AmeriCorps
Encyclopedia
AmeriCorps is a U.S. federal government program that was created under President Bill Clinton
by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 and later expanded by 50 percent under President George W. Bush
. The work done by these groups ranges from public education
to environment
al clean-up.
AmeriCorps is a division of the Corporation for National and Community Service
, which also oversees the Senior Corps
and Learn and Serve America
. Collectively, these three programs represent a total of more than two million members in service each year. AmeriCorps itself is split into three main divisions, including AmeriCorps State and National, VISTA
(Volunteers in Service to America), and NCCC
(National Civilian Community Corps). More than 85,000 individuals join AmeriCorps annually, totaling more than 500,000 past and present members since 1994.
Research has illustrated that AmeriCorps programs have a variety of effects on civic education, education, and public service.
AmeriCorps is headed by John Gomperts. AmeriCorps State and National is the largest of the AmeriCorps programs, and provides grants to local and national organizations and agencies, including faith-based
and community organizations, higher education
institutions, and public agencies. Grants assist these groups in recruiting, training and placing AmeriCorps members to meet critical community needs in education
, public safety
, health
, and the environment. AmeriCorps State operates through Service Commissions in each state, such as Volunteer Florida and the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service
; South Dakota
is the only state without a Service Commission. Each state's Service Commission dispenses funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service to organizations in their states through annual grant
competitions. Thousands of organizations across the nation have been awarded AmeriCorps State and National grants since the program's inception.
AmeriCorps State and National members engage in direct service activities, such as after-school tutoring or homebuilding, and capacity-building activities, such as volunteer recruitment, for the organizations they serve. After successfully completing their term of service, AmeriCorps State and National members may receive an Education Award of up to $5,550. The Education Award can pay for additional college or graduate school courses, or it can pay off existing student loans. Full-time members typically complete 1,700 hours of service over 11 months' time; these members additionally receive a modest living allowance, health benefits, and child care assistance during their term.
AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps
(NCCC) is a full-time, residential team-based program for men and women ages 18–24. Members serve at one of five regional campuses located throughout the United States (Perry Point, MD; Vicksburg, MS; Vinton, IA; Denver, CO; and Sacramento, CA). Each campus focuses efforts on states within its region but may travel to other areas in response to national crises. Former campuses were located in Washington, DC; Charleston, SC; and San Diego, CA.
(VISTA), was founded in 1965 as a domestic version of the Peace Corps
. The program was incorporated into AmeriCorps and renamed AmeriCorps Vista with the creation of AmeriCorps in 1993. VISTA provides full-time members to nonprofit, faith-based and other community organizations, and public agencies to create and expand programs that ultimately bring low-income individuals and communities out of poverty. There are currently over 5,000 VISTA members serving in 1,200 VISTA programs nationwide.
, Jumpstart for Young Children
, Citizen Schools
, City Year
, YMCA
, Girl Scouts of the USA
, Boy Scouts of America
, Boys and Girls Club, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Camp Fire USA
, New York City Coalition Against Hunger
, Habitat for Humanity, the Student Conservation Association
, Reading Partners
, FoodCorps and Teach For America
.
and Teach For America. It also brought vital resources to established programs, including City Year, Boys and Girls Club, Big Brothers Big Sisters
, Justicecorps and the American Red Cross
.
AmeriCorps is reported to increase the effectiveness of community service. Successes for individual AmeriCorps members include increasing their commitment to community service
, increasing community-based activism
, connection to their communities, knowledge of community problems, engagement in the political process, and voting participation.
Additionally, according to a 2007 study released by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a majority of AmeriCorps alumni within the study period claimed they had gained life and job skills, such as leadership, teamwork, time-management, and hands-on experience in a field of interest. The study further reported that 71% of alumni were incentivized to join by the prospect of earning a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award; 41% of AmeriCorps members went on to receive a 4-year college degree within three years of entering AmeriCorps.
The 2002 Citizen Service Act (HR 4854), introduced by Representatives Pete Hoekstra
(R-MI) and Tim Roemer (D-IN) on May 24, 2002, would have added references to God and the Constitution to the pledge. AmeriCorps members would be called upon to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States...without any mental reservation...So help me God."
Those who supported changing the pledge argued that taking the new pledge would be voluntary for AmeriCorps members, and that it was similar to the pledge taken by all federal employees. However, the proposal stirred an outcry among current and former participants in the federally supported community service organization, who argued that the proposed pledge was divisive, "militaristic and religious," and might deter recruitment.
Although the Citizen Service Act was approved by both the Subcommittee on Special Education and the Committee on Education and the Workforce in June 2002, the House of Representatives took no further action on the Measure, and the pledge remains unchanged.
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 and later expanded by 50 percent under President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. The work done by these groups ranges from public education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
to environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
al clean-up.
AmeriCorps is a division of the Corporation for National and Community Service
Corporation For National and Community Service
The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America, and other national service initiatives...
, which also oversees the Senior Corps
Senior Corps
Senior Corps is a United States government agency under the authority of the Corporation For National and Community Service. Its stated mission is to provide aid to senior citizens in communities while promoting a sense of community...
and Learn and Serve America
Learn and Serve America
Learn and Serve America is a United States government program under the authority of the Corporation For National and Community Service. Its mission is to provide opportunities for students nation-wide to participate in service learning projects, and to gain valuable experience while helping...
. Collectively, these three programs represent a total of more than two million members in service each year. AmeriCorps itself is split into three main divisions, including AmeriCorps State and National, VISTA
AmeriCorps VISTA
AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program designed to fight poverty. President John F. Kennedy originated the idea for VISTA, which was founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965 and incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993....
(Volunteers in Service to America), and NCCC
National Civilian Community Corps
National Civilian Community Corps , or AmeriCorps NCCC is an AmeriCorps program that engages 18– to 24-year-olds in team-based national and community service in the United States. National Civilian Community Corps teams complete about four different six- to eight-week-long projects during their...
(National Civilian Community Corps). More than 85,000 individuals join AmeriCorps annually, totaling more than 500,000 past and present members since 1994.
Research has illustrated that AmeriCorps programs have a variety of effects on civic education, education, and public service.
AmeriCorps State and National
AmeriCorps is headed by John Gomperts. AmeriCorps State and National is the largest of the AmeriCorps programs, and provides grants to local and national organizations and agencies, including faith-based
Faith-based
The term faith-based is a neologism , mostly current in US English, to describe any organization or government idea or plan based on religious beliefs, specifically Christian beliefs....
and community organizations, higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
institutions, and public agencies. Grants assist these groups in recruiting, training and placing AmeriCorps members to meet critical community needs in education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, public safety
Public Safety
Public safety involves the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety of the general public from significant danger, injury/harm, or damage, such as crimes or disasters .-See also:* By nation...
, health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
, and the environment. AmeriCorps State operates through Service Commissions in each state, such as Volunteer Florida and the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service
Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service
The Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service is the state agency in Mississippi that oversees national service programs and a growing network of Volunteer Centers. Its mission: to engage and support volunteers of all ages and backgrounds in service to their communities...
; South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
is the only state without a Service Commission. Each state's Service Commission dispenses funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service to organizations in their states through annual grant
Grant (money)
Grants are funds disbursed by one party , often a Government Department, Corporation, Foundation or Trust, to a recipient, often a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business or an individual. In order to receive a grant, some form of "Grant Writing" often referred to as either a proposal...
competitions. Thousands of organizations across the nation have been awarded AmeriCorps State and National grants since the program's inception.
AmeriCorps State and National members engage in direct service activities, such as after-school tutoring or homebuilding, and capacity-building activities, such as volunteer recruitment, for the organizations they serve. After successfully completing their term of service, AmeriCorps State and National members may receive an Education Award of up to $5,550. The Education Award can pay for additional college or graduate school courses, or it can pay off existing student loans. Full-time members typically complete 1,700 hours of service over 11 months' time; these members additionally receive a modest living allowance, health benefits, and child care assistance during their term.
AmeriCorps NCCC
AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps
National Civilian Community Corps
National Civilian Community Corps , or AmeriCorps NCCC is an AmeriCorps program that engages 18– to 24-year-olds in team-based national and community service in the United States. National Civilian Community Corps teams complete about four different six- to eight-week-long projects during their...
(NCCC) is a full-time, residential team-based program for men and women ages 18–24. Members serve at one of five regional campuses located throughout the United States (Perry Point, MD; Vicksburg, MS; Vinton, IA; Denver, CO; and Sacramento, CA). Each campus focuses efforts on states within its region but may travel to other areas in response to national crises. Former campuses were located in Washington, DC; Charleston, SC; and San Diego, CA.
AmeriCorps VISTA
AmeriCorps VISTA, or Volunteers in Service to AmericaVolunteers in Service to America
VISTA or Volunteers in Service to America is an anti-poverty program created by Lyndon Johnson's Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 as the domestic version of the Peace Corps. Initially, the program increased employment opportunities for conscientious people who felt they could contribute tangibly to...
(VISTA), was founded in 1965 as a domestic version of the Peace Corps
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
. The program was incorporated into AmeriCorps and renamed AmeriCorps Vista with the creation of AmeriCorps in 1993. VISTA provides full-time members to nonprofit, faith-based and other community organizations, and public agencies to create and expand programs that ultimately bring low-income individuals and communities out of poverty. There are currently over 5,000 VISTA members serving in 1,200 VISTA programs nationwide.
Grantees
According to the AmeriCorps website, since the creation of AmeriCorps in 1993 more than 250,000 individuals across the United States have served hundreds of communities in every state of the nation. Some of the programs, organizations, and institutions partnering with AmeriCorps include Communities In SchoolsCommunities In Schools
The Communities In Schools network is a federation of independent 501 organizations in 27 states and the District of Columbia that work to address the dropout epidemic. The organization identifies and mobilizes existing community resources and fosters cooperative partnerships for the benefit of...
, Jumpstart for Young Children
Jumpstart for Young Children
mission is to work toward the day every child in America enters school prepared to succeedEvery child deserves the chance to succeed, yet studies show that children from low-income neighborhoods are at a greater risk of school failure. Jumpstart recruits and trains college students and community...
, Citizen Schools
Citizen Schools
Citizen Schools is an American non-profit organization that partners with middle schools across the United States to expand the learning day for low-income children. Its stated mission is "educating children and strengthening communities". Currently, Citizen Schools serves over 4,400 students and...
, City Year
City Year
City Year is an education-focused nonprofit organization that partners with public schools to provide full-time targeted intervention keeping students in school and on track to graduate...
, YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
, Girl Scouts of the USA
Girl Scouts of the USA
The Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It describes itself as "the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls". It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 and was organized after Low...
, Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
, Boys and Girls Club, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Camp Fire USA
Camp Fire USA
Camp Fire USA, originally Camp Fire Girls of America, is a nationwide American youth organization that began in 1910. The organization has been co-ed since 1975 and welcomes youth from pre-kindergarten through age 21. Camp Fire was the first nonsectarian, multicultural organization for girls in...
, New York City Coalition Against Hunger
New York City Coalition Against Hunger
The New York City Coalition Against Hunger is a nonprofit organization, which aims to “enact innovative solutions to help society move ‘beyond the soup kitchen’ to ensure economic and food self-sufficiency for all Americans”. NYCCAH works collaboratively with local, state, and national...
, Habitat for Humanity, the Student Conservation Association
Student Conservation Association
The Student Conservation Association is a non-profit group in the United States whose mission is to build the next generation of conservation leaders and inspire lifelong stewardship of our environment and communities by engaging young people in hands-on service to the land through service...
, Reading Partners
Reading Partners
Reading Partners is a children's literacy nonprofit based in the San Francisco Bay Area with programs in 26 school districts throughout California, New York, and Washington DC...
, FoodCorps and Teach For America
Teach For America
Teach For America is an American non-profit organization that aims to eliminate educational inequity by enlisting the nation's most promising future leaders to teach for two or more years in low-income communities throughout the United States...
.
Costs and benefits
While discussion has occurred about the range and efficacy of evaluating the successes of AmeriCorps, there has been a variety of documentation supporting the program. AmeriCorps provided fiscal and personnel to support the start-up of innovative new national programs, including Public AlliesPublic Allies
Public Allies is an American non-profit, largely taxpayer-funded organization, dedicated to youth leadership development. Founded in 1992 by Vanessa Kirsch and Katrina Browne in Washington D.C., other sites soon followed, including Milwaukee, Chicago, Arizona, Central Florida, Cincinnati,...
and Teach For America. It also brought vital resources to established programs, including City Year, Boys and Girls Club, Big Brothers Big Sisters
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a 501 non-profit organization whose mission is to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with mentors that try to have a measurable impact on youth....
, Justicecorps and the American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
.
AmeriCorps is reported to increase the effectiveness of community service. Successes for individual AmeriCorps members include increasing their commitment to community service
Community service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
, increasing community-based activism
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
, connection to their communities, knowledge of community problems, engagement in the political process, and voting participation.
Additionally, according to a 2007 study released by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a majority of AmeriCorps alumni within the study period claimed they had gained life and job skills, such as leadership, teamwork, time-management, and hands-on experience in a field of interest. The study further reported that 71% of alumni were incentivized to join by the prospect of earning a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award; 41% of AmeriCorps members went on to receive a 4-year college degree within three years of entering AmeriCorps.
Member pledge
The following pledge is taken by AmeriCorps members, who promise to uphold the duties of their position, and reads as follows:- I will get things done for America - to make our people safer, smarter, and healthier.
- I will bring Americans together to strengthen our communities.
- Faced with apathy, I will take action.
- Faced with conflict, I will seek common ground.
- Faced with adversity, I will persevere.
- I will carry this commitment with me this year and beyond.
- I am an AmeriCorps member, and I will get things done.
The 2002 Citizen Service Act (HR 4854), introduced by Representatives Pete Hoekstra
Pete Hoekstra
Peter "Pete" Hoekstra is a former Republican U.S. Representative for who served in the House from 1993 until 2011. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Michigan in 2010 and is expected to run for the United States Senate against Debbie Stabenow in 2012.-Early life and education:Born...
(R-MI) and Tim Roemer (D-IN) on May 24, 2002, would have added references to God and the Constitution to the pledge. AmeriCorps members would be called upon to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States...without any mental reservation...So help me God."
Those who supported changing the pledge argued that taking the new pledge would be voluntary for AmeriCorps members, and that it was similar to the pledge taken by all federal employees. However, the proposal stirred an outcry among current and former participants in the federally supported community service organization, who argued that the proposed pledge was divisive, "militaristic and religious," and might deter recruitment.
Although the Citizen Service Act was approved by both the Subcommittee on Special Education and the Committee on Education and the Workforce in June 2002, the House of Representatives took no further action on the Measure, and the pledge remains unchanged.
See also
- Youth serviceYouth serviceYouth service refers to non-military, intensive engagement of young people in organized activity that contributes to the local, national, or world community. Youth service is widely recognized and valued by society, with minimal or no compensation to the server. Youth service also provides...
- City YearCity YearCity Year is an education-focused nonprofit organization that partners with public schools to provide full-time targeted intervention keeping students in school and on track to graduate...
- National serviceNational serviceNational service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
- Service learning
- Volunteerism
- Response-AbilityResponse-AbilityResponse-Ability is a non-profit volunteer service program that places college graduates in inner-city Catholic schools in the US and in other international sites across the United States...
- USA Freedom CorpsUSA Freedom CorpsThe USA Freedom Corps was a White House office and fifth policy council within the Executive Office of the President of the United States under George W. Bush, who as President served as its chair...
- American Protective LeagueAmerican Protective LeagueThe American Protective League was an American organization of private citizens that worked with Federal law enforcement agencies during the World War I era to identify suspected German sympathizers and to counteract the activities of radicals, anarchists, anti-war activists, and left-wing labor...
- St. Bernard ProjectSt. Bernard ProjectThe St. Bernard Project is a non-profit organization established in March 2006 to rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina within the St. Bernard Parish. It was originally founded by Zack Rosenburg and Liz McCartney. As of June 2011, the St...