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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New Online Discussion Board for the Serve America Act Implementation

Serve America ActIn response to the Kennedy Serve America Act that will take effect October 1, the Corporation for National and Community Service is holding listening sessions — Katrina Mathis wrote about these this past week — and launching a few conference calls and an online discussion board where you can share your thoughts.

To achieve the goals of the Serve America Act — including expanding opportunities for all Americans to serve; focusing on important national outcomes; serving as a catalyst for social innovation; and supporting the nonprofit sector — the Corporation is swinging open the door to hear as many ideas as possible, in order to glean the best ideas and thoughts from 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 →

05.15.09
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Wendy Kopp Shares Her Vision at the Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship

Wendy Kopp, founder of Teach For America and Teach For All, shares her vision of our mandate to eliminate educational inequities during her Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship acceptance speech.

Teach For America is the AmeriCorps-affiliated program that brings high-achieving college grads to teach for two years in urban and rural schools throughout the United States. Teach For All is a network of Teach For America-inspired programs throughout the world run by independent social entrepreneurs.

According to the Skoll Awards page:

Wendy Kopp was struck by the inequities in the U.S. education system as a freshman at Princeton University where she saw smart, talented public school students struggle academically because of their weak preparation. Continue reading →

05.15.09
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AmeriCorps Week: Challenging and Building Capacity through VISTA

Julia SyllaI hope everyone has had a fabulous AmeriCorps Week, which ends tomorrow. Our series of interviews concludes today. This interview is with  former Idealist.org intern Julia Sylla who is now serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA through Oregon Volunteers. To read more about Idealist.org-involved folks who have also served in VISTA, check out my post on the “V is For __” campaign which features grad school blogger Eileen Gallagher, Idealist staffer Jung Fitzpatrick, and me. But, now for Julia:

Where do you serve?

My site is a nonprofit organization called SOLV, based just outside of Portland, Oregon.  SOLV is a state-wide organization focused on the promotion of environmental stewardship.  In a nutshell, we create opportunities for environmental volunteerism and support restoration and cleanup initiatives in communities throughout Oregon.  The work I do at SOLV is based in a collaboration between SOLV and Oregon Volunteers. I serve both organizations, even though I spend most of my time at SOLV.

What were you doing before you joined AmeriCorps VISTA? Continue reading →