National Service Opening Pathways to Service for All

The Americans with Disabilities Act marks its 28th year in 2018, and this Civil Rights law has guided our nation along a path that recognizes all of us have gifts we can contribute to the greater good when given the opportunity to do so.

At the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), we believe that the more doors we open to service and volunteering opportunities, the more society will benefit. Here's an example.

When he was growing up, Ted Horton-Billard (pictured above) wanted to join the military. It seemed to be a natural fit for him, growing up in a military family. However, Ted is deaf and that placed his dream on hold. He was not allowed to join the military, local police, or fire departments.

Even though Ted had to overcome great obstacles related to his deafness -- he did not learn to read or write until age 15 --  these setbacks did not stop him from finding a way to serve his community. 

Fortunately, Ted found a way to do serve via AmeriCorps through the Red Cross in Los Angeles. He is helping the agency find ways to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities or access and functional needs, while pursuing a graduate degree in public administration. 

When Ted was named employee of the quarter his AmeriCorps and Red Cross colleagues celebrated him by raising their arms in the air and shaking their hands, the sign for applause. (You can learn more about Ted from a LA Talks blog Q&A about his service.)

Ted's determination combined with the support of family and friends to help him find a pathway to follow his dream to serve. CNCS works with grantees to remove barriers to service for the disabled, and you can learn more and find other stories about national service volunteers with disabilities who discovered ways to serve on our Disability Inclusion Resources portal.

We want service to play a role in as many lives as possible. Everyone has something to contribute to the rich tapestry of this nation, and we're proud to help people like Ted do his part.

In Service, 

CNCS Office of External Affairs

Editor's note: By clicking the links below, you may be connecting to websites created by parties other than the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). The CNCS Office of External Affairs provides links to these stories because they contain information that may be useful or interesting to the national service and volunteering community. These links are for reference only, and CNCS does not endorse the individuals or organizations associated with these links, and cannot attest to the accuracy of the information provided by websites outside of our control.

The Impact of National Service

The Eldest of 11 Children, This Former TCU Safety has Found Calling as Teacher, Coach (AmeriCorps)

Tejay Johnson was always a coach, even if it took him a while to realize it. The former TCU safety who capped his four-year Horned Frogs career with a Rose Bowl win on Jan. 1, 2011, went undrafted and decided to focus on his long-term future instead of chasing a playing career. “I wasn’t thinking about coaching when I was in school but it definitely helped with my love for teaching,” Johnson said. “I never really thought about being a teacher but joining the Teach For America program really opened my eyes to the profession. The longer I did it, I fell in love with it. The whole coaching aspect … I didn’t know I was good at it until I started doing it.”

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Retired Vet, Volunteer Honored for Community Assistance (Senior Corps) The RSVP Lebanon Volunteer of the Month is Carl Sellers, of Cornwall. He serves as an RSVP Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) tax preparer, where he has volunteered for the past 10 years.  His duties include training new volunteers and quality review of completed tax returns, and he served as site coordinator in the 2015 tax year. A Vietnam veteran, Sellers grew up in South Annville Township, where his parents operated a dairy farm. Sellers served 30 years in the Air Force as a C130 aircraft loadmaster, obtaining the rank of chief master sergeant. After retiring from the Air Force in 1990, Sellers returned to Lebanon County and in 1992 started working as a letter carrier for 14 years. In 2008 he began his volunteer work with VITA.    Read more

AmeriCorps NCCC Team Members Volunteer to Spruce Up Empty Lots in Erie A seven-member AmeriCorps team is also volunteering in Erie this summer. The AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps arrived in the city this past weekend.  They'll work closely with our West Bayfront and the Bayfront East Side Taskforce or BEST.  The team spent the day building fences for properties owned by BEST.  It's part of the neighborhood organization's land care initiative to beautify more than 40 empty lots.  Read more

Watch It: Disabled Habitat Volunteer Serves

Each week, we provide a social media shareable to use on your networks. This week we are looking back at a 2013 video from Habitat For Humanity featuring disabled AmeriCorps member George Davis who used his previous experience in construction to mentor others at work sites. It's a very inspiring story, so click the photo above to check out the video and use the buttons to share this story on your social media networks.

National Service in the News

DSU Extension Welcomes Nicholas Ciaramitaro, AmeriCorps VISTA member 

The Green Sheet Farm Forum, South Dakota

SDSU Extension recently hired Nicholas Ciaramitaro to serve as the SDSU Extension agriculture and society AmeriCorps VISTA member. “Nicholas has a unique skill set and a passion for service that will provide capacity to SDSU Extension programs geared toward lifting individuals out of poverty,” said Aimee House Ladonski, SDSU Extension volunteer development field specialist. SDSU Extension received an AmeriCorps VISTA grant in 2017. This grant will provide eight full-time VISTA members to serve one-year terms working with SDSU Extension staff to increase knowledge of and access to physical and financial health and wellness techniques in effort to bring economically disadvantaged South Dakotans out of poverty.

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Minnesota Resident Marks 20 Years as Senior Companion Volunteer (Senior Corps) 

The Star Tribune, Minnesota

Over the past two decades, Gerri Horvat has seen it all and met some unique characters.The Mankato native began volunteering as a senior companion when she retired from a St. Peter electronics company at age 65. Now 85, she is wrapping up 20 years of service as a volunteer for Senior Corps, a program sponsored by Lutheran Social Service.

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Richmond Wins Cities of Service National Competition to Revitalize Neighborhoods (AmeriCorps)

The Church Hill People's News, Virginia

Cities of Service today announced Richmond as a winner of its Cities of Service City Hall AmeriCorps VISTA Love Your Block competition. Love Your Block enables local governments to engage communities in neighborhood revitalization efforts benefiting low-income communities. 

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The Larimer County RSVP - Senior Volunteers in Action! (Senior Corps)

North Forty News, Colorado

Mackenzie would like to encourage more volunteers, as the organization is always in need. Retirees accustomed to a purpose in life may enjoy the freedom of retirement for a time, but then become bored or even depressed at having nothing useful to contribute. Mackenzie said RSVP can bridge the gap. Volunteers also are known to be healthier and live longer. They also have a chance to build a new resume and add new skills.

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We're Gearing Up to Make Sure Every Delaware Student Knows How to Read (AmeriCorps)

The News Journal, Delaware

This school year, we will increase the number of RAI Corps members in Delaware by 75 percent. AmeriCorps members are now preparing to come to Delaware from all across the country, and they will be placed in nine elementary schools.  

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Volunteers Needed as Foster Grandparents (Senior Corps)

KLKN-TV, Nebraska

Dancing and singing children's songs is how Grandma Joyce spends her days now, but that wasn't always the case. "Nothing to do, so I decided to do this, and I like it," Grandma Joyce said. After retiring from her job, Grandma Joyce found herself with a lot of time on her hands. She started volunteering with Community Action Partnership in their Head Start program as a Foster Grandparent. The program works with at-risk children, teaching them skills they will need to go into kindergarten.

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College Success Foundation: Building a Pathway for Underserved Students in Spokane (AmeriCorps)

Spokane Journal of Business, Washington

The College Success Foundation, a Bellevue, Wash.-based nonprofit organization, has elevated its Inland Northwest presence and established a strong philanthropic base of support here since opening a Spokane-area office in 2014. The foundation provides an integrated system of supports and scholarships to help inspire underserved and low-income students to finish high school, graduate from college, and succeed in life.  At the middle school level, the nonprofit is served by six college and career coaches—three here and three in Yakima—but they technically are employed through the national AmeriCorps program, rather than by the foundation, Nielsen says. 

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Feeding—and Healing—the Hood (AmeriCorps)

The New Mexico Political Report, New Mexico 

Not far from the airport, Project Feed the Hood turned an empty lot into a garden. Stefany Olivas is wrapping up her time as a Food Corps AmeriCorps member with SWOP. She explains this is the ninth growing season at the Ilsa and Rey Garduño Community Garden, which is named for the former Albuquerque city councilor and his wife. “Previously it was an emergency landing strip,” Olivas says. “All this land you see is city aviation department land, and so we worked with them and many of our local representatives to use this particular plot for growing food.”

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Morehead State RSVP Receives $125,000 CNCS Grant to Combat Childhood Obesity, Opioid Abuse (Senior Corps)

The Lane Report, Kentucky

Morehead State’s Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) was recently awarded a federal grant for $125,000 to expand the program’s efforts to combat childhood obesity and the opioid epidemic. The grant was provided by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and funds a three-year project aimed at combating childhood obesity and opioid abuse education and prevention efforts. RSVP is starting its second year of the program.

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America Must Act to Ensure Qualified Water Workforce (AmeriCorps)

The Hill, District of Columbia 

As part of a six-month AmeriCorps program, PowerCorps Camden aims to develop the next generation of Camden’s environmental stewards by providing job training and readiness services for 60 young people each year. PowerCorps members help to maintain over 50 green infrastructure installations, including 20 rain gardens, 10 city and county parks, 400 vacant lots, and 5,500 stormwater inlets that comprise Camden’s green infrastructure network. 

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News You Can Use

University of New Hampshire Announces Segal Award Match

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire has announced that it is a Matching Institution for the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award Match program. The university will offer AmeriCorps alumni up to one full-time Education Award match to pursue a public service graduate degree that will build upon their valued service experiences and expand their impact. To learn more about the Carsey School’s graduate degrees in Public Policy, Community Development and Public Administration, register to attend an informational webinar on Tuesday, July 31, at 12 p.m. EDT. You can find a link to register for the webinar below and if you have any questions, please contact Sarah.Dorner@unh.edu.

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