National Service News: Celebrating America's Volunteers

To those who serve, with love [] Having trouble viewing this email? [View it as a Web page](. [CNCS salutes our AmeriCorps members, Senior Corps volunteers, and others who volunteer their time during National Volunteer Week.]( Celebrating America's Volunteers During National Volunteer Week, we recognize all those who give their time to serve friends and neighbors in their communities. They are the embodiment of a great American tradition that makes this nation strong. Americans embrace the role of volunteers as they take time to serve in their local schools, nonprofits, and community and faith-based organizations. The [Corporation for National and Community Service]( supports these efforts in two major ways. One is through [AmeriCorps]( members and [Senior Corps]( volunteers as our national service programs partner with other volunteers to improve the communities they serve. Not only that, but our national service participants help recruit and manage volunteers, amplifying the service they provide. The second is through the [Volunteer Generation Fund]( which supports efforts to bolster the service sector by researching retention strategies and providing grants to improve volunteering rates across the nation. Volunteers make vital contributions that strengthen the fabric of our nation’s communities. Our most-recent [Volunteering and Civic Life in America]( survey found that the volunteer rate is holding steady with 62.6 million Americans volunteering 7.8 billion hours in 2015. The estimated value of this volunteer service is nearly $184 billion, saving resources that can be used to expand local initiatives or allocated to other areas of need. For their service, volunteers gain more than just the satisfaction they feel from helping others. They also develop and maintain skills, realize physical and mental health benefits, and even expand professional networks that can [lead to future employment opportunities](. By helping others, volunteers help the communities they serve and themselves. That's what we call a win-win. While lots of Americans volunteer, there is always a need for more. To discover volunteer opportunities in your community, visit [NationalService.gov]( to search for ways to help near you. In Service, CNCS Office of External Affairs P.S. You can find a link to the Presidential Proclamation for National Volunteer Week in the National Service in the News section below. The Impact of National Service [Former First Lady Barbara Bush, friend of CNCS and supporter of volunteering and literacy initiatives, passed away this week at age 92.]( Barbara Stewart Honors Legacy of Barbara Bush]( Last night, as we learned of the passing of former First Lady Barbara Bush, my first thought was for her family, President Bush and their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, and the memories they will share with each other over the coming days. All of us send our deepest sympathy and prayers to them. As a nation, we were lucky to have Barbara Bush as our First Lady. She was known for her loyalty, honesty, intelligence, sense of humor, kindness, and fierce love for her family. Throughout her life she showed us what it meant to be authentic. She reminded us that the most important yardstick of success in life is how you treat other people. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [The Senior Corps RSVP program is returning to North Dakota after finding a new sponsor organization in the state.]( [Nonprofit RSVP Returns to North Dakota (Senior Corps)]( While RSVP used to coordinate volunteers of all ages, their current grant is specifically for those 55 and older that want to get out and help others. "Depression can really set in if you're sitting in your house day, after day, after day. So when we give them a volunteer assignment that gets them out of the house, and that keeps them healthier longer," said Mary Siverson, RSVP Western North Dakota coordinator. They do hope to expand services soon to be able to coordinate all ages of volunteers once more. "Volunteers are such an integral part of what we do, without them we couldn't be successful at all. So we are really excited to have RSVP back in the picture. They're a great resource for us," said Lafferty. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [United Way recognizes the efforts of the nation's volunteers during National Volunteer Week.]( [United Way: Volunteers Deserve to Be Honored Year Round]( “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” – Muhammad Ali. More than a one-two punch of rhetoric, this quote from “The People’s Champion” is a perfect call to action for volunteerism, which is a cornerstone strategy in our fight for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community. And it’s especially timely as we prepare to celebrate National Volunteer Week (held from April 15-21), and recognize and support the thousands of volunteer projects and special events being planned throughout the U.S. and Canada. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Over 250 City Year AmeriCorps members serve in 31 schools across the Los Angeles Unified School District.]( [Making a Difference: City Year L.A. Helps Students Realize Their Potential (AmeriCorps)]( City Year believes in the potential of all students, especially those from low-income communities that attend under-resourced schools. In an effort to bring out the best in those students, City Year Los Angeles was founded in 2007 as part of an education-focused national organization whose roots date back to 1988 in Boston. “For the last 11 years in L.A., we have been partnering with local schools to keep kids on track to graduate from high school,” said Jonathan Lopez, the nonprofit’s managing director of impact. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Watch: RSVP Volunteer Gives Tax Prep Help [Thai Nguyen, who came to the United States as a refugee, now serves with Senior Corps RSVP to offer free Tax Prep, helping others in return. ]( ]( Each week, we provide a social media shareable to use on your networks. Tax day has come and gone for most of us. (If you haven't finished yours, we hope you dropped [Form 4868]( in the mail.) We have a video that highlights one of the thousands of national service participants who provide free tax preparation services each year. Thai Nguyen came to the United States as a refugee from the Vietnam War during the 1970s. With help, she learned English and built a career in finance. Thai now serves with Senior Corps RSVP to help others by offering free tax preparation. Watch her story, and click on the buttons above to share it on your social networks. --------------------------------------------------------------- National Service in the News [Teaching America to Read Was the Perfect Life Mission for Barbara Bush]( Fortune Magazine Barbara Bush, who died Tuesday night at 92, is only the second first lady in American history to have both married and birthed a president. (Abigail Adams was the first.) But while that tidbit will inevitably make its way into the history books, her initiative to promote literacy is the core tenet of her legacy. First ladies often pick areas of policy to champion—and Bush chose literacy. She launched a literacy foundation in her name in 1989, the first year of her husband’s presidency. "If we don’t give everyone the ability to simply read and write, we aren’t giving everyone a chance to succeed,” she had said, in a quote posted on the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation website. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [President Trump Proclaims April 15-21 as National Volunteer Week]( WhiteHouse.gov During National Volunteer Week, we recognize the millions of Americans who strengthen, enrich, and improve our communities through their tireless and selfless commitment to serving others. Those who dedicate their time, talent, and resources to positively influence the lives of others continue a legacy and tradition of service that began with our Founding Fathers and remains firmly enshrined in our national character today. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Grandparents Foster Learning, Fun (Senior Corps)]( Lowell Sun News, Massachusetts Several days a week, Duxbury and two other foster grandparents -- Phyllis Schmidt and Barbara Williams -- are tucked inside separate classrooms, helping children and their teachers. The three women are volunteers through Community Teamwork's foster grandparent program, which pairs individuals who are 55 and older with schools in the region. Each volunteer receives a small stipend through the federally funded program. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [KAI Making Positive Impact on Distressed San Antonio Eastside Neighborhood Through Four Transformative Projects (AmeriCorps)]( Informed Infrastructure, Wisconsin According to information provided by the City of San Antonio, the Promise Zone is a 10-year federal designation that does not come with federal funding, but provides federal staff support to connect local leaders with resources, five AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers, technical assistance and preferred access or extra points on various federal funding streams, and business hiring tax credits/incentives. The Eastside Promise Zone currently has about $90 million in federal grants managed by various San Antonio-based organizations, such as the United Way of San Antonio, Bexar County, and the San Antonio Housing Authority. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Poughkeepsie Resident Saves Man Suffering from Heroin Overdose (AmeriCorps)]( Poughkeepsie Journal, New York A flagman for a traffic safety contractor, Kyle Kambarami on Saturday found himself on the front lines of an epidemic when he saw a group of onlookers gathered around a parked car with an unconscious driver inside. The scene underscored how opioids continue to plague the community. Kambarami fell back on training he received last year from the Nubian Directions technology resource center in Poughkeepsie. And he became the second person trained in the New Directions YouthBuild/AmeriCorps Program to save someone from an overdose. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [RSVP Fixit Corps Can Help with Home Repairs (Senior Corps)]( Union Leader, New Hampshire The RSVP Fixit Corps is a program of Southern New Hampshire Services that helps homeowners who are 60 and older or disabled with minor home repairs and maintenance. Any senior may call for assistance, but priority is given to those who lack the financial or physical resources to complete these repair jobs on their own. Service examples include installing a grab bar, repairing a leaky faucet, replacing a porch step, and replacing light bulbs. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [AmeriCorps Welcomed Back to Fort Bayard]( Silver City Daily News, New Mexico Village of Santa Clara officials welcomed the crew in an introduction and ceremony at the Fort Bayard Theater on Friday afternoon. This is the second year the village of Santa Clara has brought AmeriCorps volunteers to their community. The national volunteer program provided a crew last year who spent three months cleaning and “mothballing” buildings at Fort Bayard to help prevent them from crumbling any more until the village of Santa Clara can wrest control over the historic property from the state to begin doing something with it. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Around Town: Putnam County RSVP Volunteer Celebrates 100th Birthday (Senior Corps)]( Highlands Current, New York Rosina Parcesepe celebrated her 100th birthday at the Cold Spring Friendship Center, where she is active in Putnam County’s Retired Senior Volunteer Program. Born on March 31, 1918, during the Wilson Administration, the centenarian has six grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and one great-great granddaughter. There are about 72,000 Americans who are 100 or older, although Japan and Italy have twice as many per capita. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [SCA to Engage 5,000+ Volunteers in Nationwide Earth Month Celebration (AmeriCorps)]( 4-Traders.com The Student Conservation Association issued the following news release: By expanding Earth Day into Earth Month, the Student Conservation Association (SCA) is out to transform stewardship into a year-round endeavor. SCA, the nation's largest and most effective youth conservation force, today announced the most sweeping Earth Day observance in its 60-year history -- involving more than 5,000 volunteers at over 80 locations nationwide throughout the month of April. Projects include restoring hurricane-damaged greenscapes in Houston, crafting native wildower seed balls in San Francisco, and removing tons of trash from the Potomac River Watershed near Washington, D.C. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Selfless Woman Dedicates Thousands of Hours Toward Helping Others]( Katy News, Texas April is recognized as National Volunteer Month, and there’s one woman who has dedicated nearly 20,000 hours to giving back to others. Santosh “Toshi” Hayre, 81, is a resident at Parkway Place, a premier senior living community in Houston, and when she retired 15 years ago she decided to devote her free time to volunteering. She knits hats for newborns, shawls for patients in the hospital and booties for residents living in skilled nursing at the senior living community. Since she started knitting more than a decade ago, she has made more than 1,000 items. 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