AMES, Iowa – Iowa State University will receive an AmeriCorps grant of $343,389 from the Corporation for National and Community Service, according to Judy McCarthy, with the Iowa AmeriCorps State of Promise program.

The grant will support 38 AmeriCorps members who will serve in school- and community-based sites and work with youth development programs for elementary, middle and high school students.

ISU Extension 4-H Youth Development hosts the Iowa AmeriCorps State of Promise program in collaboration with Iowa’s Promise and the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service. McCarthy is ISU Extension’s director for the program.

“Our AmeriCorps members have been tutors and mentors. They’ve organized service-learning projects and developed enrichment activities such as career shadowing, environmental awareness and drug prevention,” McCarthy said.

“In this time of economic hardship, service and volunteering is more important than ever. These AmeriCorps members and the volunteers they mobilize will help us expand our reach and impact.”

The organizations receiving funding were selected in a highly competitive process. The funding is for the third year of a three-year grant cycle. On the national level, AmeriCorps will support nearly 75,000 positions through regular 2009 funding, plus an additional 13,000 positions funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Most positions will start in the summer and fall.

AmeriCorps is a national service program that engages Americans of all ages and backgrounds in service to meet critical needs in education, the environment, public safety and other areas. Its members serve in thousands of nonprofit and faith-based organizations in rural and urban communities throughout the nation. Among other activities, AmeriCorps members tutor and mentor youth, build affordable housing, teach computer skills, clean parks and streams, run after-school programs, help communities respond to disasters, and recruit and train volunteers. Since 1994, more than 574,000 men and women have provided more than 718 million hours of service to their communities and country through AmeriCorps.

Last month President Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, legislation that will increase opportunities for Americans of all ages to serve and put AmeriCorps on a path to grow from 75,000 to 250,000 annual positions by the year 2017.

The Iowa AmeriCorps State of Promise program carries out community and organizational efforts to provide youth with these five promises:
• helping youth build relationships with caring adults
• offering youth safe places with structured activities
• providing a healthy start for bodies, minds, and smart habits for adulthood
• teaching marketable skills
• providing opportunities for community service

The Iowa AmeriCorps State of Promise program is recruiting now, McCarthy said. Applicants can choose from a variety of positions across the state. Benefits can include a living allowance, health care, training and career skills, and a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award worth up to $4,725 to pay for college or to pay off student loans. Information about available positions will be available online by mid to late June. See www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/americorps/.

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