Delta Air Lines, Uber, NASA, and National Service

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National Service News

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

On Tuesday, our CEO, Wendy Spencer, shared the story of how you are making a difference as she fielded questions from members of Congress at a hearing regarding our budget.

The committee’s chairman, Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, had this to say about what you all do: “No question in my mind, it’s a worthwhile use of money.”

Without a doubt, there are a lot of people and organizations that agree with Chairman Cole. The list includes Delta Air Lines, NASA, Uber, and more. So, whether by plane, by car, or by space shuttle, support for national service is taking off!

Scroll down to connect dots and learn how these groups and individuals are fueling our March-mentum!

Speaking of March, don’t forget to share your story about how #AmeriCorpsWorks as we come together to kick off AmeriCorps Week. 

Thanks and have a great weekend,

Ted Miller
Chief of External Affairs
Corporation for National and Community Service


Service Employers graphic

#ServiceEmployers: This week as we close out Peace Corps Week and kick off AmeriCorps Week, CNCS CEO Wendy Spencer and Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet came together to discuss how service creates opportunity and builds skills for the future. We also announced several new Employers of National Service who joined more than 350 employers committed to hiring AmeriCorps alum and returned Peace Corps volunteers. 


AmeriCorps members in Florida participate in #SuitsforSession

#SuitsForSession: This week, Volunteer Florida and Uber came together to help those in need. During their first-ever #SuitsForSession service project at the Capitol and across Leon County, volunteers collected more than 4,000 donations of professional attire for local job-seekers. Uber drivers picked up items across the county for free and delivered to organizations across Florida, including Dress For Success Tallahassee, the Goodwill Prosperity Center, and the Florida Department of Education’s Division of Blind Services. 


AmeriCorps NCCC team helps Flint residents during water emergency 2.JPG

Helping Flint: National service programs help communities across the country during times of crises.  Currently, 46 AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members are engaged in response operations in Flint, MI. They are helping educate residents on using water filters appropriately, provide information on best practices in healthcare and nutrition related to lead exposure, assist with donations management, and connect residents to wrap-around services. 


AmeriCorps getting things done

#AmeriCorpsWorks: Next week, we will celebrate AmeriCorps Week 2016. We hope you are planning to share how #AmeriCorpsWorks for you, honor AmeriCorps members and alums, highlight your partners and Employers of National Service, and recruit new champions and members. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat (nationalservice), and Tumblr and tune in throughout the week for our exciting social media takeovers featuring the service of some amazing AmeriCorps members.


Wendy with Reps. DeLauro and Cole

Unity and Impact: This week, CNCS CEO Wendy Spencer fielded questions from members of Congress about the way national service and social innovation programs make a difference in communities across the country. Wendy was invited to the Hill to answer questions about what we hope to achieve for the American people through the FY 2017 budget request that we sent to Congress in early February. Visit our blog to read about the AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and Social Innovation Fund programs that came up during the hearing.


National Service in the News

AmeriCorps

White House Rolls Out Summer Opportunity Plan
Youth Today (GA), February 26, 2016
The White House this week rolled out a multi-agency plan to help more teenagers land summer jobs. The plan aims to give youth who lack work experience and connections to employers a leg up through public investments and partnerships with the private sector. Summer jobs can keep teens and young adults safe and engaged at a time when school-based services are not always available and provide exposure to careers and money management skills, said the administration. “Summer is a critical time for young people, and it can make the difference between a life in a prison cell and a career in a corner office,” said Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to the president. 

AmeriCorps NCCC

AmeriCorps team working with the Mojave Desert Land Trust
The Hi-Desert Star (CA), February 27, 2016
Mary Joe Burger, 19, from Maine, is in the yard of the Mojave Desert Land Trust picking out mustard weed, an invasive plant that inserts itself into the desert, strangling native plants. Burger doesn’t mind the work. She loves gardening, and it gives her a sense of helping. Burger and 11 other members of the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps Gold 2 Team are working with the land trust as part of a trip through California working with relief groups and nonprofits.

AmeriCorps VISTA

Lynch is Citizen of Year
The Pulaski County Mirror (MO), February 25, 2016
The Waynesville-St. Robert Chamber of Commerce 2015 Citizen of the Year is Steve Lynch. Lynch was nominated by the Rotary Club of Pulaski County. The award was presented at the Community Leadership Awards Banquet Friday night at the St. Robert Community Center.  The 2015 Organization of the Year, the Waynesville R-VI School District AmeriCorps/VISTA, is an organization that builds capacity in nonprofit organizations and communities to help bring individuals and communities out of poverty by working to promote literacy, improve health services, create businesses, increase housing opportunities, or bridge the digital divide.    

Senior Corps

Hundreds asked how to help 106-year-old who danced with the Obamas. Now they can.
The Washington Post, March 1, 2016
After 106-year-old Virginia McLaurin danced her way into the hearts of millions, inquiries poured in from people around the world who wanted to give something back to the woman whose enthusiasm for life inspired them. When The Washington Post filmed her watching the viral video of her joyously meeting the Obamas at the White House on an iPhone, readers wrote in wanting to donate (or take up a collection to get her) a smartphone or tablet so she could relive the experience again and again. 

Social Innovation Fund

Casey Foundation Launches $5.4 Million Youth Success Initiative
Philanthropy News Digest (NY), March 1, 2016
The Annie E. Casey Foundation, in partnership with the Corporation for National and Community Service's Social Innovation Fund, has announced a three-year, $5.4 million initiative to boost the number of teens and young adults who complete high school and college and help them build a path to fulfilling careers. Through its Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP) initiative, the foundation aims to increase educational and employment opportunities for young people between the ages of 14 and 25 who are in foster care, the juvenile justice system, or homeless.

National Service Blog

AmeriCorps VISTA alum Riya Rahman is a White House Champion of Change
NationalService.Tumblr.com, February 29, 2016
Riya Rahman is from Waco, Texas and is a senior political science student at Baylor University. For the last two years, she has worked to end child hunger with the Texas Hunger Initiative (THI) and Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign. During the 2014-15 school year, she was a No Kid Hungry Youth Ambassador on Baylor’s campus to increase child hunger awareness and advocacy among college students. This summer, she worked at THI’s Dallas Regional Office as an AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associate, where she promoted the Summer Meals Program.