Washington D.C. - In its first major round of AmeriCorps grants in 2005, the Corporation for National and Community Service today announced grants to 13 national and local organizations to support 9,849 new AmeriCorps positions. If all members complete their service, an additional $25.6 million will go to providing them with educational awards that can be used to pay for college or pay back student loans.

The 13 programs will receive grant funding of approximately $2 million under the AmeriCorps Education Award Program. These grants will support AmeriCorps members in projects across the nation to teach in low-income school districts, restore parks and trails, mentor at-risk youth, serve people with disabilities, and mobilize volunteers to meet other vital community needs. For a complete list of grants, click here.

"We are excited about the quality and diversity of these grantees, and the powerful contribution their AmeriCorps members will make to improving education, preserving the environment and meeting other critical needs," said Corporation CEO David Eisner.

The Education Award Program was launched in 1996 to provide more opportunities for Americans to serve while lowering the per member cost of AmeriCorps. Under this program, organizations have streamlined requirements and receive smaller grants, about $400 for each full-time member, and use their own or other resources to cover the member’s living allowance and other program costs. Since its inception, the Education Award Program has provided opportunities for more than 100,000 new AmeriCorps members to serve their communities, and has proven particularly valuable for conservation corps, college-based, and teacher preparation programs.

The 13 organizations receiving funding include large national groups such as the National Association of Service and Conservation Corps and state-wide efforts such as the Mississippi Department of Education’s Future Teachers Literacy Corps. The positions include a mix of full-time and part-time slots. Among the approved applications are 9 "continuation" grants made to organizations that are in the second or third year of their AmeriCorps funding. Two of the grants were submitted through governor-appointed state commissions on service, and the remaining applied directly to the Corporation.

Included among the grants are:

• Two grants will support nearly 2,700 new teachers for New York City public schools. The Research Foundation of the City University of New York’s $804,000 grant will support 2,600 teachers- in-training who will teach in under-resourced New York City public schools and earn a Master's Degree in Education. The Teachers College of Columbia University grant will support 93 Returned Peace Corps Volunteers to participate in a 2-year graduate program where they serve as AmeriCorps teaching fellows in New York City public schools.
  

• The National Association of Service and Conservation Corps’ $600,000 grant will support up to 3,197 AmeriCorps positions for disaster response, homeland security, the environment, community and economic development, and affordable housing. Youth aged 17-25 will serve as AmeriCorps members with teams in 17 states to provide emergency assistance to individuals in need, plant trees, renovate low-income housing, restore public lands, and recruit and manage a projected 15,000 additional community volunteers. The Student Conservation Association’s $145,500 grant funds up to 994 AmeriCorps members to do hands on conservation projects and environmental outreach in parks and public lands across the United States.
  

• A new grantee, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, will support up to 40 college student AmeriCorps members who will recruit and manage volunteers to screen low-income children for vision problems in low-income daycares, preschools, and Head Start programs throughout the state.

AmeriCorps members serve full or part time with hundreds of national and local organizations. Full-time members who complete their service earn an education award of $4,725 to pay for college, graduate school, or to pay back student loans. Members who serve part time receive a partial education award. In addition to the AmeriCorps State and National grant programs, AmeriCorps also includes AmeriCorps*NCCC, a 10-month, full-time residential program for men and women between the ages of 18 and 24 who carry out projects in public safety, public health, and disaster relief, and AmeriCorps*VISTA, whose members help bring individuals and communities out of poverty by serving full-time to fight illiteracy, improve health services, create businesses, increase housing opportunities, or bridge the digital divide. Information on joining AmeriCorps is available at www.americorps.org.

AmeriCorps is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, which also oversees Senior Corps and Learn and Serve America. The programs of the Corporation engage more than two million Americans each year in service to their communities. Together with the USA Freedom Corps, the Corporation is working to build a culture of service, citizenship, and responsibility in America. For more information, visit www.nationalservice.org.

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