Author Archives: Richard Melo

02.19.09
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Tracking upcoming national service moves

CNCS has a established an official page dedicated to how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will affect national service.

The plans are still a bit vague, but the dollars roll out quickly. I imagine existing programs will see an influx of members serving in economy-related areas pretty soon here.

For anyone with a keen interest in this, CNCS is hosting an open conference call on Friday, February 20. Anyone who misses the call will be able to hear a reply by dialing a toll-free number. All the details are on the web page.

01.23.09
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Community Fellows at Lehigh U.

This came to my attention and I thought I would pass it on.

Lehigh University is offering a a one-year Masters that is ideal for AmeriCorps alumni and others interested in combining service with graduate study. It’s also unique in that rather than provide Fellows a scholarship directly, much of the tuition is covered by the school and the community agency where the student serves.

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Lehigh University Community Fellows is a one year MA program in Sociology or Political Science. Fellows are placed with a non-profit partner agency, working on a significant project in the agency for fifteen hours per week as part of their academic work, while taking classes toward their Masters degree. Fellows focus on completing projects identified and designed by the agencies. All of the Fellows’ projects include work toward systems change, and giving a greater voice to ordinary citizens.

Community Fellows’ tuition is funded in a three-way partnership between the agency, the university and the Fellow, with Fellows paying for only 6 of the 30 credit hours required. This unusual funding partnership assures each partner that the Community Fellow will participate in a quality academically-linked experience in non-profit work, overseen both by the agency and the Community Fellows Program director.

For more information on the structure of the program, please see http://www.lehigh.edu/communityfellows and/or contact
Prof. Kim Carrell-Smith
Director
Community Fellows Program
Room 320 Maginnes Hall
Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA 18015
kwc2[at]lehigh.edu

01.08.09
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Is Steven Waldman right about Obama missing the National Service moment?

Steven Waldman, author of The Bill (a book tracking the legislation that spawned AmeriCorps), writes in a commentary his thoughts on Obama missing the boat by not enhancing national service through the economic stimulus package. His point is that building up AmeriCorps would accomplish many of the same economic goals as flowing money toward infrastructure projects.

I agree with almost everything Waldman writes about how national service is a relatively cheap solution to many problems including unemployment among young people. At the same time, the way to enhance national service is not by throwing money at it. You can give 250,000 Americans grey sweatshirts and boots on January 20 and send them out to work. But for me the volunteer experience requires learning as you go and making connections to the community while you serve. The quality of the experience is as important as the service itself if part of the goal is encourage Americans to make volunteerism a lifelong commitment rather than a quick fix. Meaningful improvements to national service will not happen overnight.

My hope is that all Americans in need of work find what they need to get by, and that President Obama thoughtfully expands national service so it can become a lasting part of the solution.