Grants Engage Volunteers in Helping Communities Prepare for Emergencies

(Washington, D.C.) -- The Corporation for National and Community Service today announced the renewal of 17 grants totaling nearly $4.5 million for homeland security volunteer projects that were developed in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The grants fund a second year of citizen volunteer projects in public safety, public health, and emergency preparedness and response. The Corporation was the first federal agency to distribute grants to engage volunteers in homeland security. These "Special Volunteer Program" grants support recruitment of volunteers for local efforts to develop disaster response plans, expand neighborhood watch and Community Emergency Response Teams, develop bioterrorism response teams, and assist radio operators and volunteer pilots in responding to disasters.

"As a result of these grants, thousands of volunteers have been trained to aid their communities and our country in times of natural disasters and national emergencies," explained James F. Manning, acting CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. "Citizens can and must play an active role in protecting their communities, and these grants are helping more Americans get involved."

Results from the first year of the grants include:

• The American Radio Relay League trained 1,700 ham radio operators to be certified as Emergency Communications Operators. During the recent blackout in the northeastern United States, ham radio operators used their training to provide communication to emergency responders.
   
• Mercy Medical Airlift established the Homeland Security Emergency Air Transportation System, which involves 650 volunteer pilots in 10 states who are on call to transport emergency supplies and disaster workers to the site of a terrorist attack or natural disaster. The system is expected to be implemented nationwide with 5,000 pilots by the summer of 2005.
   
• The Milwaukee Housing Authority has recruited 1,370 volunteers for their public safety and preparedness programs.
   
• The Commission on National and Community Service in the District of Columbia recruited 300 new community leadership volunteers to help their neighborhoods to develop evacuation and shelter-in-place plans. The volunteers are also working with the Police Reserve Corps to convene community forums on homeland security and disaster preparedness.

The Special Volunteer Program grants were the result of a Congressional appropriation of $5 million following the September 11 attacks. In last year's grant competition for the Special Volunteer Program, 177 organizations submitted applications requesting a total of $44.4 million. In his 2004 budget, President Bush has proposed $20 million for Special Volunteer Program grants.

The Corporation for National and Community Service has a long history of engaging volunteers in public safety, public health, and disaster relief. For the past nine years, AmeriCorps members and Senior Corps volunteers have worked closely with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the American Red Cross to respond to dozens of federally declared disasters, including providing support to families of the victims of the September 11 attacks.

The Special Volunteer Program grants are part of a larger Homeland Security initiative launched by the Corporation in July 2002. The Corporation awarded $10.3 million in competitive grants to 43 non-profit and public organizations in 26 states and the District of Columbia. These three-year grants seek to engage 37,000 AmeriCorps members and Senior Corps and other volunteers nationwide in public safety, public health, emergency response and disaster preparedness to make the nation more secure.

The Corporation for National and Community Service provides opportunities for Americans of all ages and backgrounds to serve their communities and country through three programs: Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America. Working with national and community nonprofits, faith-based groups, schools, and local agencies, the Corporation engages Americans of all ages and backgrounds in meeting critical needs in education, the environment, public safety, homeland security, and other areas. The Corporation and its programs are part of USA Freedom Corps, a White House initiative to foster a culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility, and to help all Americans answer the President's Call to Service. For more information, visit www.nationalservice.org.

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