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Dear Friends and Colleagues,

People—diverse, passionate, and committed—make America strong. Through national service and volunteering, Americans from all walks of life contribute to their communities and the nation. 

This week, we celebrate inclusion in service. AmeriCorps members and Senior Corps volunteers across the country help make service accessible to those most in need. We also announced a new Social Innovation Fund partnership that will support mental health services. 

And in case you missed it, USDA Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden visited a Senior Corps RSVP site in rural Georgia to see #ServeRural in action.  

Scroll down to learn more.

Thanks and have a great weekend,

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

P.S. - On August 29, Mayor Mitch Landrieu and the City of New Orleans is hosting a Citywide Day of Service.  Scroll down to learn more and find out how to participate. 

Connections to Care: The Social Innovation Fund invests in solutions that work.  This week, CNCS CEO Wendy Spencer joined Chirlane McCray, the First Lady of New York, to announce a $30 million SIF partnership that supports mental health services. The partnership will fund the new Connections to Care program, which will help integrate mental health services into programs that serve low-income communities.  

#Service4All: This month, we honor the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and celebrate the contributions that our friends and neighbors with disabilities have made to the national service community. Nick Noble is currently serving his second AmeriCorps term with the Utah Conservation Corps’  inclusive crew. Nick, who has a significant visual impairment,  helps crew members with disabilities successfully navigate the new challenges of conservation crew work. Visit our blog to learn more about how Nick ensures #Service4All.

Georgia on our Minds: AmeriCorps members support a wide range of programs committed to using national service to address critical community needs.  Last week, CNCS CEO Wendy Spencer visited AmeriCorps members at the Youth Villages AmeriCorps program in Douglass, GA.  The 24 Youth Villages AmeriCorps members will offer tutoring, life skills, GED preparation, after-school programming, and service learning to students ages 5 to 21 with special and exceptional needs.

#ServeRural: Rural communities often face unique challenges associated with poverty.  #ServeRural is a national effort to enlist volunteers and local organizations to help build thriving rural communities.  This week, USDA Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden visited the SOWEGA Council on Aging Life Enrichment Center and met Senior Corps volunteers who provide meals to low-income rural residents of Albany, GA.  

Katrina 10: Next month marks the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. And the national service family will honor the hard work, resilience, and innovation that continues to support an even stronger and healthier Gulf Coast.  On August 29, Mayor Mitch Landrieu and the city of New Orleans will  host a comprehensive Citywide Day of Service in conjunction with more than 100 partner organizations. Click here to learn more and find out how to participate. 

National Service in the News

AmeriCorps

Brick veteran gets help to rebuild once moldy home
The Asbury Park Press (NJ), July 24, 2015
Not long after Frank and Theresa Hagen completed repairs on their superstorm Sandy-flooded home, they realized something was terribly wrong. Black mold appeared in the corners of their house in the Cherry Quay area of Brick. The couple began cleaning their floors with bleach, but their dog became ill and Theresa developed asthma-like symptoms, said 54-year-old Frank Hagen, a retired Army sergeant who is unable to work due to multiple sclerosis. The family’s suspicions came true in the middle of 2013 — their home was deemed toxic and infested with mold. The Hagens had no choice but to tear it down. Nearly three years since Sandy 

AmeriCorps NCCC

Volunteers sought for Community Trail Day
The Commercial - News (IL), July 28, 2015
With heavy rains washing out trails and people putting in their own short cuts on trails at Kickapoo State Park, site superintendent John Hott said he’s welcomed the help by the AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) team to rehab and rebuild trails this summer. Now the public also is being asked to help with some of the work. An AmeriCorps NCCC team is hosting a community day with Trails for Illinois and the Kickapoo Mountain Bike Club.The community day is a way for volunteers to get on the trails, learn how they are built and learn about the people who dedicate their careers to creating an environmental outdoor experience, according to an AmeriCorps press release.

AmeriCorps VISTA

L.A. and Philly Form First Promise Zones Partnership
Next City, July 28, 2015
When President Barack Obama first announced the creation of his Promise Zones in early 2014, the initiative was a departure from most place-based, anti-poverty initiatives in the past. For one, there was no mention of lump-sum block grants, a contrast from federal programs like President Bill Clinton’s “empowerment zones” in the 1990s. Instead, the designated distressed communities — there were five Promise Zones at the start; now there are 13 — would get preferential status when applying for federal grants related to housing, education, employment, recidivism and other areas. They wouldn’t automatically receive any funding.

Senior Corps

Organizations gather to help low-income seniors
The Enin News and Eagle (OK), July 28, 2015
Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and Retired Senior and Volunteer Program of Enid and North Central Oklahoma have teamed to help low-income seniors in the area. RSVP, a self-sponsored nonprofit organization, formed in 1978 to serve the elderly and other residents in need of assistance in the Enid area and has grown to serve Grant, Garfield, Noble, Alfalfa and Major counties. The food bank approached RSVP about assisting low-income seniors in decreasing food insecurity, RSVP Executive Director Christy Baker wrote in a letter last week. 

Social Innovation Fund

Mayor Walsh Launches Center Connection Unemployed High School Graduates to Workforce Training and Opportunities
City of Boston (MA), July 27, 2015
Mayor Martin J. Walsh today joined the Boston Opportunity Youth Collaborative to launch the Connection Center, which will serve as a one-stop resource to help Boston high school graduates, 20-24 years old, who are unemployed and out of school with no postsecondary degree. The Connection Center, located inside the Ruggles MBTA station, will work to reach out to these young adults and refer them to education, training and employment opportunities throughout the Greater Boston.

National Service Blog

Federal Cuts to Service Programs Would Be Felt in Missouri
NationalService.Tumblr.com, July 27, 2015
Proposed cuts to federally supported volunteer programs would hit home for communities across Missouri, according to supporters of the programs. Wendy Spencer heads the Corporation for National and Community Service, which operates AmeriCorps, the Senior Corps and other community-building volunteer initiatives. Whether it’s helping out in overcrowded classrooms or understaffed health clinics, or rebuilding cities such as Joplin after natural disasters, Spencer said, participants in these programs gain as much as they give.