City Year to provide afterschool programs in Louisiana with $487,000 grant

WASHINGTON D.C. – In the first of more than $15 million in grant funds that the Corporation for National and Community Service has dedicated to helping current AmeriCorps grantees ramp up operations in direct response to the hurricanes of 2005, the Corporation has announced that it has approved a grant of $487,000 to the nonprofit group City Year Louisiana.

The funds will be used to establish a branch of the nationwide youth corps in Louisiana, which was hit hard by Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma. The 48 AmeriCorps members who will be supported by the grant will provide both near-term and longer-term assistance, including organizing and running after-school programs and evening activities for youth who were evacuated from their homes and have taken up temporary residence in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans regions.

If all 48 members complete their term of service, they will be eligible to earn an additional $144,000 in AmeriCorps Education Awards to pay for college or to pay back qualified student loans.

"National service can play a critical role in helping people put their lives back together after this terrible tragedy, so we are very pleased to put more AmeriCorps members on the ground in these devastated regions," said David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation, which oversees the AmeriCorps. "Our objective is to be able to deploy funds quickly and flexibly where the support can have the greatest positive impact. City Year has been one of AmeriCorps’ flagship organizations, and it will help ensure that more Louisiana children will have access to the services they need."

To date, more than 12,000 national service participants have contributed to the hurricane relief and recovery effort across the country. Working in cooperation with the Red Cross, FEMA, local nonprofit groups, and local and state authorities, these participants have coordinated the warehousing and distribution of donated goods, provided meals and social services to evacuees, answered phones at call centers, cleared debris from homes and streets, provided information on available housing, organized children’s activities, raised funds, and managed community volunteers, among many other activities. In addition, tens of thousands of students supported by Learn and Serve America are collecting school supplies, raising funds, preparing disaster relief kits, and undertaking other projects.

Current grantees interested in applying for the additional funds are encouraged to go to http://www.nationalservice.gov/katrina for grant guidelines and additional information. The link to the information can be found in the Field Guidance section of that page, under "Disaster Guidance for Current Grantees."

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. Together with the USA Freedom Corps, the Corporation is working to build a culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility in America. For more information, visit http://www.nationalservice.gov.

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