Saluting Those Who Serve ... and Serve Again

May is Military Appreciation Month, and with this edition of National Service News arriving between Armed Forces Day and Memorial Day, now seemed as good a time as any to talk about CNCS and our nation's veterans.

Our AmeriCorps and Senior Corps programs have a unique connection with America's veterans and military families. 

Many of our programs have the privilege to serve this special cohort through programs that support families while their loved ones are away defending our nation, and there are CNCS initiatives that help veterans reacclimate to civilian life when they complete their military service.

Sometimes, we have an even-greater honor to serve beside our veterans. Each year, more than 23,000 veterans join us to continue their service as AmeriCorps members and Senior Corps volunteers. 

There are veterans who serve as teachers in schools or work with youth, some mentor their fellow veterans as they pursue a college degree after their active duty is done. Others serve as advocates in Veterans Courts, offer companionship to fellow seniors (a great video, by the way), or provide transportation to their fellow veterans to VA hospital appointments.

For some of our veterans, it appears the mission to serve never ends.

So, this weekend -- before you fire up the barbecue -- join us as we take a few moments to remember the brave men and women in our armed forces whose incredible sacrifices make the freedoms we enjoy possible. 

And on behalf of the national service family, we thank you for your service.

In service, 

CNCS Office of External Affairs

The Impact of National Service

Thank You for an Incredible Senior Corps Week What a week! After all the celebrations, stories, and service, Senior Corps Week 2017 is in the books. Even though the week is over, we know that the service of Senior Corps volunteers with Foster Grandparents, Senior Companions, and RSVP continues each and every day. Thank you all for sharing your remarkable stories of Senior Corps’ impact across the country.   Read more

From high school dropout to building glazier (AmeriCorps) Jerome Kinard dropped out of high school in his junior year to help make ends meet at home. Today, the 23 year-old is currently employed by Eureka Metal and Glass Services, Inc., as a glazing contractor, thanks to YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School. After leaving Germantown High School, Kinard’s mother told him about YouthBuild, which for the past 25 years has given adults a second chance to earn their diplomas while offering job skills in a supportive environment. “YouthBuild has a unique model in that’s it’s a one-year program and a year of follow-up,” said Meredith Molloy, the director of development at YouthBuild. “Students spend half their time working on the academic component and the other half on job training.” Read more

For 20+ Years, AmeriCorps and Notre Dame Have Been Partners for Educational Success This weekend, 40 seniors from the University of Notre Dame will walk across the stage, proudly accept their diplomas, and march into their future as members of AmeriCorps and the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE). They’ll be joined by more than 50 graduates from colleges and universities around the country who will be members of the 24th class of ACE Teaching Fellows. Another 75 ACE AmeriCorps teachers will earn their Master of Education degree this weekend as they near the end of their service. Read more

Share It: CNCS Battles the Opioid Epidemic

Each week, we will provide a social media shareable to use on your networks. Recognizing the severity of the opioid epidemic and the important role national service can play in addressing this challenge, CNCS has made opioid abuse prevention, education, reduction, and recovery a funding priority in several of our 2017 grant competitions. One of our partners is Operation UNITE, which utilizes 44 AmeriCorps members annually to provide drug abuse education in southern and eastern Kentucky. Share this graphic on your social networks, and learn more about our efforts to combat the opioid crisis here.

National Service in the News

AmeriCorps agency honored for work during disaster response

Government Security News, Press Release

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency that oversees AmeriCorps and Senior Corps, was selected as the National VOAD Partner of the Year. The award, presented by National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD), recognizes the contributions CNCS programs have had in disaster response and recovery efforts throughout the country during the last year.  

Read more

Senate passes Cassidy-Whitehouse resolution for National Senior Corps Week

Press Release

The Senate has passed a bipartisan resolution introduced by US Senators Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) declaring May 15 through May 19, 2017, National Senior Corps Week in recognition of the valuable contributions of the more than 250,000 senior volunteers across the country. “Senior Corps volunteers give back to our communities, making a positive, personal impact on many,” said Dr. Cassidy. “We thank them, recognizing the good they do.”

Read more

Volunteer group works on community gardens in Arkansas (AmeriCorps NCCC)

The Jonesboro Sun, Arkansas

After graduating from college, Rachel Cain decided she wanted to complete a year of service. "I wanted to give back to various communities," the Maryland native told The Jonesboro Sun. She is now seven months into her 10-month term with the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps, a full-time national service program that has up to 2,200 adults, age 18-24, serving nationwide each year. Cain's eight-member team has been in Jonesboro since May 1, working 40 hours a week regardless of the weather. They are building a community garden and preparing a greenhouse for the 109 residents of the Jonesboro Human Development Center to use.

Read more

Partners for a Healthier Community Wins Grant for Asthma Project (SIF)

Press Release

The Green & Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI), following a national competition, has awarded grants and support to Partners for a Healthier Community in Springfield, as well as Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo (Buffalo, N.Y.), Health Net of West Michigan (Grand Rapids, Mich.), and Le Bonheur Community Health and Well-Being (Memphis, Tenn.), to advance their Pay for Success (PFS) projects.

Read more

Catholic Charities’ volunteer receives Governor’s award

The Times Weekly, Illinois

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Joliet announced that Sarah Marsh, a volunteer in their Foster Grandparent Program in Will County, has been selected for the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award in the Senior Corps northeast category. For the past 15 years, “Grandma Marsh” as she’s known, has volunteered 16 hours per week at Catholic Charities’ Head Start and at public elementary schools in Joliet. Her duties include helping school children improve their reading, spelling, and math skills.

Read more

Senior Corps volunteers serve community 

The Missoulian, Montana

“It fills up my soul,” says foster grandparent Mary of her experience as a Senior Corps volunteer at Missoula Aging Services. During Senior Corps Week, May 15-19, we would like to thank our wonderful Senior Corps volunteers for their immense service to our community! We also extend our thanks to the many organizations with which we partner to facilitate that service. Senior Corps volunteers are age 55 and over, putting their wisdom and experience to work and dedicated to helping their community. Last year over 600 Senior Corps volunteers served more than 100,000 hours from Condon to Lolo to Frenchtown!

Read more

Heart of service: Falkville woman finds calling as school mentor (Foster Grandparents)

The Decatur Daily, Alabama

Sharon Strickland never planned on entering the ministry — especially not at the age of 67. But when the God-fearing woman overheard a conversation about the need for mentors in area schools, she could not resist the pull. Four years later, the now 70-year-old Falkville woman sees the school as her mission field and showering students with love and encouragement as her calling. “God gave me this job. I never in a million years imagined I would be doing this. I am living my dream. I feel so blessed. I look at my life and think God has been so good to me,” Strickland said.

Read more

Volunteers give rise to Habitat home

The News Messenger, Ohio

A 20-year-old woman who will move into her first home in the fall was excited to be working alongside local and national volunteers helping build her Habitat for Humanity home in Fremont. The home being built for Mia Sorg and her mother, at 151 Buchanan St., will be 1,200 square feet with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The home is expected to ready for Sorg in the fall. Sorg said she is excited to finally live in her first home with her mother, adding that it means more to her because she is able to help built it.

Read more

National Service News updates 

To keep up with the latest in National Service News, click the links to our bulletins below:

• May 16, 2017
• May 17-22, 2017