Category Archives: Resources

03.18.09
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Musician and Artist Service Corps Amended into House Legislation

The Music National Service Initiative, which is in its start-up phase, got the backing of legislators today through an amendment to the national service legislation that passed on the floor of the House.

Rep. Crowley was able to include following language, stipulating an artist and musician corps, in Rep. George Miller’s Manager’s Amendment to the GIVE Act, H.R. 1388.

“(Q) A musician and artist corps program that trains and deploys skilled musicians and artists to promote greater community unity through the use of music and arts education and engagement through work in low income communities, education, healthcare and therapeutic settings, and other work in the public domain with citizens of all ages.”

To learn more about Music National Service, MusicianCorps, and MusicMentors, check out the Idealist podcast featuring founder Kiff Gallagher.

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03.18.09
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New Podcast: AmeriCorps for Legal Experts – Equal Justice Works’s Cole McMahon and Marty Costello

picture-6In 2009, hundreds of emerging legal experts across the United States will offer assistance in helping people who face mortgage foreclosure and other problems through the Equal Justice Works 2009 Summer AmeriCorps program and the one-year AmeriCorps Legal Fellows program.

Every year in this country, four out of five low-income people in need of legal assistance are denied services because of overwhelming case loads at legal services offices and a dire shortage of attorneys who can help them.

Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps plays a crucial role in closing the gap between the supply and demand of legal assistance. AmeriCorps attorneys secure affordable housing, lost wages, orders of protection, health care, public benefits, adoption services, and education for low-income and underserved communities.

Today’s guests on Idealist podcast are Marty Costello, Program Manager, and Cole McMahon, Senior Program Manager, from Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps. They joined me to talk about the Summer Corps, a 300-hour AmeriCorps Education Award program for law school students, as well as its one-year, full-time AmeriCorps Legal Fellows program.

Download the podcast and listen!

The Equal Justice Works 2009 Summer Corps application opens today Wednesday, March 18 and closes Continue reading →

03.13.09
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AmeriCorps VISTAs Reflect on their Service through “V is For ____”

AmeriCorps VISTAs and alums reflect on their service through the “V is For _” Campaign.

V is for ideas + action = making visions happen.

V is for ideas + action = making visions happen.

“V is For__” is a Campaign on Flickr that allows AmeriCorps VISTAs and alumni to post a photo of themselves, ostensibly holding up the V sign with their fingers, and saying something meaningful. Since several of us involved with Idealist.org are also AmeriCorps VISTA Alumnae, we thought we’d contribute!

Our Grad School Blog Project Blogger Eileen Gallagher served as an AmeriCorps VISTA and then VISTA Leader before heading to grad school at Brandeis’s Heller School. As a VISTA, she served at the Center for Experiential Learning at Allegheny College, her alma mater. She worked with students to plan service events, ran a tutoring program in local elementary schools and functioned as part of the college’s student affairs staff.

As a Leader, Eileen helped run the program and learned a lot about management. She knew that she loved the students, their idealism to create change, the community that she Continue reading →

03.09.09
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New Podcast: Kiff Gallagher’s Music National Service Initiative

picture-4The New Service podcast today features Kiff Gallagher, founder of Peacelabs Music and the Music National Service Initiative (MNSI).

Today’s guest is Kiff Gallagher, founder of Peacelabs Music and the Music National Service Initiative. Listen to the podcast.

In 2008, The Aspen Institute named MNSI’s MusicianCorps — a developing AmeriCorps-type program that will enable musicians to serve in low-income schools — one of the top ten public policy proposals that would strengthen the United States.

Before turning his attention back to music, Kiff served on the legislative team that developed AmeriCorps during the early Clinton Administration, and went on to work at the Corporation for National and Community Service.

He’s also worked in the field of corporate social responsibility and sustainability as an advisor at Odwalla, and president of the Social Venture Network. More recently he’s served on President Obama’s National Arts Policy Committee and as an advisor on Obama’s Transition Team.

The program has a public event coming up at the Kennedy Center on April 22, co-hosted by Music National Service and Center for American Progress.

I talked with Kiff Gallagher about the need for music and arts education in the schools, about his role in developing the national service legislation that shaped AmeriCorps in 1993, and the future of the Music National Service Initiative.

The podcast features the music of flamenco guitarist Mark Ferguson, from his debut album Quemando Chante, available on iTunes.

Here’s a link to our podcast; also check out this story about Kiff Gallagher on NPR.

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02.24.09
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House Committee Holds a Hearing to Examine Need for Service

Wednesday morning the House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing “examine the importance of national and community service in meeting critical economic needs” across the country.

According to a press release from the office Rep. George Miller—the chair of the committee—the hearing will focus on “re-invigorating” civic engagement, expanding national service opportunities for young people, and greening the United States with the help of national service programs.

Witnesses who will testify include: