Category Archives: Advice

This blog features several types of advice, such as careers and grad school.

05.20.09
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City Year Final Application Deadline – May 31

City Year app deadline - May 31The application deadline for City Year — the team-based AmeriCorps program that focuses on youth development and mentoring — closes in a little over a week. Today’s guest blogger is Michael Messina, from City Year.

So what are you doing next year? Thinking about making a difference?

The final application deadline for City Year is May 31. If you are interested in serving with the 2009-2010 City Year corps, we recommend that you apply as soon as possible. City Year has received a record number of applications this year – part of a larger trend of young people volunteering in record numbers. Applications to the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps have soared while organizations like Teach for America and Public Allies have also seen a significant spike in applications.

“Volunteering is not such a casual thing anymore. It’s part of our lifestyle…giving back is our own way of being empowered to Continue reading →

05.16.09
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Med School Tuition Help for Former Corps Members

601TV's Flickr StreamIn response to the projected shortage of doctors in the coming decades, and the prohibitive costs of medical education, Rep. Michael McMahon (D-NY) has introduced a bill to make medical school affordable for former civilian service corps participants.

The Future Physicians Serving America Act of 2009, co-sponsored by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD), would grant tuition assistance for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and former AmeriCorps members studying medicine.

According to the proposed legislation, for each year of service, former service participants would earn two years’ worth of tuition assistance. The assistance would amount to between 50 and 100 percent tuition costs. For former AmeriCorps members, the amount of the med school assistance would replace the amount of the regular Education Award. Also, Continue reading →

05.15.09
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Mental-Health Related Disabilities and Reasonable Accommodations

Picture 6May is National Mental Health Month. Given that AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and Learn & Serve programs have service members with non-apparent disabilities, including members with mental health related disabilities, information and suggestions for providing reasonable accommodations are shared provided below.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health “an estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older—about one in four adults—suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. When applied to the 2004 U.S. Census residential population estimate for ages 18 and older, this figure translates to 57.7 million people.”

Mental health related disabilities “refer collectively to all diagnosable mental [conditions]…[which] are characterized by Continue reading →

05.12.09
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Inclusive AmeriCorps Week Projects

Six Days, Six Ramps 2008

6 Days, 6 Ramps 2008

The third annual AmeriCorps Week is taking place May 9-16, 2009. AmeriCorps Week “provides the perfect opportunity for AmeriCorps members, alums, grantees, program partners, and friends to shine a spotlight on the work done by members–and to motivate more Americans [including individuals with disabilities] to serve their communities.”

Celebrations of service are being planned throughout the country and below are two examples of AmeriCorps Week events that are inclusive of people with disabilities.

6 Days, 6 Ramps

The fifth annual 6 Days, 6 Ramps project will take place this year from May 8-10 and then May 15-17. “6 Days 6 Ramps is Continue reading →

05.08.09
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Summer of Service Creates Positive Alternatives for Middle School Students

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Today’s guest contributor is the ICP Summer of Service Fellow Joshua Truitt.

On Tuesday, April 21, 2009, President Obama took a tremendous stride toward supporting youth civic engagement in the United States by signing the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act into law. Included in the legislation is funding for a new innovative program called Summer of Service (SOS).

A national SOS program — to help communities create positive alternatives for middle school students during summer vacations — was first proposed by Innovations in Civic Participation (ICP), an organization committed to increasing youth service opportunities in the United States and abroad. In the summer months, the lack of constructive activities and opportunities for young people often results in academic decline, risky behavior and an increased likelihood of failing to make the transition to high school. Yet, when young people participate in service activities they are better able to control their own lives in a positive way, avoid risky behaviors, strengthen their community connections and become more engaged in their own education.

A national SOS will enable a large number of young teens to participate in service as a “rite of passage” from middle to Continue reading →