Washington, D.C. - The Corporation for National and Community Service today approved $6.6 million in grants to five organizations that have developed projects designed to address the needs of people with disabilities and encourage their participation in service programs.

“Too often we think of people with disabilities as recipients of services, without recognizing their extraordinary capacity to improve the lives of others,” said David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation. “The grants awarded today will support the best programs in the country that are providing encouragement and opportunity for more Americans with disabilities - particularly veterans and young people - to answer the President’s call to service and help meet pressing needs in their communities.”

Following is a list of the grantees and their projects:

• Ability Awareness, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, will use its $1.3 million grant to launch the new Ability House Veterans Initiative and the Ability House College Students with Disabilities Initiative to address the recognized needs of veterans with disabilities, and to allow college students with disabilities to demonstrate their volunteering potential, leadership, and employability as they enter adult life. Project sites will be in California, Washington, D.C., Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Ability Awareness, based in Costa Mesa, Calif., works to enhance the quality of life for people with disabilities through housing, education, employment, media, and volunteer opportunities.
  
• The American Association of Community Colleges of Washington, D.C., will select 10 community colleges around the country to participate in the project supported by its $1.4 million grant. The colleges will work with community partners to identify local needs and create opportunities for students with disabilities to help meet those needs by serving alongside other students. College Disability Support Service Offices will work with service-learning faculty and staff to provide appropriate placements for all students. Projects may include tutoring and mentoring younger students; cleaning up local parks and making them wheelchair accessible; working with residents of Veterans Affairs hospitals, hospices, or homeless shelters; and providing meals and home health service to seniors.
  
• Denver Options, Inc., of Denver, Colo., will receive a $1.2 million grant to establish the capacity to provide service opportunities for young people with disabilities, recruitment, training, assessment, and community building at sites in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming, Denver Options is a private, non-profit organization that provides case management and direct services for infants, youth, and adults with developmental disabilities. The organization’s Youth Corps Project uses service as a strategy to support youth with disabilities in their transition from school to adult life.
  
• The Points of Light Foundation (POLF) will receive a $1.3 million grant that it will use with its primary partner, the Volunteer Center National Network, to collaborate with a number of organizations to engage adults, with disabilities, especially veterans, in service to address economic challenges faced by disabled adults, as well as the economic challenges facing individuals and families in low-income communities. POLF is a national nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to engaging more people effectively in volunteer service to address serious social problems.
  
• The University of California at Los Angeles will receive a $1.4 million grant for its Tarjan Center, which is part of the Department of Psychiatry in the David Geffen UCLA School of Medicine. The Tarjan Center will manage a collaborative program in three states - California, Florida, and Hawaii -focused on increasing the number of youth and adults with disabilities, including veterans, in community service. This approach combines the resources and expertise of the large university-based disability network, the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, with two of the largest service networks, the Hands On Network and the programs of the Corporation for National and Community Service.

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 www.nationalservice.gov.

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