at
AmeriCorpsWeek.gov
 features events, news, stories, information about how to join, and
ideas on how to use social media to "Tell Your AmeriCorps Story" – the
theme of 2011
AmeriCorps Week. Participants are urged to “like AmeriCorps Week on
Facebook
 and "Follow" AmeriCorps Week on
Twitter.

A key focus of this year's AmeriCorps Week is community roundtables in
which AmeriCorps members discuss the impact of their work with elected
officials
and community members. Some of the roundtables are part of the White
House's Your Future, Your Solutions: 100 Youth Strategies to Win the
Future initiative,
which enables the administration to hear directly from young people
about challenges they face.

Highlights of the 2011 AmeriCorps Week include:

list of 16 items
• Nationwide: More than 440 Habitat for Humanity AmeriCorps members
are participating in a week-long build-a-thon to address the need for
affordable housing.
Blitz builds are taking place in Franklin, W. Va.; Bay St. Louis,
Miss.; Birmingham, Ala.; Seattle and King County, Wash.; Milwaukee,
Wis.; Wilmington,
Del.; and Pensacola, Fla. Over 5,000 AmeriCorps members have helped
Habitat for Humanity build more than 12,500 homes since 1994.
• Nationwide: More than 1,000 Arab-Americans and others in 22 U.S.
cities will engage in volunteer projects as part of the National Arab
American Service
Day. Volunteers will package food, build community gardens, clean lots
and make other improvements as part of the seventh annual event,
spearheaded by
the Arab American Resource Corps, a national AmeriCorps program
offering Arab Americans and non-Arabs the opportunity to serve at Arab
American community
organizations.
• Nationwide: AmeriCorps Week roundtables, some featuring Mayors and
other elected officials, will be held in Chicago, Ill., Omaha, Neb.;
Topeka, Kans.;
Bozeman, Mont.; Morehead, Ky., Columbus and Hamilton, Ohio; Phoenix,
Prescott, and Mesa City, Ariz.; and other locations.
• Montana: Event are taking place across the state, including a fire
prevention brush cleanup project in Billings, roundtables in Bozeman
and Missoula,
a recycling drive in Sydney, a garden service project in Helena, among others.
• Denver, Colo.: A series of events are planned including volunteer
trail construction at Red Rocks Park, presentation of the Governor's
Service Awards
at the state capitol, and AmeriCorps Night at the Colorado Rapids.
• Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter will celebrate the work of
AmeriCorps members at an AmeriCorps Rally at City Hall.
• Geneva, N.Y.: Corporation for National and Community Service CEO
Patrick Corvington will discuss the importance of public service in a
commencement address
at Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
• Nashville, Tenn.: Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and other service
leaders will discuss AmeriCorps impact in middle Tennessee and the
state, followed by a
service project.
• Las Vegas: Nevada Volunteers will honor exemplary AmeriCorps members
at the National 9/11 Flag Tour Ceremony, which will bring together
local service
heroes from the public sector and the military to add a stitch to the
National 9/11 Flag that will hang in the museum at Ground Zero.
• Orlando, Fla.: The Agency for Persons with Disabilities in
partnership with its AmeriCorps members will host a Disability
Volunteer/Job Expo to connect
people with disabilities to potential employers
• Iowa: Events are happening around the state, including an
environmental service project in Des Moines and AmeriCorps open houses
in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
City and Waterloo.
• Washington DC: Events include a professional networking night, an
all-corps clean up with the Anacostia Watershed Society, and
AmeriCorps Night at the
Washington Nationals baseball game, one of several AmeriCorps
appreciation nights taking place at sporting events around the
country.
• Buffalo, N.Y.: City of Good Neighbors and Buffalo Gives Back will
present a Family Resource Festival and Giveaway featuring distribution
of 1,000 bags
of groceries, interactive exhibits, and a cooking and urban farm
demonstration to kickoff AmeriCorps Week 2011.
• San Francisco: The San Francisco Community HealthCorps is hosting a
disaster preparation fair for low-income residents in the Tenderloin
neighborhood
to teach skills and provide supplies to prepare residents for disasters.
• Phoenix, Ariz.: The National Society for American Indian Elderly is
teaming up with Native American Connections to revive and beautify the
grounds and
gardens of a low income senior housing community.
• Potsdam, N.Y. AmeriCorps members will work with Potsdam High School
students to create Hero Packs filled with books, games and photo
albums for kids who
have a parent deployed overseas.
list end

Many of the projects are being organized by AmeriCorps Alums, which
has chapters in more than 25 cities organizing events and thousands of
alumni participating
across the country.

"AmeriCorps Alums believes strongly in the immeasurable impact that
national service has on an individual, and is proud to join CNCS in
celebrating AmeriCorps
Week. The more than 700,000 AmeriCorps members and alums in this
country represent a critical pipeline of future civic leaders that are
equipped to tackle
the issues facing 21st century America," stated Executive Director of
AmeriCorps Alums Ben Duda.

AmeriCorps is administered by the Corporation for National and
Community Service (CNCS), a federal agency that improves lives,
strengthens communities,
and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. Each
year, CNCS engages five million Americans of all ages and backgrounds
through its Senior
Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs. For more
information, visit
NationalService.gov.

###

-- 
Darian Smith
Skype: The_Blind_Truth
Windows Live: Lightningrod2010 at live.com
Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/goldengateace

"The purpose of life is a life of purpose.

— Robert Byrne