07.02.09
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Funding the Kennedy Serve America Act: Appropriations Process Begins Soon in Congress

Obama signs the Serve America Act, 4/09

Obama signs the Serve America Act, 4/09

Beginning in early July, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will mark up the fiscal year 2010 Labor, Health & Human Services, and Education Appropriations bills.

The Kennedy Serve America Act, enacted in April, authorized the expansion of national service, but offered no promises in terms of how much funding Congress would give the Corporation for National and Community Service to implement the Act. According to the organization Voices For National Service, President Obama’s budget request for the Corporation for National and Community Service totaled $1.149 billion, including funding for:

AmeriCorps: to create 10,000 new AmeriCorps positions (the first step towards the Serve America Act’s goal of 250,000 annual members by the year 2017). Learn why funding these positions is important for local communities throughout the United States.

  • $372.5 million for AmeriCorps State and National grants to support 74,861 members, $101 million or 37% increase over the FY09 enacted level. Continue reading →
07.01.09
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Income Based Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness are Here!

Anne.Oeldorf's Flickr Photostream

Anne.Oeldorf's Flickr Photostream

The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 officially goes into effect today, July 1st, and income-based repayment (IBR) applications are now available from many major lenders, including the U.S. Department of Education.

According to IBRinfo.org, you should contact your lender directly to apply for IBR.

Also, take a look at the resources mentioned in this post as well as IBRInfo.org’s FAQ.

According to IBRInfo.org, if you have exhausted other avenues and still face “serious problems” applying for IBR, Continue reading →

06.27.09
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RPCV Senator Dodd Introduces More Peace Corps Bill

This week, RPCV Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) introduced s.1382, the Peace Corps Improvement and Expansion Act of 2009.

The bill, as currently written, would authorize $450,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; $575,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; and $700,000,000 for fiscal year 2012 — representing a gradual increase to double Peace Corps’s current budget. The bill also requires the agency director carry out assessments that lead to a new strategic plan. (As of now, Obama hasn’t appointed a new Peace Corps director, Jody Olsen serves as Acting Director.)

Read the legislation (PDF). After it was introduced, the bill was sent to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (Is your Senator a member of this committee?)

Here is the transcript of Dodd’s speech on the floor of the Senate Thursday. Thanks to Jonathan Pearson at the National Peace Corps Association for this text:

Mr. President:

I rise today to introduce the Peace Corps Improvement and Expansion Act of 2009.

For 48 years, the Peace Corps has stood as a uniquely American institution.  What other great nation would Continue reading →

06.23.09
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NCVS Opening Plenary Monday Night

Michelle Obama speaking at NCVS 09

Michelle Obama speaking at NCVS 09

The launch of the National Conference on Volunteering and Service Monday night brought a huge crowd of people out to hear First Lady Michelle Obama speak, among other familiar faces.

When I arrived, the throngs of people waiting in line to go through security matched the throngs of people already inside the hall, and everyone was waiting for Michelle Obama. Helping the time fly was comic/emcee Wally Collins who made fun of individual audience members between introducing musical acts like Sondre Lerche and the Glide Ensemble. Also in the lead-in to the main event, Shawn Rubin accepted the Eli Segal Award from AmeriCorps Alums, Alan Khazei of Be the Change, Inc., spoke introducing corporate sponsor Shannon Schuyler of PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

The highlight of the night didn’t come at the end, as I would have expected. Michelle Obama took the stage somewhere in the middle of the opening event, and everyone in the crowd cheered and stood if they could. Her words were inspiring of course, but I was more stunned by the simple fact of her presence—the President’s wife chose to spend time with us. She used to run a Public Allies AmeriCorps program—and said to start that she was with her people. What I liked the best about what she said was the reaction she and President Obama received when they each decided to forego lucrative careers for nonprofit jobs—Mrs. Obama at Public Allies and Pres. Obama at various nonprofits like the Developing Communities Project where he was a community organizer. She said, regarding people in our lives who dismiss our career choices: “But what these folks don’t understand is that the story of progress in this nation has always been the story of people who chose — in times of trial and struggle — to serve it.”

Mrs. Obama also announced the launch of the United We Serve summer of service initiative, which will last through Sept. 11th of this year, which will make community service easy to do for anyone, and focus on health care, energy Continue reading →

06.22.09
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Daily Points of Light Award to Cindy Kerr of ConKerr Cancer

Actress Kerry Washington, representing L’Oreal, presented the Daily Points of Light Award just now to

Adorable child from the ConKerr Cancer website

Adorable child from the ConKerr Cancer website

Cindy Kerr in the lead up to the opening session of the National Conference on Volunteering and Service.

Cindy Kerr’s organization ConKerr Cancer has mobilized volunteers to make over 90,000 pillow cases for sick kids.  Her endeavor began in 2002, inspired by her son Ryan who was diagnosed with a rare childhood cancer in 2002. She started making pillow cases to brighten up his hospital room, and soon began to make them for other kids at the hospital.

From the ConKerr Cancer website:

In 2008, Ryan lost his very brave battle with cancer but the pillowcase project – now a not-for- profit called ConKerr Cancer – has grown in amazing ways.  In just two years, Cindy and thousands of volunteers have provided over 90,000 pillowcases to sick children in hospitals across North America and in South Africa.  School groups, sewing circles, church groups and fabric stores have all pitched in and are making pillowcases for the kids.

In 2007, Cindy was an honoree of L’Oreal’s Women of Worth Award.