by Sarah Kaplan, National Service Inclusion Project

Inclusive AmeriCorps Week Projects

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

by Colleen Hammelman, Innovations in Civic Participation

Summer of Service Creates Positive Alternatives for Middle School Students

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 →

05.07.09

by Amy Potthast

Business Professionals Forced to Wait Longer for Peace Corps Assignments

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the very tight funnel through which Peace Corps sends all applicants, for increasingly fewer Volunteer spots around the world. (It’s complicated — you might want to read that post.)

I wrote about the plight of generalists —the well-educated applicants who can learn to do different assignments well, but aren’t specialists in any fields currently requested by Peace Corps host countries — whose application numbers far exceed the number of open generalist Volunteer positions due to recent budget woes.

This past Monday, when next year’s Volunteer positions opened up for nomination, the problem wasn’t for the generalists. Most generalist openings have been delayed a couple more weeks.

The people who got shut out of Peace Corps this time around were the business professionals, in some cases people with 30 years of business experience. Peace Corps’s two assignments that require a background in business include:

Business Advising — requiring either a Bachelors in a business-related discipline, or a high school diploma and four years of business management experience. These Volunteers help people in their communities plan and Continue reading →

05.01.09

by Amy Potthast

Corps Finances: The Problems of Unbanked and Underbanked

Barriers to banking are highlighted in results of an FDIC survey published earlier this year, with implications for corps members and the communities they serve.

An important gateway to building financial assets is having a checking and savings account at a bank or credit union. People without an account at a mainstream financial institution are less likely to own a home or other significant assets, and more likely to pay higher transaction fees for cashing their paychecks, taking out small loans, and remitting money to family members in other countries. Also without an account to deposit money in, cash can be more easily stolen, lost (as in a house fire), and spent.

Meet the unbanked and underbanked members of the community. According to the FDIC, “unbanked” refers to people Continue reading →

05.01.09

by Amy Potthast

U.S. Public Service Academy Bill Re-Introduced in the House

This week, Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) re-introduced legislation that would establish the U.S. Public Service Academy, a civilian counterpart to the military academies.

The Academy would offer four years of tuition-free civilian education to train new generations of public service leaders, in exchange for five years of service in public institutions, meeting critical needs.

The Academy’s mission is “to educate, develop, and inspire civilian leaders who have the character, intellect, and experience necessary to serve the nation honorably and effectively, and who are committed to devoting their lives to public service.”

The curriculum as drafted emphasizes civics, history, economics, constitutional law, ethics, leadership, foreign language, and service, and includes an internship component.

Similar to the military academies like West Point and the U.S. Naval Academy, applicants would be nominated by their member of Congress and then compete for admission with other nominees from their own state (each state to have its own allocation of students). (Read more…)

The legislation has 37 co-sponsors, according to the U.S. Public Service Academy website. Read (and comment!) on the full bill, H.R. 2102.

This Huffington Post article by Grayce Cheng offers insight and analysis.

Check out my 2007 podcast interview with one of the founders of the U.S. Public Service Academy — Echoing Green Fellow and TFA Alum Chris Myers Asch, and other news about the Academy.

You can also follow news on the Academy’s blog and Twitter feed.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::