The Service News Digest is a regular feature on the Serve.gov blog. In this series, we showcase articles that feature national service and Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) programs. Take a look at some of the great stories that had people talking recently.

AmeriCorps

Teach for America provides post-graduate incentives
Grand Valley Lanthorn (Michigan), Feb. 10, 2013
Though Grand Valley State University is ranked third in the state for the number of graduated students joining the Teach For America Corps (TFA), these numbers are still lower than other universities across the nation — including Michigan State University and the University of Michigan.

TFA is a member of the AmeriCorps national service network and is a non-profit organization that hires college graduates to teach K-12 in education-stricken regions across the U.S. There are currently 10,400 TFA teachers nationwide, with 5,800 of those being first-year members. Read more >>

Four Tons o' Fun at Tanners Pond Environmental Center
Mineola Patch (New York), Feb. 7, 2013
AmeriCorps volunteers and local helpers had super-human strength to haul out four tons (8,000 pounds!) of dead trees and debris from the Tanners Pond Environmental Center last Saturday, February 2nd. Read more >>

Local AmeriCorps volunteers lend a hand in various projects
NWF Daily News (Florida), Feb. 6, 2013
AmeriCorps members take on a lot of difficult projects. Still, when the Northwest Florida State College branch took a look at their Martin Luther King Jr. Day task, they wondered if Program Director Laurie Von Kaenel had gone crazy. Read more >>

Students not ready for college may consider gap years
Coloradoan, Feb. 5, 2013
Gap time can fall between high school and college, or during college years; it's a period when a student takes time off from academics and pursues something else, such as a service-learning opportunity. There are plenty of organized gap year programs, although many are expensive.

One exception is AmeriCorps — a domestic peace corps that sends young adults across the U.S. on community service-type projects. AmeriCorps participants receive a stipend and can earn money toward college. Read more >>

School Board Member Teaches at Real School
Portland Daily Sun (Maine), Feb. 5, 2013
Portland School Board member Holly Seeliger is about much more than just budget meetings and stump speeches. Since the school year started in the fall, the first-term policy-maker — elected in November — has been volunteering 40 hours a week at the Real School on Mackworth Island in Falmouth, giving her time away for free to students struggling to succeed. Seeliger volunteers through the AmeriCorps program, which helps like-minded people donate their time and talent back to the local communities where they live. Read more >>

Be someone's Fairy Godmother
The Advertiser (Louisiana), Feb. 5, 2013
For several years, the Lafayette AmeriCorps organization has teamed up with sponsors to provide new and gently used prom dresses, free of charge, to young ladies who need them for their proms. For the past three years, Raising Cane's has been the primary sponsor for the Cinderella Projects in both Lafayette and Baton Rouge. Read more >>

AmeriCorps VISTA

Students participate in King Day service events
Newberry Observer (South Carolina), Feb. 6, 2013
Several Newberry College students took part in local observances of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Jan. 21. … Newberry College AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer Amanda McSwine attended both the health carnival and the memorial service, and says these forms of service are the best way to honor the memory of King. Read more >>

Senior Corps

Foster grandparent program helps increase student success rates
WKRN (Tennessee), Feb. 5, 2013
The Foster Grandparent Program in Nashville continues to bring in dozens of volunteers in an effort to help increase students' success rates. More than 75 foster grandparents volunteer five days a week, giving their time, energy and love in an effort to help increase the educational success of children who are at a risk for failure. Read more >>

CNCS

Enrich your life and your community
Latino Perspectives, February 2013
Over the past two decades, a growing number of studies show the health benefits of volunteering. According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, those who give of their time are less likely to suffer from illness later in life. These benefits go beyond what can be received through medical care. The United States Census Bureau and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that states with higher volunteer rates also have lower rates of mortality and incidences of heart disease. Read more >>

Martin Veterans targeting veteran job seekers
TC Palm (Florida), Feb. 4, 2013
Martin Volunteers is a program of United Way of Martin County and is funded in part with grant dollars from the Corporation for National and Community Service. Its mission is to engage people of all ages and backgrounds in volunteer service that enriches the individual and strengthens the community. Read more >>