Congressman Encourages High School Students on Staten Island to Service Their Communities & Take Advantage of the Opportunities That Lie Ahead

NEW YORK - Congressman Rangel had a simple message for the close to 600 students assembled to hear him speak at Curtis High School in Staten Island.

“All these things — where we go as a country and how we continue to lead the world - it won’t be done by a bunch of politicians. It won’t be Republicans or Democrats, liberals or conservatives. Its going to be you,” said Rangel.

Rangel was the keynote speaker for a Friday June 4 assembly celebrating the various service projects conducted by students in grades 9 - 12. It was also an opportunity for the school’s staff and teachers to thank the Congressman for more than forty years of public service, first in Albany as a state representative and later in Washington, DC.

Click here to listen to Congressman Rangel's Remarks

“What better way to tackle the growing number of economic and social challenges that we face as a nation than with an army of energetic and inspired volunteers that can fan out into our local schools, hospitals and non-profit institutions? It’s an idea that that can potentially transform not just communities, but the futures of those volunteers as well,” Rangel later said afterwards. “Through service, Americans of different perspectives and backgrounds can share an experience that can serve as the foundation for the kind of lasting personal and professional relationships that renew our common bonds as Americans.

$1.7 MILLION IN AMERICORPS FUNDING IN NORTHERN MANHATTAN ALONE

Rangel also announced that the Corporation for National and Community Service had announced earlier in the week that it had awarded a total of 1.7 million in competitive grants to fund 168 AmeriCorps volunteers in the 15th Congressional District. The awards, which went to Harlem Children’s Zone and Teacher’s College, were the first since the March 2009 enactment of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which allocated more than $6 billion in federal funding to the service organization.

“I want to congratulate Harlem Children’s Zone and Teacher’s College for their winning proposal and for finding a way to channel the potential of our best and brighest,” said Rangel. “AmeriCorps is a critical and cost-effective approach that engages our citizens in the important work of improving education for our children and youth, and also builds their own capacity to solve problems.

Harlem Children’s Zone Peacemaker Program, funded through the New York Commission for National and Community Service (New Yorkers Volunteer), will have $1.6 million and 83 AmeriCorps member positions. The program supports an expansion from 60 blocks to 100 blocks, focusing on education, health, violence prevention, and parental involvement.

Teachers College Professional Corps Program at Columbia University will have close to $170,000 and 85 AmeriCorps member positions to recruit Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. They will attend a 2-year graduate program at the Summer Principals Academy and serve as AmeriCorps teaching fellows in under-resourced public schools.

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America and leads President Obama?s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. Grants cover some of the cost of operating the program, in addition to a small stipend for the AmeriCorps member, which the recipient organization matches.

For more information, see: http://www.nationalservice.gov