(Philadelphia) -- The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization, will be assisting the AmeriCorps national service program in its efforts to reach an important goal: increasing the number of Hispanic Americans who serve as AmeriCorps members.

“The AmeriCorps values of volunteerism, hard work, and giving back to one’s community reflect the values shared by Hispanics across the country,” stated NCLR President and CEO Janet Murguia. “NCLR is pleased to partner with AmeriCorps to increase our community’s numbers in a program that plays a significant role in increasing the civic engagement of young Americans, and offers incalculable benefits to its participants. Through our joint efforts, I am confident that we will succeed in increasing the number of Hispanic participants in AmeriCorps."

The recruitment initiative, called “NCLR Compañeros de AmeriCorps*NCCC (Español / English PDF)” was announced this morning during a youth community service event in Philadelphia sponsored by NCLR. The event, which featured installation of new playground equipment and the refurbishment of several athletic fields in South Philadelphia, is part of NCLR’s “Lideres Summit,” a two-day youth-leadership program that is taking place in connection with NCLR’s annual conference.

“Hispanic Americans enjoy a long tradition of neighbor helping neighbor and community volunteering, and that’s a tradition that brings new insight, skills, and passion to AmeriCorps and our national service community,” said David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which administers AmeriCorps. “We are excited about reaching out to Hispanic Americans, especially youth, to offer them opportunities to take the AmeriCorps pledge to ‘get things done’ in their communities.”

NCLR has been a national grantee of AmeriCorps since 1995. Currently, about 200 NCLR AmeriCorps members provide educational and workforce development opportunities to members of the Latino community at 10 sites located across the country. Today’s announcement represents a new collaboration specifically designed to increase the number of Hispanics taking part in AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps, a team-based program for men and women between the ages of 18 and 24. Participants in AmeriCorps*NCCC serve at one of five regional campuses located across the country. Over the course of 10 months, each AmeriCorps*NCCC member completes 1,700 hours of service on such projects as tutoring inner-city schoolchildren, building houses in low-income neighborhoods, restoring parklands, and responding to natural disasters. In exchange for their service, members receive $4,725 to help pay for college, or to pay back existing student loans.

Service with AmeriCorps*NCCC has been shown to have other benefits, as well. According to a 2004 survey, 83 percent of former members reported that the skills they learned while serving in AmeriCorps*NCCC helped them in their current job, educational pursuit, or civic engagement activity.

“Opportunities to serve should be open to all Americans,” said Eisner. “The National Council of La Raza, because of its own culture of service, its strength among Hispanic American communities, and its devotion to the youngest generation, is a perfect partner for AmeriCorps to strengthen the awareness of AmeriCorps and spread the benefits of service within Latino communities.”

AmeriCorps is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, which also oversees Senior Corps and Learn and Serve America. Each year, the programs of the Corporation engage more than 1.6 million Americans in meeting critical needs in education, the environment, public safety, homeland security, and other areas. 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 http://www.nationalservice.gov.

The National Council of La Raza - the largest national constituency-based Hispanic organization and the leading national voice for the Hispanic community - is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan, tax-exempt organization established to reduce poverty and discrimination and improve life opportunities for Hispanic Americans. Through its community-based efforts, NCLR reaches more than four million Hispanics through a formal network of “affiliates” - more than 300 Hispanic community-based organizations that serve 41 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia - and a broader network of more than 35,000 groups and individuals nationwide. For more information, visit http://www.nclr.org.

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