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Good afternoon, here are your Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) updates. CNCS is a federal agency that engages millions of Americans in service through its AmeriCorps and Senior Corps programs and leads the nation’s volunteering and service efforts.
In This Edition:
From the start of the COVID-19 emergency, CNCS has been focused on the health and safety of our AmeriCorps members, Senior Corps volunteers, and CNCS staff. The agency has been dedicated to helping our grantees and project sponsors respond to their community needs.
While some service has been interrupted, many AmeriCorps members and Senior Corps volunteers are supporting local response efforts during this extraordinary crisis across the country and in U.S. territories. As the stories of service included in this month’s newsletter demonstrate, AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members are “getting things done” by supporting emergency efforts at call centers, donation warehouses, and food banks, and developing innovative strategies to virtually tutor students or connect with isolated seniors while safely social distancing.
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Program Flexibility and Frequently Asked Questions: The agency has pursued multiple avenues to provide programmatic flexibility to help grantees and national service members address issues as they arise. CNCS developed a COVID-19 website with guidance and Frequently Asked Questions, which is available at nationalservice.gov/coronavirus.
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CARES Act Implementation: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides several important provisions that will help the agency, our grantees, and AmeriCorps members during this time. Specifically, the new law:
- ensures AmeriCorps members can earn their full Segal AmeriCorps Education Award, even if their service is disrupted due to COVID-19;
- allows AmeriCorps State and National grantees receiving fixed-amount awards to access their full federal funding based on member enrollment; and
- expands the AmeriCorps NCCC upper age and program term limit for members to limit disruption during the COVID-19 emergency.
CNCS has issued guidance and updated the CNCS Frequently Asked Questions to reflect these new authorities.
We appreciate the efforts from members of Congress to support our AmeriCorps members, Senior Corps volunteers, and other CNCS programs during this unprecedented time.
Americans across the country have united to help each other during the COVID-19 emergency. While following the CDC guidelines to help slow the spread, every American can take simple actions to help their neighbors, friends, and families. Check out our tips on 10 Ways to Safely Help Your Community During COVID-19.
Spread the word! We encourage you to share these ideas with your constituents so that they can help your community in the days and weeks ahead. Below is a sample social media post you can share:
- Looking for how to support your neighbors in [state/district] during this time? Check out these 10 ways to safely help your community during COVID-19. Learn more at Serve.gov.
Find multiple graphics to accompany your posts here or consider retweeting @NationalService.
Earlier this month, CNCS announced that it increased the hourly stipend for Senior Corps volunteers serving through Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion programs. This change went into effect on April 1.
This is the first stipend increase for Senior Corps volunteers since 2002 and comes as a result of increased appropriations provided by Congress in Fiscal Year 2020. Senior Corps volunteers in the Senior Companion and Foster Grandparent programs — who help homebound seniors maintain independence and tutor and mentor at-risk youth, respectively — will now receive $3 per hour of service.
“I’m thrilled to be able to provide this benefit to our Senior Corps volunteers,” said Deborah Cox-Roush, director of Senior Corps. “The Senior Corps volunteers of Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion programs offer tremendous value to the children, clients, and communities they serve. This stipend increase is one small way we can show how valuable our Senior Corps volunteers are to us.”
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CNCS and AmeriCorps NCCC Donate Surplus N95 Masks to Louisiana (CNCS Blog)
The Corporation for National and Community Service and its AmeriCorps NCCC program, in coordination with FEMA, donated more than 14,000 N95 masks to the Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. These masks are being distributed throughout the state to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 by providing critical supplies to medical professionals.
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AmeriCorps members, school officials work to keep up reading help amid pandemic (Detroit, MI)
In the time she spends daily tutoring pupils at the Charles Wright Academy of Arts and Sciences as part of the Michigan Education Corps program, AmeriCorps member Laurie Lane stresses constant encouragement as she works with them on their reading skills. But when schools closed last month because of the coronavirus pandemic, Lane knew she could not leave her students. Passionate for her work, she sought an alternative to instructing face-to-face.
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Tishomingo Senior Corps RSVP program packs and delivers care packages for elderly (Tishomingo, OK)
Southern Oklahoma non-profit, INCA- Retired Senior Volunteer Program, RSVP, in Tishomingo is supplying care packages of donated food, household items and puzzles for senior citizens. Volunteers in Tishomingo are providing essential needs for Southern Oklahoma elderly by delivering care packages. "Something like this is no longer a little thing, a little hour or two of my time can really impact somebody's life and that's really important," Kayla Garrett, RSVP volunteer. The INCA-RSVP senior volunteer program helps seniors find volunteer work, who are now stuck at home, sometimes with nothing.
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Affordable computers can keep everyone connected during a time of crisis (Buffalo, NY)
Since the coronavirus has basically shut down all brick and mortar educational venues, Mission Ignite, with help from the Ignite Your Life STEM AmeriCorps program, is ramping up production, refurbishing and reprogramming donated computers. These low-cost or no-cost technology available for the student population forced into home-schooling and online instruction – from elementary school to the university level – until they can return to their classrooms. Mission Ignite is also looking to make computer hardware available to home-based workers, and others who have a need for technology in the home but cannot afford to purchase technology from traditional retailers and outlets.
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Council of Community Services sees 500% increase in calls (Roanoke, VA)
The Council of Community Services in Virginia, which oversees the state's 211 call center, has had a large increase in its call volume, specifically after the governor holds a press conference on COVID-19. To help deal with the influx, the organization is using AmeriCorps members who were previously doing other service.
Neighbors help neighbors during the Coronavirus outbreak (Youngstown, OH)
Different community leaders from Senior Corps RSVP, League of Women Voters, and Shepherd of the Valley have come together to mobilize their networks and form the Quick Action Group, which has been providing a plethora of services to high risk populations affected by COVID-19.
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La Crosse area senior citizens 'not forgotten' during pandemic (La Crosse, WI)
The COVID-19 outbreak has brought challenges to almost all sectors of any community. But it’s especially challenging to the aging population, who are at a higher risk if they contract the disease. But groups in La Crosse are working to find unique ways to still reach the seniors of the area, while still protecting them as the at-risk population. At Coulee Region Senior Corps RSVP, all of its facilities and normal volunteer staffing are closed. The group is now being faced with the challenge of providing these essential needs to the community, while keeping everybody safe. But they’ve found ways to be creative in helping the community, despite the challenges. One of those ways is by creating masks for health-care workers in the area.
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RSVP Philadelphia staff cooks 250 meals for local seniors (Philadelphia, PA)
RSVP volunteers and members of Kleinlife, a nonprofit providing many social services, worked together to prepare 250 meals for their Home Delivered Meals Program in Bucks, Philadelphia, and Montgomery counties, which filled a shortage that was created by other volunteer groups who could not serve due to COVID-19. |
Fiscal Year 2020 FY 2020 AmeriCorps Indian Tribes Grants
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Application Deadline: Wednesday, May 6, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. ET.
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Eligible Applicants: Federally-recognized Indian Tribes (as defined in 2 C.F.R. §200.54) and tribal organizations controlled, sanctioned, or chartered by Indian Tribes.
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Description: AmeriCorps State and National engages in strategic grant-making to support organizations that see service as a solution to local and national challenges, and creates powerful member experiences that result in lifelong civic engagement. Funded programs use national service to address critical community needs across a range of focus areas. AmeriCorps State and National sets aside 1 percent of total grant funds to award grants to eligible federally recognized Indian tribes and tribal organizations.
Fiscal Year 2020 Quarter Three AmeriCorps VISTA Concept Papers Due (Ongoing)
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Application Deadline: Monday, June 1, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. ET.
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Eligible Applicants:Nonprofit organizations focused on anti-poverty community development, Native American tribes, and state and local governments.
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Description:AmeriCorps VISTA grants are awarded to eligible organizations proposing to engage AmeriCorps VISTA members in developing lasting solutions to alleviate poverty in the United States. Projects must be developed in accordance with four core principles: an anti-poverty focus; community empowerment; sustainable solutions; and capacity building.
Fiscal Year 2020 AmeriCorps NCCC Project Application (Ongoing)
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Application Due: Rolling deadlines.
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Eligible Applicants: Nonprofit organizations, faith-based organizations, Indian tribes, schools, states, and local governments.
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Description: AmeriCorps NCCC engages teams of AmeriCorps members in communities across the United States. NCCC service projects, which typically last from six to eight weeks, address critical needs related to natural disasters, infrastructure improvements, environmental stewardship and conservation, energy conservation, and urban and rural development.
Help Us Spread the Word!
We encourage you to let your constituents know about these funding opportunities. Below is a sample social media post and a graphic you can share through your channels:
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Interested in using @AmeriCorps and @SeniorCorps to tackle local challenges? @NationalService grant funding and other resources are available for nonprofits, schools, government agencies, and faith-based organizations at http://bit.ly/2NAbJlB!
We invite you to:
Contact us at GovernmentRelations@cns.gov or call 202-606-6707 if you have any questions. If you previously served in AmeriCorps or Senior Corps, please let us know and we’ll add you to our National Service Alumni affinity group.
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