National Service in the News for Wednesday, June 21, 2017 through Thursday, June 22, 2017.
AmeriCorps Program at Southern Miss
Receives Continued Funding
WDAM-TV (MS), June 22, 2017
Campus Link AmeriCorps at The University of Southern Mississippi recently
received approximately $380,000 in federal funding for 2017-18 to continue its
work providing tutoring and mentoring for disadvantaged youth through its
public school and non-profit agency partnerships in the Pine Belt. The funding
award comes through the Corporation for National and Community Service and the
Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service (MCVS). Participating students in
grades 4-8 receive both in- and afterschool tutoring from AmeriCorps members, said
Samantha Jones, director, Campus Link AmeriCorps, which is housed in the USM
Center for Community and Civic Engagement. The funding award will allow for the
placement of 80 AmeriCorps tutors, which includes USM students, to perform this
valuable service, Jones said.
Danville kids learn to become crime scene
investigators through summer camp
WSET-TV (VA), June 21, 2017
From the classroom to the real world. Kids are learning the ins and outs of
crime scene investigating with a camp at the Institute for Advanced Learning
and Research. Averett University students who are part of AmeriCorps at
Danville Public Schools and at the research institute are teaching kids about
science and other things. This week they're helping out with the Crime Scene
Investigation camp. Campers have been learning to become investigators by
taking finger prints and crime scene photos as well as casting footprints. Averett
student and AmeriCorps member Morgan Jones said active learning like this is
very important for young kids especially during the summer months.
Wall-to-wall community spirit
The Winchester News Gazette (IN), June 21, 2017
Local business joined an out-of-state AmeriCorps group working with Randolph
County Habitat for Humanity volunteers Saturday to literally hammer home an
inspiring message of philanthropy and teamwork. Employees from SilverTowne
lended a hand with piecing together what will ultimately become the walls of
four new homes for Habitat families on a sunny, hot day. For the multi-state
represented AmeriCorps team, work on the four new Habitat homes comes in the
home stretch of their service in Randolph County. Their eight-week tenure here
will end June 29. “It’s been really great,” team leader Jessica Kozlowski said
of the group’s experience in Randolph County.
Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson
Announces AmeriCorps Funding for Dallas Organizations
Press Release, June 21, 2017
Today, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, announces that the state of Texas
will receive $14.6 million in AmeriCorps funding from the OneStar Foundation,
Texas’ National Service Commission. Four organizations in District 30 were
granted funding–CitySquare, Regarding Partners, Teach for America, and City
Year, Inc.-Dallas: “Congratulations to CitySquare, Regarding Partners, Teach
for America, and City Year, Inc.-Dallas who have been selected to receive the
grant funding for 2017-2018 from the OneStar Foundation,” said Congresswoman
Johnson. “I am certain that those who choose to volunteer with AmeriCorps will
have a rewarding experience as they serve those in our community at one of
these organizations.”
Averett students, grads lend a hand at
summer camps
The Register Bee (VA), June 21, 2017
In the lab at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research on Tuesday,
several teams of researchers were working hard to find the cause of a sickness
outbreak at an elementary school. They tested a chili sample to determine if it
will react to the ingredients in aspirin, which shouldn’t be in the recipe. These
young researchers are actually campers at the Crime Scene Investigation summer
camp hosted by the Institute. As they work, Averett University students Morgan
Jones and Dante Johns help guide the campers and assist them on the project.
Jones and Johns are spending their summer working with the AmeriCorps national
service program, tutoring area students and helping campers this summer in
Danville.
AmeriCorps Members Partner to Help
Chesapeake Bay
The Moorefield Examiner (WV), June 20, 2017
Starting in the fall of 2016, Trout Unlimited’s AmeriCorps rounded up
volunteers to plant and protect 350 large stock trees and then again this
spring to plant 680 willow and sycamore live stakes. More than 20 volunteers
from AmeriCorps, Trout Unlimited membership, West Virginia Dep. of Agriculture,
West Virginia Division of Forestry, and the public helped make this planting a
success. Reducing sediment and nutrient inputs through implementing
agricultural Best Management Practices and reforesting the landscape helps keep
water cold and clean for brook trout while also improving water quality for
those who live downstream.
Garden rises from vacant lot
The Minot Daily News (ND), June 21, 2017
Tremendous potential was hailed by community leaders and volunteers during the
inaugural Adopt-A-Lot program hosted on the 1500 block of East Burdick
Expressway, Tuesday morning. Partnerships between Minot Young Professionals,
City of Minot, Minot Park District and AmeriCorps VISTA, aspire to create a
healthier and more prosperous future for the Magic City. Megan Laudenschlager,
the president of Minot Young Professionals, is excited to see the successful
launch of the Adopt-A-Lot program. “It feels great that so many community
organizations have become involved in maintaining this lot,” Laudenschlager
said. “We have nine organizations that are committed to growing fruits,
vegetables and pollinator gardens. The food will go towards food pantries and
the pollinator garden will help save our bee and butterfly population.”
Hunger in rural areas a problem
The Times Record News (TX), June 21, 2017
Hunger and Food Insecurity Present in Rural AreasBefore I started working at
Oklahoma and Texas food banks as my assignment with Americorps/VISTA, I held a
stereotypical view of hunger in America. I believed hunger affected mostly
minority, low-income, densely populated metropolitan areas or chronically
impoverished rural areas like Appalachia. (I was wrong, by the way.) The facts
are that lack of access to easily available nutritious food is everywhere.
Hunger is present in every county in Texas, rural or urban. The Wichita Falls
Area Food Bank serves twelve counties. The combined population of all those
counties is over 227,000. Wichita County accounts for over 130,000 people.
Mom:
YouthBuild helped prep son for life when she couldn’t
The Daily Advance (NC), June 20, 2017
Maxine Moore says River City Community Development Corp.’s YouthBuild program
was a game-changer for her son, preparing him for life when she was not able
to. Moore rose to speak at the end of the Juneteenth celebration
held in the auditorium at Sheep-Harney Elementary School on Monday. The
celebration of Juneteenth — which commemorates news of the Emancipation
Proclamation reaching slaves in Texas on June 19, 1865 — was sponsored by River
City CDC. A number of panelists during a discussion at Monday’s event said both
slavery and freedom can take various forms. At the end of the panel
presentation, as members of the crowd were invited to ask questions of the
panelists, Moore shared her story, explaining that it really wasn’t a question
but instead an affirmation of the difference that River City CDC’s YouthBuild
had made for her and her son.
AmeriCorps Sowing Seeds at Coldharbour
The Gunnison County Times (CO), June 21, 2017
It's shortly after 9 a.m. on a Thursday morning. Two vehicles roll down a dirt
road located on the property Coldharbour Ranch east of Gunnison. The cars come
to a stop and 11 AmeriCorps volunteers hop out and begin to unload tools and
fencing equipment. They top off their water bottles from the water jug and with
a final shower of mosquito spray, the group splits up to begin their work day.
Waynesville
AmeriCorps receives award
My Ozarks (MO), June 22, 2017
Waynesville AmeriCorps recently received a top honor, receiving the 2017 Martin
Luther King Jr. Day of Service award from the Missouri Community Service
Commission during the annual celebration of service and volunteerism in
Jefferson City. MCS also awarded Waynesville AmeriCorps VISTA member Nadine
Albrecht with the AmeriCorps VISTA service award for demonstrating volunteer
service over and beyond the requirements of her designated program.
Evergreen Chapter Facilitates Internship
for Nursing Student from Japan
Public Administration Times, June 20, 2017
In March 2017, members of ASPA’s Evergreen Chapter welcomed Ms. Marina Inagaki
to Washington State for a two week internship. Marina is a doctoral candidate
at the University of Hyogo in the Disaster Nursing Global Leader Program,
Graduate College of Nursing Art and Science. As a young girl, Marina survived
the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan. She was inspired by that disaster to pursue
a career as a registered nurse. In 2011, she provided health consultation in
temporary housing following the East Japan Earthquake. After the earthquake in
Kumamoto in 2016, Marina provided nursing care and support, particularly to the
elderly.
Foster Grandparents group’s plans announced
The Hannibal Courier Post (MO), June 20, 2017
Leaders of the area Foster Grandparent Program have announced here are 24
active Foster Grandparents at nine volunteer stations. Foster Grandparent and
site location applications are currently being accepted. To apply, contact W.T.
Johnson at his offices at Heartland Resources Inc. in Ewing or Douglass Community
Services Inc. in Hannibal. Summer placements for Foster Grandparents will
include Graceful Beginnings, Clinic Road Early Head Start, Veterans Elementary
Summer School and Highland Elementary Summer School. Foster Grandparents
serving at Highland Elementary School were among those recognized at a May 11
dinner, an annual event of the Lewis County C-1 School District.
Want a long, happy life? Volunteer!
The Edmonds Beacon (WA), June 21, 2017
You may have seen the statistic: baby boomers are retiring at an average rate
of 10,000 per day. Tired of work, but not tired of living, many are seeking
satisfaction by turning their interests to volunteerism. Opportunities are,
literally, endless. John McAlpine, the program coordinator/recruiter for the
Retired and Senior Volunteer Program of Snohomish County (RSVP), has been
pairing volunteers with openings for 13 years. RSVP, sponsored by Catholic
Community Services, serves as a kind of clearinghouse, matching volunteers over
age 55 with nonprofits and civic organizations that need their expertise,
skills and energy. “RSVP acts as a broker between the agencies and volunteers,”
McAlpine said. “People come to us and ask what needs to be done in the
community.
RSVP program receives Governor’s Service
Award
The Waunakee Tribune (WI), June 20, 2017
Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of Dane County accepted the
Governor’s ‘Senior Corps Program of the Year’ award at a ceremony set at
Olbrich Gardens, hosted by Serve Wisconsin and the Corporation for National and
Community Service (CNCS) State Office to honor state award recipients in eight
different categories. RSVP of Dane County was selected by the Serve Wisconsin
citizen committee as “the Senior Corps program that, over the course of the
year, had made significant contributions to Wisconsin through efforts using
their invaluable skills and experience.” The award was bestowed to RSVP’s
Driver Services/Vets Helping Vets program for its impact on veterans and senior
passengers in Dane County who may be isolated and/or living on a
limited-income.
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