(WASHINGTON D.C.) – The Corporation for National and Community Service announced today that it will award more than $5.5 million to support 8 organizations to expand their efforts to help families and communities recover from last fall’s Gulf Coast hurricanes.

The funding will support 304 additional AmeriCorps members to provide a wide range of support, from case management and shelter services to after-school programming and permanent housing for evacuees. Members will multiply their reach and effectiveness by recruiting and supervising hundreds of other volunteers. A list of grants is at the end of this release.

"AmeriCorps is playing a critical role in helping people put their lives back together after this terrible tragedy, and these grants will significantly expand those efforts" said David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation, which oversees AmeriCorps. "We think it is essential to offer all the support we can to our partners, who are working so hard to help the people of this region.”

The new grants are part of a total of $15 million in AmeriCorps funds that the Corporation has set aside specifically to support AmeriCorps hurricane recovery efforts. Three of the grants will go directly to national organizations operating in multiple states, and the remaining five will go through governor-appointed state service commissions. Individuals who serve in AmeriCorps are eligible to earn an AmeriCorps Education Award to help pay for college or pay back student loans. If all members supported by these grants complete their terms, they can earn more than $1.3 million in awards.

“AmeriCorps members were on the scene before Katrina hit and will remain there for the long haul,” said AmeriCorps Director Rosie Mauk. “I hope hundreds of Gulf coast residents will apply for these positions -- they can help rebuild their communities and help themselves at the same time, gaining valuable skills and earning money for college.” Individuals interested in serving in AmeriCorps can learn more and apply online at http://www.americorps.gov or call 1-800-942-2677.

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.

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.

AmeriCorps Disaster Relief Augmentation Grants
December 2005

State Commission Grants

Southwest Louisiana Health Education Center ($1,784,864)
The 115 new AmeriCorps members to be supported by this grant will help rebuild the community infrastructure of Southwest Louisiana. Among other activities, members will mentor at-risk youth, coordinate medical service for the poor and elderly, work with low-rent housing applicants, provide life skills training, and distribute food and supplies to area residents. (Subgrantee of the Louisiana Serve Commission).

Trinity Christian Community AmeriCorps ($1,649,841)
The Trinity Christian AmeriCorps Program will expand by 90 members and will perform a variety of services, including coordinating community volunteers, connecting hurricane victims to vital services, cleaning and repairing homes, establishing a community center, and engaging displaced residents in volunteer service in their community. (Subgrantee of the Louisiana Serve Commission).

Louisiana Delta Service Corps ($846,454)
The 50 additional AmeriCorps members to be supported by this grant will meet critical educational, human, environmental, and public safety needs of residents of the Baton Rouge and Delta regions of Louisiana. Members will provide a variety of human services, including case management, program coordination, clinic support, resource referrals, shelter services, health screenings, and training in life skills and violence prevention. (Subgrantee of the Louisiana Serve Commission).

Boys and Girls Club of the Gulf Coast ($380,017)
The supplemental grant will allow the AmeriCorps Takes ACTION program at the Boys and Girls Club to bring on board 10 new AmeriCorps members, and to convert five part-time members to full-time status. The members will continue to provide youth with consistent, predictable, after-school programming, including academic and social support. Members will also recruit community volunteers to assist with service projects. (Subgrantee of the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service)

St. Louis Safety Service Corps ($245,846)
The AmeriCorps St. Louis Safety Service Corps plans to continue and expand the extensive work they have already undertaken in the Gulf Region. In Mississippi, members have joined with ABC television’s “Good Morning America” program and the Salvation Army to help rebuild the Gulf Cost town of Pass Christian, Miss. In Louisiana, members are working to support the FEMA area field office in New Orleans, including helping to provide services to people in Orleans, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines parishes. In Alabama, members have been supporting recovery efforts and the generation of community volunteers in Montgomery and Mobile. (Subgrantee of Missouri Community Service Commission)

National Direct Grants

Hands on Network ($185,669)
An additional 15 AmeriCorps members, based in Baton Rouge, La., will serve in various capacities, including as volunteer coordinators and as on-site project managers. They also will provide expertise in the development and coordination of projects geared toward clean-up and restoration in the Gulf Region.

National Council of La Raza ($334,875)
The National Council of La Raza will bring aboard 19 additional AmeriCorps members to address education and housing needs for hurricane victims and evacuees at five different sites. In Midland and Houston, Texas, members will provide direct support to Latino and other minority evacuees facing resettlement and housing issues; in Albuquerque, N.M., members will tutor evacuee children who have been categorized as low achieving, provide case management to evacuee families, and help evacuated adults with job skills; in New Orleans, members will help returning citizens and recruit local community participation for repairing and rebuilding homes for low-income families; and in Jackson, Miss., members will work with local community leaders to address the needs of returning community members.

Hope Worldwide ($137,481)
AmeriCorps members currently with the group will assist with the generation and management of volunteers assisting with relief activities. Working primarily in four Mississippi communities (Ocean Springs, Gulfport, Waveland and Biloxi), members will mentor, tutor, and provide character education and emergency services to displaced children. In addition, members will support programs for evacuee children in Los Angeles, Calif., and Columbia, S.C.

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