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College Station, Texas — Two programs that engage AmeriCorps members to meet the needs of young people were among those honored today with Promise of America Awards by former President George Bush at his Presidential Library in College Station. Kansas City's Promise of Kansas and Missouri received the Community Award, while the ManaTEEN Club of Manatee County, Florida, received the award for a Civic/Service Organization.
The George Bush Promise of America Awards, presented jointly by the former President and America's Promise and sponsored by Bank of America, recognize people from all walks of life for their commitment to children and youth. The awards were presented by President Bush along with former Pennsylvania Sen. Harris Wofford and Alma Powell, co-chairs of America's Promise. Kenneth D. Lewis, Chairman & CEO of Bank of America, and Tim Russert, host of NBC's Meet The Press and an America's Promise board member, keynoted the event.
"Our children are the true promise of America and when this important movement was launched, we challenged the nation to make young people a top priority," said former President George Bush. "As dedicated Americans continue to answer that call, the passion and vision demonstrated by the leaders we celebrate today must serve as an inspiration to each of us, for they truly are keeping America's Promise."
The work of Kansas City's Promise, a broad, cross-sector community collaboration serving children and youth, is greatly enhanced by AmeriCorps*VISTA members based there. The members are conducting needs assessments of Promise sites, recruiting volunteer teams to support the delivery of resources, coordinating broad-based marketing and recruitment strategies for public awareness, developing a listing of training and technical assistance, and holding workshops to help Promise sites build their capacity.
The ManaTEEN Club has grown from 22 to 11,000 members since it was established in 1994 by Laura Lockwood and Kat McKellar, now AmeriCorps Promise Fellows with the Volunteer Center of Manatee County. The youth-led movement garners the participation of more than 80 percent of the county's teens. An AmeriCorps*VISTA member and two additional Promise Fellows assist the sisters with the program, which promotes youth volunteerism and assists students in fulfilling classroom and college scholarship requirements.
"We're proud of these award winners and of AmeriCorps' long record of accomplishment in meeting the needs of our nation's young people." said Rosie Mauk, Director of AmeriCorps. "By serving young people -- and by engaging young people in service - AmeriCorps is helping fulfill the promise of America for our nation's youth."
AmeriCorps engages Americans in intensive service to meet community needs in education, the environment, public safety, homeland security, and other areas. Members serve with national nonprofit organizations like Habitat for Humanity and the American Red Cross, as well as with hundreds of smaller community organizations, both secular and faith-based. Other members serve with AmeriCorps*NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps), a team-based residential program for adults 18 to 24 years old, or in low-income communities with AmeriCorps*VISTA. In exchange for a year of service, AmeriCorps members earn an education award that can be used to pay for college or to pay back qualified student loans. AmeriCorps is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, which also oversees Senior Corps and Learn and Serve America. It is part of USA Freedom Corps, a White House initiative to foster a culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility, and help all Americans answer the President's Call to Service.
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