Happy AmeriCorps Week March 7-13

I didn't know much about AmeriCorps when I started at Iowa Welcome Corps almost two months ago as a Vista Leader.  This week is AmeriCorps week and so I'm sharing some information I've learned about the program. 

Peace Corps and AmeriCorps

Peace Corps started on March 1, 1961, of course by Kennedy. We just passed the 60th anniversary of its mission of promoting world peace and friendship.  So also a belated happy birthday to Peace Corps.

Johnson started Vista in 1964 as part of his efforts to reduce poverty.  In 1993 Clinton organized Vista and other programs under the umbrella organization the Corporation for National and Community Services, commonly called AmeriCorps.  Its mission is to improve lives, strengthen communities and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering.

Peace Corps and AmeriCorps programs have many similar policies and procedures. Some say AmeriCorps is “Peace Corps for the US”. I don’t really agree because cultural exchange and understanding to promote world friendship is so central to Peace Corps service, but I can understand the use of the phrase.

Corporation for National and Community Service

CNCS administers and supports the three main programs: AmeriCorps, SeniorCorps, and Learn and Serve America. Its FY2020 budget is about $1.1 billion.


AmeriCorps

AmeriCorps is divided into three programs and has about 80,000 volunteers, called members.  The largest is simply called AmeriCorps with about 70,000, serving state and national groups to support education, disaster response, and other programs working with schools and communities.  The other two are Vista and the National Civilian Community Corps NCCC.


Vista

I serve in Vista.  It is focused on reducing poverty and supporting community organizations. About 7,000 serve in this program across 1,000 project sponsors

NCCC

About 1,000 younger volunteers between 18 and 24, serve NCCC.  They work in disaster recovery, housing, the environment, and youth projects.

AmeriCorps Seniors

Formally known as SeniorCorps, this program is for those 55 and older. Volunteers serve as Foster Grandparents, Senior Companions, and in the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program. More than 200,000 people volunteer in this program.

Learn and Serve America

Learn and Serve America engages about a million primary, secondary, and high school students to be more involved in serving and improving their schools and local communities. I don’t have data on how many participate in the Friday For the Future strikes.


Other organizations

There are many opportunities to volunteer in many organizations. Some like St. Vincent de Paul, Lutheran Services, and Habitat for Humanity have a national presence and reputation. There are also many hard-working local organizations. I continue to be surprised by the many local organization working to improve communities that I hear about in meetings.  Local websites and universities might be helpful in finding out about these groups.

Individual charity

Many with a servant’s heart find ways to help out individually in daily life. Simple things with random acts of kindness make our world a better place.

So again, Happy AmeriCorps week. There are opportunities to volunteer for a year, such as a Community Engagement volunteer for my organization, but many more in your local community. To celebrate the week I would encourage you to continue to help improve the world. If you’re interested in doing more perhaps you will find a local organization that can use your help or just continue with those kind acts.

We can all do something.


Note: My apologies for some of the formatting.  I continue to struggle with blogger/blogspot and was too lazy to drop down to the HTML to fix them all.

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