Whereas, the spirit of volunteerism and service to one’s community and country is a longstanding American tradition and one of the most admirable examples of working to strengthen the lives of others, and the Empire State supports initiatives that encourage the ideals of social consciousness and contributing to the betterment of our whole society; and

Whereas, since its creation in 1994, the AmeriCorps national service program has been an effective means of engaging Americans of all ages and backgrounds to serve their community needs and to promote the ethic of volunteering; and

Whereas, AmeriCorps was designed to give states a key role in directing resources to meet state and local needs through Governor-appointed entities, such as the New York State Commission on National and Community Service; and

Whereas, each year AmeriCorps, including AmeriCorps VISTA and AmeriCorps NCCC, provides opportunities for 75,000 citizens nationwide, approximately 7,877 in New York State, to give back to our communities, state and country; and

Whereas, since 1994, more than 540,000 men and women across the nation, including 46,967 from New York State, have taken the AmeriCorps pledge to “get things done for America”; and

Whereas, nationwide, AmeriCorps members have served a total of more than 705 million hours, including 67,369,038 by New Yorkers who have helped improve the lives of our state’s most vulnerable citizens, strengthen our educational system, protect our environment, and contribute to our public safety; and

Whereas, AmeriCorps has reinforced America’s independent sector by investing more than $5 billion dollars to support the efforts of tens of thousands of nonprofit, community, educational, and faith-based community groups nationwide, and those grants have leveraged hundreds of millions of additional funds and in-kind donations from others sources; and

Whereas, it is fitting for all New Yorkers to join in the observance of AmeriCorps Week and to salute AmeriCorps members and alums for their tremendous impact, and we take this opportunity to thank all of AmeriCorps’ community partners in New York State who make the program a success and help advance the American spirit of community service;

Now, Therefore, I, David A. Paterson, Governor of the State of New York, do hereby proclaim May 11-18, 2008 as AMERICORPS WEEK in the Empire State and remind all citizens of the importance of giving back to their communities.

Given under my hand and the Privy Seal of the State at the Capitol in the City of Albany this second day of May in the year two thousand eight.

Governor David A. Paterson

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