Dear President, My name is Dakota James Tyner and all I want to do is serve my country, but its very hard to do that with people having to have 15 College credits if you have a G.E.D.. Now i dont get how if i'm trying to serve and better myself why do i need the credits As long as I can pass the asvab test with good scores why do i need the credits. I love my country and i want to be able to provide for my family but cant with this rule is their any way you can change this if i want to better myself and serve my country and provide for my family why is it so difficult to do so? Your campaign ad was its time for change then why wont you make it possible for people with G.E.D's  to serve. I realize that i was the one who dropped out of school i was foolish and immature but i've done alot of growing up and i want to serve please MR. president change this rule not only for me  but all the people in the states that want to better them selves and serve as long as we can prove our selves then why cant we serve! please and thank you,

v                                                                               Dakota James Tyner
                                                                                    Grove Oklahoma 405 589 2649
 

I believe there should be more accountability attached to programs and the delivery of services.  Capasity building is necessary in the human services arena.  What works is a beginning however; that requires more detailed strategies.  What works for whom?  Prior to expansion I would suggest we assess and quantify programs and services presently being delivered then expand the ones that scores the highest and has the greatest impact on designated needs.

Where and how can a person with a disability serve the country?  The young man I refer to has Cerebral Palsy.  He's a gifted student in his Junior of college, and wants to serve his country.  Thank you for any information you can provide.  He keeps mentioning the military.  I don't know if that is possible, but perhaps you can assist with some information.

I'm not saying we should pay volunteers a ridiculous amount of money to do community work, that would defeat the whole purpose of performing service. However, as long as you won't allow them to hold any other employment or go to school, you should make it worth their while. VISTAs serving in the new Civic Corps started by Mayor Bloomberg in New York City will earn a stipend of $1,129 a month. That comes out to $13,548 a year, which is much more than the federal poverty level ($10,488) and even the New York level set by Bloomberg ($12,114).

As a volunteer coordinator for a hospice program, we are challenged by being highly regulated and needing potential volunteers to complete quite extensive training prior to volunteering with us. How do we make it more "user friendly" to accept help that people are willing to provide without asking too much of them in classes they must attend and regulations they must adhere to, like immunizations they need to receive and background checks. It's difficult sometimes to know how to use the people who have limited time to give, would be valuable, but don't have the time to follow all the training protocols we have necessary. Is there a way around this?

Expanding Opportunities To Serve Through Mentoring Programs and Mentoring Partnerships

The wide array of Corps programs articulated in the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act will give Americans many opportunities to serve their fellow countrymen.  As a volunteer mentor, people will enrich a young person’s life as well as bring meaning and satisfaction to their own lives.  Mentoring programs will significantly benefit from increased support from the Corps within the National Service Trust program. The effectiveness of mentoring programs as a strategy for positive youth development also makes mentoring a great investment option. A Child Trends Research Brief found that youth who participate in mentoring relationships experience greater educational achievement (better chance of going on to higher education, better attitudes towards school), show a decrease of risky behaviors, and an increase of positive social attitudes and relationships. Although the mentoring field is actively working to recruit mentors to meet the growing needs of youth, there continues to be a tremendous need for more mentors, as well as both financial and human resources to support those relationships. According to the National Mentoring Partnership, there are currently 15 million youth in need of a mentor in the US.

As enacted, the Serve America Act provides many more opportunities to support quality mentoring. Mentoring is identified as an eligible activity for those engaged in the newly-expanded AmeriCorps, Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA) and Retired and Senior Volunteer Programs (RSVP), as well as the newly-created Education Corps and Veterans' Corps. In addition, Mentoring Partnerships, which support the expansion of quality mentoring in many states throughout the country, through efforts such as training and technical assistance to organizations, mentors, and mentees; the execution of high-visibility mentor recruitment campaigns; and the attraction of increased public and private resources to programs, would now become eligible for funding through the National Service Trust Program and Volunteer Generation Fund.   Mentoring Partnerships help to insure that mentoring programs are built to be safe, successful and sufficient.

Providing this access to additional resources for Mentoring Partnerships will add significant value to the mentoring field, and ultimately enable programs to provide more opportunities for Americans to mentor youth or serve in a volunteer capacity within mentoring organizations.  On Long Island, the Mentoring Partnership (MPLI) works with over 200 mentoring programs (over 70% of which they helped to start) that serve over 7,000 young people.  MPLI serves as a no-cost resource to all mentoring programs and their mentors.  MPLI runs a highly acclaimed Mentoring Academy that trains 1,200 people annually and hosts an annual Mentoring Matters Conference that brings together mentoring program coordinators, mentors and mentees (last year 300 people attended.)  MPLI takes the lead in recruiting mentors for the many programs on Long Island.  MPLI works with a coalition of mentoring providers across New York State to implement legislation (for example, the Safe Mentoring Act which gives civilian mentoring programs access to criminal background screening for potential volunteers) and to share best practices.

Now that the Act has been authorized, it is critically important that its provisions be funded at an appropriate level in FY 2010 and beyond. Mentoring programs and the national network of Mentoring Partnerships already rely on the tremendous contributions that AmeriCorps and VISTA volunteers make as mentors to youth in need and staff support. The boost in service represented by the Serve America Act would allow programs and Partnerships to make an even more meaningful impact in our communities and help us close the gap of 15 million young people who want and need high-quality mentoring relationships.

Jean Lahage Cohen
Executive Director
Mentoring Partnership of Long Island and New York
150 Motor Parkway, Suite 90, Hauppauge, NY 11788
631-761-7800
jcohen@mentorkids.org
www.mentorkids.org

I am a not-for-profit volunteer manager, recruiting, training, managing and supervising volunteers who work in my community.  I have some concerns that you may be "reinventing the wheel".  I have spent thirty years learning how to effectively manage volunteers and working within my community who those who do the same.

How do you see your system integrating with those who have the expertise to work with volunteers in a wide range of settings.

Thanks

Subject – Expanding Opportunities to Serve through Mentoring Programs and Mentoring Partnerships

Submitted by Washington State Mentors

Including mentoring partnerships and mentoring under the Edward M. Kennedy Service America Act can attract more people across a broad age-range to service toward meeting nationally significant goals based on the foundation of replicated, capacity-building, state-wide organizations.  Mentoring is worthy of inclusion within the Serve America Act based on youth outcomes results that show improved school attendance and academic achievement, reduced youth involvement in risky behaviors, increased future youth participation in civic engagement, and even increased health of adult volunteers. Mentoring partnerships merit inclusion as non-profit structures that expand mentoring and improve the quality of the mentoring experiences of youth in over 25 states across the nation.  Each of the mentoring partners works to reduce the mentoring gap in America; approximately15 million youth who could benefit from a mentor do not have a committed non-family member to give them a hand up.  In Washington, 30,000 youth have a mentor through a formal mentoring program, 240,000 Washington children and teens could benefit from a mentor.

Including mentoring partnerships under the Serve America Act leverages existing partnership relationships and resources.  Mentoring partnerships build local mentoring capacity through established communication networks, standards of best practices in mentoring, training and technical assistance to local mentoring providers, valid and reliable evaluation approaches, and through financial support.  Mentoring partnerships help local mentoring organizations expand the number of adults who volunteer to serve through effective recruitment campaigns, the attraction and re-distribution of public and private resources, and the shared effort of locally-assigned AmeriCorps, VISTA, and Retired and Senior volunteer Programs personnel.   

Washington State Mentors, a mentoring partnership located outside Seattle, demonstrates the value of a non-profit structure focused on capacity-building and quality-building.  At Washington State Mentors, we work with 195 mentoring providers that engage adults in a broad range of service to youth and have re-directed almost $4 million dollars of private foundation and corporate grants to local mentor providers, and funded grant activities that directly recruited, matched, and supervised almost 600 youth in the last 12 months.  Mentoring partnerships provide assistance to a broad-range of mentoring programs that inspire different individuals to volunteer. The programs range widely from, for example, helping incarcerated juveniles re-enter society, assisting foster care youth to enroll and succeed in college, modeling leadership engagement for young women of color, helping youth affected by HIV/Aids, and mentoring youth receiving mental health services.

Mentoring Partnerships offer another key asset in expanding service to youth.  As a central resource, the state mentoring partnerships provide assistance to many organizations that are simply too small to employ development staff, conduct extensive training, or mount effective recruitment campaigns. In Washington, for example, over 40 percent of the mentoring providers employ one or fewer full-time staff. In the populous county where over 50 percent of these programs are located, over 50% of the organizations serve 50 youth, i.e., engage 50 volunteers.  Across the state, in 2007 it was more than 63 percent of the state’s programs have an annual budget of less than $250,000. 

Access to funding through the Serve America Act would help mentoring partnerships multiply the accomplishments from current AmeriCorps and VISTA volunteers. Washington State Mentors’ VISTA and AmeriCorps volunteers support coalitions of mentoring providers in five areas of the state.  In the past year, these volunteers have organized high-profile recruitment public service announcements which resulted in over 4,000 mentoring provider website hits, contributed to increased mentor recruitment, and coordinated training for mentors, providers’ staff, and mentees. 

Access to funding through the Service America Act would also serve as a catalyst to build on social innovations.  For example, one of our local partners recruited three leadership volunteers through Retired and Senior Volunteers to develop a customized marketing plan, create and implement a local fundraising program, and create a local organization strategy to expand service to youth.  This pilot project funded by the National Council on Aging could function as a model for engaging retired professionals as volunteers to expand adult volunteering in direct service to youth and in organizational capacity-building.

The increase of service represented by the Serve America Act would allow mentoring providers and state mentoring partnerships to make an even more significant impact in our communities for youth, families, and adult volunteers.

In order to attract people with all abilities to serve, the vision for the future should focus on using universally designed strategies, integrated within all Corporation’s polices, practices and products. Some examples of the application of universal design to national service include:

1. Incorporation of text and visuals that positively depict members and volunteers with disabilities in all public awareness activities and products to promote national service opportunities;

2. the Corporation, grantees and partners include statements and international symbols that use person first language and welcome the diverse abilities of the disability community in planning, implementation and evaluation of new initiatives;

3. the Corporation, grantees and partners plan for accessibility and budget for reasonable accommodations in all competitive grant programs.

We recommend strongly that the Corporation promote opportunities that are truly inclusive in which people with disabilities can serve alongside people without disabilities. Promising approaches and best strategies should enhance the full inclusion of members and volunteers with disabilities in their communities.

Regarding the development of a “State Service Plan” (national service plan) we strongly recommend that state commissions include organizations that are managed by and support individuals with disabilities. The participation of the disability community will ensure that goals and outcomes outlined in this plan will be inclusive and accessible. To ensure full participation, related meetings, communication and materials should be fully accessible.

Regarding the following reference in the legislation:

(k) Reservation of Funds To Increase the Participation of Individuals With Disabilities

(1) RESERVATION- To make grants to public or private nonprofit organizations to increase the participation of individuals with disabilities in national service and for demonstration activities in furtherance of this purpose

We strongly recommend that CNCS issues competitive grants to identify, demonstrate, document and replicate effective outreach and support strategies to engage persons with what might be labelled as more "challenging" disabilities such as autism, significant mental illness and significant intellectual disabilities as well as those individuals with disabilities from unserved/underserved communities including new immigrant/ and refugee groups. We also recommend that new grant efforts focus on the active recruitment of returning veterans with disabilities as active service members of and leaders in national service.

Summers of service for college students please!!

A love volunteering, and would love to do more of it, however I am limited to what I can do because of costs. If you want to work at a wildlife refuge, it costs about $3,000 for two weeks or so. AmeriCorps and the PeaceCorps are great, but it is hard to get in without a degree and experience. An evrironmental version of the PeaceCorps would be awesome to see. I would totally volunteer for it. GO ON FACEBOOK. People can put buttons with organizations they support and it is virtually free exposure. Advertise at college events. People like contests, and they like to see the results of their work. It would be nice to work/volunteer for you actually.  

Programs funding may be directly impacted on the success of their recruitment and enrollment of members.  However, the Corporation provides little to no support or training for programs to improve their numbers.  Why does the Peace Corps have a recruitment department with field offices when they are (1) already a household name and (2) only place a fraction of the number of volunteers as AmeriCorps does.  AmeriCorps has a lack of identity out in communities across the country and without a national recruitment and outreach plan, I find it difficult to believe that they will ever meet 250,000 volunteers.

[reaching and developing new program sponsors]

#7. Allow State Commissions to use a percentage of their National Service program allocations for Planning Grants for the more complex programs (Category One above) but exempt the amount from the calculation of any cost-per-service-volunteer.

• This approach will foster diversification of the organizations accessing national service resources.
• Award two-year planning grants – the first year for actual planning and the second year for a pilot operation of the plan.
• Develop online, interactive courses that guide organizations through development of sound program concepts on a self-paced time table. The current practice of aggregated reading lists is not sufficient and not supportive of those whose first language is not English.

#10. Change the formula for determining State Program Development and Training allocations from per-AmeriCorps-Member enrolled to one that accounts for all national service members plus development activities for potential grantees.

• End the system of issuing contracts to technical assistance providers at the national level.
• Increase emphasis on using PDAT funds to coach potential grantees on how to use national service resources for meeting local needs.
• Allocate these funds as a block to cover all national service programs in a state and require needs assessments, integrated plans to meet needs, and that all training/technical assistance activities be accessible to all national service grant personnel.

#11. Likewise, with the change in Disability Funds that makes these available to all national service programs rather than just AmeriCorps*State grantees,

• Allow a percentage of funds to be used to conduct outreach and training for potential host sites or stations on universal design of volunteer service opportunities.
• Set come clear guidelines on use of accommodation funds so it is possible to determine if eyeglasses, hearing aids, or other devices for aging volunteers can be allowable uses.

In order to expand and grow responsibly, AmeriCorps programs should look to partnering with established non-profits that currently have year-of-service or internship programs.  Under the current regulations of nonduplication and nondisplacement of volunteers or employees, these programs cannot become AmeriCorps Programs as they would violate this rule.  I would advocate that the nature of year-of-service volunteers and interns is unique and they are neither employees or volunteers -- if volunteer is defined as an episodic person who does not provide consistent service.  Many intern and year-of-service programs are well established but struggling as the high costs of college, in the form of loans and or the need to save for college, are becoming an increasing barrier to recruiting individuals for these programs.  Although there is the potential of getting a loan forbearance for volunteer service, it is unpredictable and it would be a significant boost of they could apply to become Education Award (Only) Programs.  As AmeriCorps continues to expands, it will become even more difficult for these programs to thrive as they "compete" against AmeriCorps programs that can offer such benefits.  Finally, as Education Award Programs are the most cost-efficient programs in the AmeriCorps portfolio, this would be a great direction to expand the AmeriCorps Education Award Program.

An American tradition, ignored by paid volunteer professionals, are the many thousands of volunteer-run, mutual aid self-help support groups that are started and run across our county every week in church basements and community centers. These grassroots, non-profit mutual help groups all operate on the principle of  "members helping one another" to cope with any one of a broad spectrum of adversities they face - most any illness, disability, addiction, loss of a loved one, difficult parenting situation, caregiver concern, horrid abuse experience, or other stressful life situation. From parents of lead-poisoned children, to recent vets quickly moving from combat to college classrooms; from family members seeking to dig themselves out of debt, to the grieving parents of youth who have died of drug overdoses.

Back in 1974, when I started one of the first Federally-funded Retired Senior Volunteer Programs in NJ, I came to know the true miracles that can take place when older adults were given real opportunities to tap their life skills and expertise to meet the needs of others. Similarly, I have seen over many years the courage and dedication of individuals who suddenly recognized how they can start a new self-help group, not for themselves, but to prevent others from having to face to face the "hell" that they had to face alone. These American heroes are an untapped but desperately needed community volunteer resource. Of all the thousands of volunteer centers in the USA, unfortunately none provide potential volunteers with the idea that they can help their community by volunteering to start a self-help group based on a life adversity they have faced and overcome.  These mutual aid self-help groups can be seen as fresh sources and models of volunteer energy, manpower, and expertise that can help more Americans become active in helping others deal with a wide variety of life transitions, disabilities, addictions, and other human problems.

The potential for community partnerships to help in such efforts is wide. A wide variety of community service organizations and volunteer centers can promote specific types of needed self-help groups as a project, e.g., helping to start a needed new local group, promoting joint community educational efforts, or partnering in doing community service projects together.  One of the most important capabilities of community self-help groups is that ordinary people can develop such groups in their local communities when none exist, and subsequently their group usually serves as an extraordinary resource to many in that area for several years.

To start a community mutual help group, a person doesn't need a grant, an agency, or even an office - just the inspiration and a few other people who share their experience and hope. What significantly helps in providing such inspiration is a person's knowledge of an existing national organization or a model group, which can provide them with basic information so they don't have to “re-invent the wheel.” 

"Mutual help groups are a powerful and constructive means for people to help themselves and each other. The basic dignity of each human being is expressed in his or her capacity to be involved in a reciprocal helping exchange. Out of this compassion comes cooperation. From this cooperation comes community." 

- Phyllis Silverman, Ph.D., Dept. of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, in The Self-Help Sourcebook, 6th Edition, 1998, p. 26. 

Re: Assistance grantees need to continue to deliver high quality programs and to expand:

First of all, we need more funding.  Costs of engaging and supporting volunteers continue to increase as do our administrative and overhead expenses and it is getting more and more diffilcut to get local funding for our programs due to the economy.  If we really want to engage more volunteers, which I think we can do, we need more funding. 

Secondly, we need CNCS to do a better job of promoting volunteerism and specifically the three senior corps programs.  It seems that AmeriCorps gets much more publicity and marketing attention than the Senior Corps programs due.  CNCS needs to develop a whole new marketing plan for the Senior Corps programs inlcuding name changes for the three programs, new materials, more on-line recruitment and marketing and national publicity (stories about how our volunteers impact our community and the people they serve and a call to service for older adults).  Given the increase in the older adult population and the increase in the need for more volunteers to help with all of the problems in our country, it seems like a perfect time for CNCS to promote these three programs.  I know there has been a huge increase in the number of AmeriCorps members, or people that want to serve in AmeriCorps, but I haven't seen the same for the senior volunteer programs.   

Veterans that are likely to participate in the Veterans Corps will most likely be recently disabled and trying to adjust to their new life. As such, they will have significant and specific needs not usually seen in the civilian community. Those who will be managing this corps need to be aware of this and adjust accordingly. Specifically, there may need to be adjustments to the minimum number of hours worked per week (or the way hours are calculated) to take into account the many medical and other appointments newly disabled veterans often face. They may have issues with transportation (something that could possibly be worked out with a group like the DAV) and with housing. Newly disabled veterans often have no home and very little family support to fall back on, so the veteran corps needs to partner with the VA and the DAV, and the local network of social services to make it possible for disabled veterans to participate in this program.

In addition to providing opportunities within the VA and the DOD, there are other federal and state agencies that could use veteran volunteers such as the National Park Service, the National Archives, and NASA, among others. Veterans could fill positions in public relations, park maintenance and construction, and preservation and interpretation of our national history. They could act as tour guides at national parks and military museums educating our citizenry and youth about the American experience.

I would hope that you would consider allowing veterans to continue to participate in the program in some form after the two year maximum. There is no reason why you should say to veterans that you can no longer participate after two years because your grant is up. Instead, you should encourage them to continue to volunteer by ‘graduating’ them to another level that offers other benefits. The National Service Reserve Corps appears to have been designed with this in mind, but the language in the bill was not clear as to how to transition a veteran to this, and how the skills they have learned in the Veterans Corps would translate to the National Service Reserve Corps. Partnerships with other public service organizations should also be considered as a way to graduate vet corps members to other service opportunities.

For some veterans, an education grant is not going to be very appealing as they may not want to go to college. They may have already gone to college and are burdened by student loans they cannot pay off. Perhaps the grant could be applied to other things such as a small business grant, or after a certain amount of service, to pay off their existing loans such as you currently do with teachers and public safety people. This should be in addition to their veteran’s benefits so they are not penalized for volunteering. After all, they are giving in addition to what they have already served. I strongly believe that the stipend provided to all national service volunteers should be tax free as it is a stipend, not a paycheck, and is usually much less than what a person needs to live on anyway. You won't get many veteran volunteers if their existing veteran benefits are somehow diminished by participating in this program. The law should be adjusted to clearly state that participation in a national service program is to be excluded when considering levels of compensation or awarding of veterans benefits. 

Veterans serve for many reasons, but not usually for glory or fame. Be that as it may, as a veteran, I have found that the tools the military uses to encourage and improve performance apply and work very well in the civilian world. The military has an awards system that encourages excellence through certificates and medals that are presented in a public manner. That public recognition has a great effect on morale and encourages the individual and their associates to do more, and often encourages civilians to serve as well. A similar system exists within the Corporation for National and Community Service, and its partners, and should be emphasized and used more to encourage service. This should also be done in a public manner through the news media outlets. This also serves as a very useful public relations and recruitment tool for getting the word out about Corps activities and to recruit potential volunteers.

This last thought, not only applies to the Veterans Corps, but to all national service positions. To encourage a lifelong commitment to service, it seems to me there should be some lifelong benefit to service. I have seen this mentioned in other threads on this site. Some public service volunteer organizations have a type of "retirement" that provides some type of a benefit to a member that has stayed active for 10 to 20 years or so. I think this is a good idea. I have seen suggestions relating to providing some sort of benefit or increase in social security benefits, tax benefits, veterans benefits, etc., after so many years of service. While I am not sure what benefit would be the "right" benefit that would encourage lifelong service, I think it is an idea that should be investigated and considered. You could call it a Volunteer Bonus.

As a veteran, if you need any help in getting the Veteran Corps going, I'd be glad to assist in whatever way I can. I'd also like to see an "update" section somewhere on this website that details the progress of each of the new Corps as they progress in their development.

I would like to see more part time positions approved.  I think you would have more response to volunteering to pay off student loans if the positions were part time so we can also work for pay in a full time position.  I mean, we could work late afternoons, evenings, and weekends around our full time jobs.  For myself, I am a single 54 yr old parent working part time and would love to volunteer part time in return for paying off some of my student loans. But I rarely see them listed on Americorps or the Senior Corps which I dont qualify for either since I am not squite 55.
Thank you

Many of my members who have completed or are completing their second AmeriCorps State term are asking if they will be able to do a third term of service.  I understand the Serve America Act goes into effect on October 1, 2009, will the term limit apply to members serving after October of 2009 or will all members who served for a cumulative ed award less than $9450.00?

Thank-you,

Laura Burghdorf - AmeriCorps Mentoring and Peer Services Program Director

Wayne County Action Program, Inc Lyons, NY

My comment actually applies to several of your 'get started' topics. There are beginning to be so many service corps and their associated partners, that potential volunteers are simply overwhelmed by all the corps and their associated opportunities. There needs to be some sort of streamlining, or simplification, as to who is what, what they do, and how they fit with or match a potential volunteer. 

As I see it, all of your corps fit two general categories: 1- community enrichment and development; 2- emergency preparedness and response. I'd like to suggest organizing the corps and their partners into those two general organizational hierarchies, and then just a few sub categories as necessary. Americorps, the Senior Corps, Arts Corps, etc., and all their partner organizations obviously fit in category 1, that should have its own name such as "National Enrichment" or something of the like. The National Service Reserve Corps, should be partnered with other federal/state emergency preparedness organizations (such as the National Language Corps, Medical Reserve Corps, Civil Air Patrol, Coast Guard Aux, CERT, ARES/REACT, and DHS and FEMA's preparedeness programs)  into a "National Reserve" whose purpose, obviously, is to prepare and respond to disasters. This would not only provide clarity to the various corps and related organizations, but would also make it easier to manage the two very different missions of these two categories. It would also make it easier for volunteers to understand what is available to them, and what they may be interested in volunteering their time to.

Simply by going into poverty stricken communities and sharing vital information.  Advertising in advance that you are coming with valuable information pertaining to jobs, training (pathway out of poverty),  food and/or shelter.  Means of Advertisement - should reach the local radio stations - fliers should be posted in local community stores, churches and subway stations well in advance to allow participants to coordinate their schedule.  Meeting location should be a well known area (i.e. local library) in the community on which you are trying to serve.  Material should be precise without a dead end but a definite yet positive lead..  Summer is a great time to have a block party which in turn could also be utilized as a means to "spreading the word of available resources and sharing solid information".

Professional development opportunities would be nice for the individuals who are working with the different programs. Maybe you could partner with the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration and encourage volunteer managers, directors, coordinators to become certified. This also would provide some credibility to our programs.

Also, any new people to the programs should be provided an organized, training session on the workings of the Corporation, eGrants and OMB. This should not be part of a national conference that may be cost prohibitive for the organization the new director represents.

Since many programs do not have the monies to put together a well orchestrated marketing plan complete with brochures and the purchase of advertisements, it would be nice if the Corporation would pick up this task. If CNCS put together a nationwide marketing campaign, we might not get those calls from nonprofits saying, “You do that? I never knew that,” or “I never knew you existed.” The word would get out to individuals that we are here ready to help them with their desire to volunteer. Shortly after the inauguration of our President, Starbucks did a campaign asking for individuals to pledge five hours or more with “a local volunteer opportunity of choice,” my office received several calls from people who were interested in volunteering. It would also help with our elected officials. They would actually know that we are here, doing our jobs and serving in the communities they represent.

The marketing campaign should be for each individual program: RSVP, Senior Companions, Foster Grandparents. The marketing campaigns should be developed with the assistance and input from representatives from each of these programs. It needs to include print and broadcast medias.

Officially stop referring to the program that recruits individuals 55 and older to serve as volunteers in the community as the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program and start using only the letters—RSVP. Research has shown, and even CNCS has included it in the information it shares with the programs, that Baby Boomers are not retiring and don’t see themselves as seniors. We can follow everyone else’s move by using the letters only. AARP does it. Why can’t we?

Baby Boomers are likely looking for new opportunities to serve in areas different than original career track.  They may only want to serve part time or up to 10 hours per week.   It would be great to have an award that could be used as a "nest egg" similar to an IRA account since many people are losing their retirement funds/investments. 

The decline in traditional defined benefit pensions is likely to prompt more Baby Boomers to supplement their income. While this trend may support the Corporation’s effort to recruit more older adults with professional credentials, it may also lead to underrepresentation among other segments of older adults, including those with less education and income. The Corporation should develop and implement strategies specifically aimed to reach out to less-advantaged older adults, especially from racial or language minority communities.

Stronger collaboration would support the new effort to allocate not less than 10% of AmeriCorps State and National funds and approved national service positions to organizations proposing to involve a significant number of participants age 55 and older.

State and local area agencies on aging comprise the backbone of the aging network. In addition, the national organizations funded by the U.S. Department of Labor to operate the Senior Community Service Employment Program (under Title V of the Older Americans Act) have significant experience in providing community service employment to low-income older adults 55 and over. The Corporation should encourage and assist State Commissions and AmeriCorps National Direct grantees to develop partnerships with these agencies, who also may be interested in applying for National Direct grants.

Attracting people of all ages to serve would be much easier if the stipends were not so low. The cost of living for a family is more than it is for a young, single person able to share rent and other living expenses with their parents or friends. I have seen many positions I would love to pursue but the living stipend would not even cover the monthly cost of rent for a family in Minneapolis, let alone other monthly living expenses. Could stipends be based on education/experience? Military personnel make more money if they have more education and experience. Are there other, creative ways to increase the non-stipend benefits and make pursuing service affordable? Discounts on rent for those living where they serve? Increased student loan forgiveness? I'm not looking to get rich, I'm looking for a rewarding position that pays enough for me to make ends meet.

I have 15 fabulous members willing to continue to serve past this 2nd term if the provisions of the bill are considered to include them.  I urge the Corporation to "grandfather" those age 55+ members NOW serving their 2nd year, allowing them to continue to serve.

I would also like to see the Corporation consider creating a slot of 200 hours to enable more people to serve their community and receive a small(er) stipend.

Experience Corps - Greater New Haven

This bill needs to be brought to attention on a PSA.
This would be great if a teen, Peace Corp., Army, and senior did the PSA..
At my school we could create a PSA, or there could be a contest and use the best 3 different PSA's.
This would draw attention to all ages and teachers and get people talking about is.
We can create a PSA and send it to you.
Were do we send it.
Can we have an address to send a cd to?

our community would like to launch a clean energy corps initiative in the next year...can you recommend who we can talk with about this possibility? 

thanks!
melissa
fayetteville, arkansas

From what I have read and where my program stands, the following are important.

§       Re-competition for RSVP programs will in my opinion prove both extremely time consuming and divisive to communities and areas due to the fragile financial situations most not-for-profits are facing. Many organizations will submit proposals based on their need for monies and resources rather than on their mission or ability to provide quality services.

§       Expansion of RSVP into other areas is crucial but not at the expense of decimating existing programs that have – for too long – been forced to work on shoe-string budgets and are unable to cover current expenses. Expansion needs to cover the cost of expanding, not add to an all ready over burdened system.

§       Existing programs that are currently providing quality volunteer services need to be recognized for those services by having retro-active cost of living increases so that program income can begin to cover program expenses. Many RSVP programs are being forced to cut volunteer recognition activities, volunteer reimbursements (which in no way cover actual expenses of volunteers to begin with), and in some cases even have had to submit to staffing reductions. In this exciting time of new initiatives, we need to put new monies into what is working and fix what isn’t rather than ignore current challenges faced by quality programs.

§       The myriad of initiative components are becoming so complex, I am beginning to fear we are loosing sight of the forest for the trees. I start writing a letter to my elected officials on one initiative component and it turns into a 7 page essay on the different areas we need support in or in what we are asking their support on (much like this email is becoming of which I apologize for again). How do I prioritize, as an RSVP wanting to expand and continue to run a quality program, the following points of emphasis?

§       People aged 55 and older;

§       Baby Boomers

§       Court-involved youth and adults who are re-engaging with the community

§       Youth who are disadvantaged

§       Students engaged in “Summers of Service” and  “Semesters of Service”

§       Military veterans

§       AmeriCorps alumni

§       Individuals with disabilities

§       Professionals who volunteer their specialized skills

§       Displaced workers

§       Social entrepreneurs

§       Who should receive post-service education awards, small stipends and/or living allowances as a part of various new or expanded Serve America Act programs.

I did participate in the June 4^th call in and was impressed with the fact that Directors through out the country were emphasizing the same things, (Including several Illinois Directors!). I guess I am venting more than asking for specifics but I do wonder what effect 23 Illinois RSVP Directors can make if we are not saying the same thing or at least in somewhat of the same prioritizations. I again apologize if I just have missed the boat on this and forgot where this information is. If so, disregard my rants – but do please send me the information so I can use it. 

Thanks!

The benefits to seniors and children involved in the Foster Grandparent Program will be strengthened with the eligibility criteria changed to 55 years of age and the income criteria changed to allow more low-income seniors to serve. However, funding needs to be modified to support the increase of the stipend from $2.65 to $3.00. This will assist to increase the pool of seniors who work with children. In addition, it assists seniors to maintain a purpose and to remain active, decreasing isolation, sense of loss, and physical complaints. We need to make sure we keep this program strong as it benefits not only seniors and children, but our government as well.

Hi there,

I am a VISTA in West Virginia and I support that in order to focus on a particular area (watershed health, windmill installation, economic justice in coal areas, etc.) it would be most effective to have particular programs with their own identity. I have observed many different approaches here in West Virginia, and a very effective approach is taken by Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team (ACCWT), an OSM program. Their VISTAs communicate, share ideas, and generally support eachother. They are supported by a central office in Beckley, West Virginia, staffed mostly with VISTAs but one full-time staff person. They get a lot done and eliminate a lot of the uncertainty that is created by being a VISTA in an unusual role at your site. I am very lucky to be included in most of their trainings and activities, simply because I know many of them socially, but my (more "usual") sponsoring organization does not provide any of this support. This example shows how a clearly defined program will benefit the work of AmeriCorps members and VISTAs. I think that the focus areas are too loosely structured, and that VISTAs will be more effective with a structure and defined network within which they can operate.

...and, might I add, we can then create more and better AmeriCorps programs focusing on watershed health, especially economic justice in areas of environmental degradation, and other environmental issues in addition to clean energy. Thank you!

The Serve Corps should tools available within the AmeriCorps tool box.  They should not become independent silos within AmeriCorps that approach is divisive and counter productive branding AmeriCorps. 

The Corporation needs to become more effective in the documentation of effective and of best program practices in order to allow the existing innovation practices to be past on to others.  Hoe can we have national service programs that are successfully closing the achievement gap between white students and minority students in one location and not test it determine its ability to be replicated and replicate it??????  Again this supports the Corpoation getting out of program operations and assuming a full time administrative role for national service.

Service in each State needs to become more focused and managed to allow a more full understanding of the impact and minimize duplication.  The Corporation must move away from the silo building of programs and establish a comprehensive and coordinated service delivery system.  The creation of the EAP as a separate funding category is the perpetuation of silo building and the terminial uniqness syndrom.  The Corporation needs to get out of operating, managing, and running national service programs and become the administrative entity for national service.  This is the only way to ensure responsible growth that is not Washington driven. 

As Sam Adams notes below, a University of Massachusetts in Amherst and the University of Southern California shows that poor people and people of color are disproportionately exposed to environmental toxins. Yet there remains a lack of programs that attack poverty at its environmental root.

There is a need to:
-expand programs that address the root causes of poverty in rural and urban areas, including environmental degradation
-create more projects that address the root causes, not just the symptoms, of poverty.

The Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team (ACCWT) and Western Hardrock Watershed Team (WHWT) are two of the few programs that place VISTA Volunteers in impoverished communities to address both economic and environmental issues. These programs should be supported and used as models for the creation of more programs that address the link between environmental degradation and poverty.

As one of the largest part-time AmeriCorps programs, Jumpstart applauds the change that Corps members can now receive the aggregate value of 2 full-time Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards.

Jumpstart urges the Corporation to allow any AmeriCorps alum who has already received 2 less-than-full-time Education Awards the opportunity to serve additional terms starting October 1, 2009. The Corporation should calculate the awards based on the number of hours that an individual serves.  Additionally, the Corporation should not include in this total any Education Awards that have been transferred to that individual.

For Corps members, this would create more opportunities and incentives to serve in part-time programs for multiple years, or to serve in part-time programs and still remain eligible to participate in a full-time AmeriCorps program.

For part-time national service programs, there are tens of thousands of young alumni who are poised and ready to serve if allowed. As the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act requires the number of national service participants to quickly increase, these trained Corps members could lead new members and would help programs maintain their high quality while expanding. This would greatly benefit programs, like Jumpstart, who are ready to grow and would also help newer national service organizations recruit experienced and dedicated Corps members. Since 1993, Jumpstart has engaged nearly 21,000 college students, many of whom have already earned 2 Education Awards and are therefore disqualified from serving additional terms given the current limitation on the number of Education Awards an individual may receive.

Administratively, by basing the aggregate value of two full-time terms of service on the total number of hours an individual serves as opposed to the pure dollar amount earned in Education Awards, this would provide a static number for the Corporation to use in determining multiple terms of service. If based on the amount of an Education Award, that number would change annually as it will be indexed to the Pell grant.  This would be more burdensome for the Corporation to administer and confusing for Corps members to understand.

Calculating the multiple terms of service based on number of hours would be the equitable approach. All individuals should be able to serve the same number of hours and then receive the corresponding Education Award. If it would be based on a changing dollar amount, individuals would not have the opportunity to serve the same number of hours because the value of the Education Awards would bar them from serving.

Finally, individuals who receive transferred Education Awards from a parent, foster parent or grandparent should not have the hours or amount of the Education Awards counted against what that individual can receive. An individual should be able to perform his or her own service and should not be disqualified from participating in Education Award granted programs because he or she received a transferred Education Award.

As the Corporation continues to consider this and other issues about implementation of the Act, Jumpstart would be happy to provide support and information.

The Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team was founded to help environmental groups throughout the Appalachians fight poverty by improving the economical and environmental degradation left by past coal mining. They've created over 35 VISTA positions in partnership with the Office of Surface Mining to help in this effort and have just recently created a sister branch in Colorado to deal with the economic and environmental degradation left by hardrock mining in the West. Currently, the VISTA program does not see a strong link between environmental degradation and economic degradation, as shown by the topics offered in the pre-service orientation training for VISTAs as well as the number of VISTA positions that deal with environmental degradation and the economy. The ACCWT has been working to change that and we hope that the Corporation for National and Community Service will be able to support us in our efforts.

I think the new Service Corps programs (education, healthy futures, clean energy, veterans and economic opportunity) should be more then just focus areas, but allowed to emerge with their own identity at least to the point that they can be tracked, and that communities of programs working in these topics have oppurtunities to interact and collaborate.  These timely topics resonate, and can be used to stimulate now groups to engage with AmeriCorps.

This could be achieved through web tools without extensive new networks of adminstration.  Good luck getting this important efforts off the ground!

Hello,

There are great opportunities to engage service programs in addressing energy challenges.  A focus of these programs should be to overcome barriers to citizen action toward home energy efficiency through energy education.  Our citizens get mixed messages about energy. Leadership is needed.

Energy solutions and the creation of energy related "green jobs" are complex challenges.  Technical assistance providers will need to be partnered with service organizers to ensure energy programs are on target.  A component of research, evaluation metrics, and continuous improvement will be vital in any energy related service program.

We are testing a program to respond to this need and have piloted an "Energy Leadership Corps" which engages college students in energy assessments of homes and energy counseling of home occupants.  Through training and technology, students are able to help citizens to develop an online energy profile and action plan.  This plan helps them (1) make smart improvements to their homes (stimulating the economy), (2) engage contractors in home improvements (creating jobs), and (3) track and improve their progress in an online community (providing program evaluation data).  Importantly, the program also provides an outlet for students to apply their passions in energy and the environment, and obtain skills leading to jobs in energy sectors.  Developed in coordination with professional energy auditors, this program is designed to compliment and help to focus the efforts of professional auditors and contractors.

We hope to develop a portable version of this program that could be implemented by universities and eventually, service organizations and high-school students.  It is our hope that this model might be useful in the creation of the Clean Energy Corps proposed in the Serve America Act.

Look at what they have been able to do with only 4% of CNCS budget. And what the # of participants come out too.

So:

1. reallocate funding to Learn & Serve by grantee catagories (Tribal, Higher Education, Community and K-12)
2. go and speak with the leaders of successful programs--and give them a place at the table to assist others and the programs they have
3. Have local grantees as the Liaisons to Higher Ed, Tribal, etc. in their communities.
   
4. remember quality and quantity is not the measure for the work with students in Learn & Serve; and in any Tribal College programs due to cultural issues that are embedded in programs. 

I propose a national media campaign for the Senior Corps programs.  Although we have existed since the early 1970's, the most frequent response that I encounter regarding RSVP is "I never heard of it." 

I would love to see a national spokesperson like Oprah Winfrey talk about the value of service after age 55, the range of opportunities through RSVP, the availability of stipended programs for low-income volunteers through FGP and SCP, and the website.  The TV spots could include the local phone numbers and websites.