The previous presidential administration tried repeatedly to eliminate national service.
By contrast, the current administration, headed by President Joe Biden, has designated $1 billion in the Fiscal Year 2021 Reconciliation Bill, known as the American Rescue Plan, for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). The investment will help to stabilize existing national service programs, increase the benefits for those who serve, and deploy additional full and part-time members to support their communities’ response to COVID-19.
In a statement, AnnMaura Connolly, President of Voices for National Service, said:
Since the coronavirus outbreak, members of AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors have acted quickly and creatively to address gaps in services and persistent inequities that have only been worsened by the pandemic… The additional funding provides a triple bottom line: the opportunity to engage more Americans in pandemic relief efforts, such as helping schools safely reopen and tackling the growing hunger crisis; an important accelerator for increasing equity in national service; and a proven pathway help prepare young people prepare for future jobs, particularly for populations hardest hit by the pandemic.
And I am being contacted by state AmeriCorps programs again, at long last, regarding training in volunteer support and management. In fact, one program bought 26 copies from me of the Last Virtual Volunteering Guidebook: Fully Integrating Online Service Into Volunteer Involvement for each AmeriCorps member of various public health initiatives.
Make no mistake: this funding from Congress, lead by the President is, in part, because of vocal activism by nonprofits and others to their US Representatives and Senators. It’s long overdue for nonprofits to speak out on these and so many other issues. You ARE allowed to do this if you have nonprofit status!
I am a huge fan of AmeriCorps, particularly VISTA and NCCC. I wish more young people knew about these opportunities. I wish these had been options for me when I was in my 20s. And the help from AmeriCorps isn’t just within the bounds of a service site: there are so many fantastic resources out there because of these national service programs, like this Toolkit for Working with Rural Volunteers. I have the honor to work with AmeriCorps members many times, first back in the 1990s, when I helped put together a handbook for AmeriCorpsVISTAs in charge of managing school-based volunteers for Sanchez Elementary School in Austin, Texas, written by various AmeriCorps members over the years in the program. I also have frequently trained AmeriCorps members on volunteer management 101, and I have a page especially for AmeriCorps members that curates the volunteer management resources I reference in my workshops.
FYI, Voices for National Service was founded in 2003 and is a coalition of national service programs, state service commissions and individual champions, who work to ensure Americans of all ages and backgrounds have the opportunity to serve and volunteer in their community.
Also see:
- Bill before US Congress: Pandemic Response & Opportunity Through National Service (from May 2020)
- Expand national service programs in the USA? (2019)
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