Governor Togiola Tulafono has proclaimed the week of May 11-18 as AmeriCorps Week in the Territory. “I urge the citizens to thank AmeriCorps members and alumni for their service, and to find ways to give back to their communities,” he said.

According to the Governor, AmeriCorps Week is an opportune time for the people of American Samoa to salute AmeriCorps members and alums for their powerful impact; thank all of AmeriCorps community partners in American Samoa who make the program possible; and bring more Americans into service.

In his proclamation, Togiola said that the AmeriCorps national service program has proven to be a highly effective way to engage Americans of all ages and backgrounds in meeting a wide range of community needs and promote the ethic of service and volunteering since its creation in 1994.

Each year, AmeriCorps, including AmeriCorps VISTA and AmeriCorps NCCC, provides opportunities for 75,000 citizens across the nation, including approximately 80 in American Samoa, to give back in an intensive way to our communities, state, and country.

AmeriCorps was designed to give a key role to states and territories in deciding where resources should be directed to meet state and local needs, through the work of Governor-appointed state service commissions, including the American Samoa Special Services Commission.

“AmeriCorps has strengthened America’s independent sector by investing more than $5 billion dollars to support the efforts of tens of thousands of nonprofit, community, educational, and faith-based community groups nationwide; and those grants have leveraged hundreds of millions of additional funds and in-kind donations from other sources,” Togiola wrote.

Last year, AmeriCorps members recruited and supervised more than 1.7 million community volunteers, demonstrating AmeriCorps value as a powerful catalyst and force multiplier.

The Governor pointed out that more than 540,000 men and women across the nation, including 490 from American Samoa, have taken the AmeriCorps pledge to “get things done for America” by becoming AmeriCorps members since 1994.

Those AmeriCorps members have served a total of more than 705 million hours nationwide, including 833,000 served by residents from American Samoa, helping to improve the lives of our state’s most vulnerable citizens, strengthen our educational system, protect our environment, and contribute to our public safety.

AmeriCorps members nationwide, in return for their service, have earned more than 41.4 billion in Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards to use to further their own educational advancement at colleges and universities – including more than $1.5 million that has been awarded to residents of American Samoa.

“AmeriCorps members, after their terms of service end, remain engaged in our communities as volunteers, teachers, public servants, and nonprofit leaders in disproportionately high levels,” Togiola concluded.

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