Celebrate National Volunteer Week on April 16-22

Greetings AmeriCorps friends and champions, 

I am excited to celebrate National Volunteer Week this week as we shine a light on the enduring contributions of volunteers and encourage Americans to discover their own power to make a difference. 

Every day, Americans from all walks of life come together to serve others and tackle the nation’s most pressing challenges, making volunteers essential to our nation’s economic and social well-being. We witnessed how volunteering unites people across differences by creating opportunities to come together and address shared problems with shared solutions during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest Volunteering and Civic Life in America research shows Americans contributed billions of hours to their communities through formal and informal volunteering between 2020 and 2021. Nearly 51 percent of Americans, or 124.7 million people, informally helped friends, neighbors, or community members at least once a month, and more than 23 percent of Americans, or 60.7 million people, formally volunteered, giving more than 4.1 billion hours of service with an estimated economic value of $122.9 billion.   

For decades, AmeriCorps has played a pivotal role in making service to others an indispensable part of the American experience. Whether it was making volunteer opportunities more accessible or raising your hand to serve in your communities in times of tragedy and triumph, each of you has played an important role in reflecting that our greatness as a nation comes from what we can do together. 

This week, I hope you will join me and our fellow neighbors in giving back to your local community, celebrating those who volunteer, and making a commitment to a lifetime of service.  

In service,
Michael D. Smith, CEO
AmeriCorps 

Learn More

Participate in our Social Media Storm

Friday, April 21 at Noon ET

Help AmeriCorps, 9/11 Day, and the King Center close out National Volunteer Week by sharing your commitment to serve this year and beyond. Be a part of the storm by sharing our “Commit to Serve” graphic on your Twitter, Facebook, and/or Instagram account. To achieve the greatest reach, please use the graphic in our communications toolkit titled “National Volunteer Week Social Storm," tag @AmeriCorps, use the #NVW hashtag, and publish your posts on Friday, April 21 at noon ET.

Join the Digital Conversation

Join with us and celebrate National Volunteer Week. Follow the digital conversation about National Volunteer Week and the days leading up to it on AmeriCorps' Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Access our communications toolkit and use our one-stop shop for all National Volunteer Week communication resources including social media graphics, templates, and other outreach tools. Make sure you share that you're celebrating National Volunteer Week on social media. Don’t forget to use #NVW and tag @AmeriCorps in your posts.

Communications Toolkit

Answer the President's Call to Serve

Ahead of National Volunteer Week, President Biden issued a Presidential Proclamation encouraging all Americans to volunteer and pledge to make service a part of their daily lives.

Read the Proclamation

Take the Pledge

Volunteering benefits people at every stage of life: young people can learn about their community, students can gain real world experience, workers can supplement their skills to advance their careers and older Americans can experience health and longevity benefits. At every age and station in life, volunteers have the unique opportunity to experience the profound joy of giving back.

Take the pledge today and commit to serve.

Commit to Serve

Engagement Ideas

Promote action for Earth Day. Earth Day is Saturday, April 22, and closes out National Volunteer Week. Encourage your networks to take action for a greener and cleaner future by volunteering. Promote finding volunteer opportunities on the AmeriCorps Volunteer Search, use the special "Earth Day" checkbox for opportunities happening specifically to support environment and climate efforts.

Spread the word about the power of volunteering. Share AmeriCorps’ research about how volunteering strengthens your state and/or metro area. Find more information about your state on our website and use our toolkit, including graphics to share how people came together in your state to volunteer during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Encourage volunteering in your community. Join AmeriCorps and encourage your networks to give the gift of time. Show up for your communities and neighbors, make service a goal, and make a difference. Promote finding volunteer opportunities on the AmeriCorps Volunteer Search.

Say thank you. Share why you are thankful for volunteers on social media with posts or videos. Express your thanks to those making a difference in your communities.

Learn More

Celebrate the Volunteers in Your State

Celebrate the pivotal role volunteers have in the future of our nation. Recently, AmeriCorps released its Volunteering and Civic Life in America research, the most comprehensive data on American volunteerism and civic engagement. Americans contributed countless hours to their communities through formal and informal volunteerism during the COVID-19 pandemic in between September 2020 and 2021.

Visit our Volunteering and Civic Life for more information about volunteerism in your own state and more. Share your state’s graphic during National Volunteer Week. You’ll find everything you need in this toolkit.

Volunteering Toolkit