Weekly Bulletin: COVID-19 Update, Continuity of Operations Plan
AmeriCorps sent this bulletin at 03/16/2020 02:40 PM EDT
March 16-20, 2020
Update: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Out of an abundance of caution, effective today, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) moved all staff – including those who do not have telework agreements in place -- to full-time telework through March 31, 2020. You can read Chief of Staff Lisa Guiccione’s message to staff here.
In addition, last week CNCS halted all non-essential staff travel through April 15 and cancelled events through May 15. You can read that message here.
As a reminder, FAQs addressing the potential impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on our programs are available online at https://nationalservice.gov/coronavirus.
Things will continue to evolve and change in the coming weeks. As additional guidance is provided or decisions are made, we will share that information with you as quickly as possible.
Thank you again for your talent and dedication to our mission.
All Staff Call Recordings on SharePoint
All staff call recordings can be accessed on the CEO SharePoint page, including:
Friday, March 13 CNCS All Staff Call: Coronavirus Response
Monday, March 9 FY20 Priorities Brown Bag: Realigning Our Grant Management, Oversight Model
February 2020 Town Hall
Continuity of Operations Plan Update
Thank you very much for your participation in the Continuity of Operations Plan telework exercise for headquarters staff on Thursday, March 5. Your participation enabled us to be prepared for the all-staff telework situation we have now put into effect; thank you for taking this exercise seriously to ensure preparation.
As a result of the telework exercise, our IT department added more bandwidth to our network and the COO team updated our COOP documents to reflect current personnel and structures. We also encouraged each office to ensure they have an up-to-date phone tree available which can be accessed even if the CNCS network is unavailable.
For your awareness, here are detailed results derived from your survey responses:
99% able to e-mail, access files, records, and systems
11% reported some problem during the day (many due to unrelated iPhone issues which have now been resolved)
8% contacted Help Desk
63% have access to office phone trees outside of the CNCS network
Thank you again for your flexibility and resilience.
Updated Printing Guidance
The Office of Strategic Engagement is responsible for overseeing the printing process on behalf of CNCS. If you are looking to print brochures, fact sheets, graduation certificates, and other cool materials, check out theQuick Reference Guide for Print Requests to learn more about the process from initiation to delivery of services. Questions? Contact LaToya Kirkpatrick at lkirkpatrick@cns.gov for assistance.
Women’s History Month 2020: Valiant Women of the Vote
Carrie Chapman Catt: Suffragette and Women’s Rights Activist
“Roll up your sleeves, set your mind to making history, and wage such a fight for liberty that the whole world will respect our sex.”Carrie Chapman Catt
Carrie Chapman Catt was a key figure in the passing of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting women the right to vote. Born on Jan. 9, 1859, in Ripon, Wis., Catt was the second of three children born to Maria Clinton and Lucius Lane. Her family relocated to Iowa when she was 7 years old. Her father refused to pay for her college education, so she worked as a teacher to earn her tuition. She was the only woman in her graduating class at Iowa State Agricultural College (now Iowa State University). Catt moved up the ranks as an educator, eventually becoming a school superintendent. She married Leo Chapman in 1885 and was widowed within a year. She married George Catt in 1890.
Catt became a political activist in 1886 after joining the Iowa Woman Suffrage Association and soon became a delegate to the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). In 1900, Catt succeeded Susan B. Anthony as NAWSA president. She also took her fight for women’s rights to the world stage, organizing the International Woman’s Suffrage Association in 1902. Catt briefly curtailed her suffrage work in 1904 to care for her sick husband. Following his death in 1905, she resumed her activism focused on international women’s issues.
She reassumed leadership of the NAWSA in 1915. In 1916, Catt developed what was called the “Winning Plan,” to earn women the vote. Catt realized that suffrage at the state level could help strengthen the movement for a Constitutional amendment. The approach was to secure voting rights for women in at least 36 states, which was also enough for ratification of an amendment. Once Congress passed the 19th Amendment, Catt was so sure it would be ratified, she founded the League of Women Voters (LWV) in 1920, six months before Tennessee’s decisive vote. The LWV will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year. Before her death in 1947, Catt lent her talents to many political endeavors, including the formation of the United Nations.
New uniforms, stickers, and letterheads - oh my! If you missed our branding implementation brainstorming session (or have more to share), explore our notes from these sessions and keep the conversation going on our discussion board.
We will continue to offer feedback opportunities as this project moves forward. Remember to check out the project timeline and email transform@cns.govwith any questions. We look forward to hearing more of your creative ideas!
Disaster Cadre IV Application Period Coming Soon!
(Note change from February to March)
The application period for CNCS Disaster Cadre Cohort IV opened this month. The Disaster Cadre is a small, specialized group of short-term deployable agency staff members who provide expanded support to a variety of disaster operations at CNCS for a term of two years. The Disaster Services Unit (DSU) will be sending an all-agency informational announcement email this month with more details and how to apply.
The DSU will also hold a webinar for interested employees and supervisors (see info below). More information on the Disaster Cadre program can be found here:CNCS Disaster Cadre.
Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) – Upcoming Webinars and Information Sessions
The TSP Office of Communications and Education will host one-hour webinars on various topics ranging from Intro to TSP to TSP Post-Service Withdraws. To attend, you must register via the links below.
After registering, you will receive an email with a link to join the webinar and a phone number to access the audio only. Previous webinars and recordings can be accessed via www.youtube.com/user/TSP4gov/playlists.
5 Useless Words You Can Almost Always Delete: #5
Brought to you by your Plain Writing Group, ready and waiting to help you make your document clear and correct! plain@cns.gov
Winnowing out wasteful words might be an editor’s most sacred task.
Whether you call them “dead wood,” “filler,” “fluff,” or “clutter,” they’re the junk you almost never need in a sentence. These “couch potato words” occupy space, trip tongues and take readers down a long, winding path when a short, straight one would do.
Whenever you edit copy, feel free to discard these bits of grammatical gunk and literary lint:
Very, really, totally (any emphasizing adverb)
Instead of adding a boring adverb to emphasize the greatness of an adjective or verb—such as “really big” or “greatly appreciate”—use a stronger adjective or verb on its own.
