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Dear Service Leader,
In recent days, we have witnessed remarkable acts of courage and compassion in the wake of tragedy.
From the first responders in Boston who ran towards danger to treat the wounded, to the volunteers who built floodwalls to save their Midwestern towns, to the firefighters who rushed to battle a raging fire in West, Texas, citizens came together to help when it was needed most.
Time and again, we have seen the courage and heroism of first responders and ordinary citizens after tragedy strikes.
 I'm proud that more than 60 Senior Corps volunteers from the Heart of Texas RSVP and 20 AmeriCorps members from the Texas Conservation Corps have been serving in West, distributing food, coordinating volunteers, managing donations, and more. AmeriCorps St. Louis members have played a key role in battling rising floodwaters in Missouri. And City Year AmeriCorps members have comforted students in Boston schools.
National service and volunteerism show the best of the American spirit – people turning toward problems instead of away, working together to find community solutions. That is the spirit we celebrate during National Volunteer Week. And what a week it has been:
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On Monday, President
Obama announced STEM AmeriCorps, a multi-year
initiative to spur student interest in science, technology, engineering, and
math (STEM) education. By strengthening STEM education for students, especially
those from low-income backgrounds, AmeriCorps will build ladders of opportunity
for these students and help our nation compete for the jobs of the future.
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On Wednesday, I testified
before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee about
the unique role national service plays in supporting veterans and military
families. Our commitment is twofold: We serve them, and we ask them to serve
with us. Both strategies have tremendous results. Last year, AmeriCorps members and Senior Corps volunteers served about 1.5 million veterans and military family members, and more than 27,000 veterans served in our programs. Later that day, the
White House honored 17 Hurricane Sandy “Champions of Change” for their
innovative responses to support disaster survivors, including a member of
AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps.
- Today, I am joining Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, San
Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee, and 130 AmeriCorps members and Senior Corps
volunteers for a day of service in the city of the Super Bowl Champions. Mayor
Lee has come to Baltimore to make good on his Super Bowl bet by spending a day
revitalizing vacant lots, renovating a police station, and reading to third
graders at an area school.
Service changes lives. It provides enormous economic and
social value to our nation. And it unites us as one people.
As President Obama said in his National
Volunteer Week proclamation, “We are home to more than 300 million people
who come from every background, practice every faith, and hold every point of
view. But where difference could draw us apart, we are bound together by a
single sacred word: citizen.”
This week, as we pay tribute to America’s volunteers, we recognize
their impact on tough challenges. Let us also thank them for uniting us a
country, and reminding us of our duties as citizens.
Yours In Service,
 Wendy Spencer
CEO
Corporation for National and Community Service
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