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 >>

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 programs. Take a look at some of the great stories that had people talking recently.
 

Americans from all 50 states will join thousands of organizations and commit to service this weekend as the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service coincides with the 57th Presidential Inaugural and National Day of Service.
 

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 programs. Take a look at some of the great stories that had people talking recently.
 

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

I am no stranger to the great goals and aspirations of Campus Compact. Years ago when Campus Compact got started, I had the opportunity to work with the leadership as the program was developing. While I was the state director for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) office in Pennsylvania, I worked closely with the Pennsylvania Campus Compact VISTA project, and I was able to watch as the Maryland Campus Compact was launched and grew to become the Maryland-DC Campus Compact.
 

As military deployments became more common for National Guard and Reserve troops, the emotional strain hits children left behind especially hard. Operation: Military Kids (OMK) supports military youth age 5-18 with outreach programs to help them cope with the stresses of being away from their parents serving far from home.
 

Did you know that some of the programs under the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) banner have been in existence for nearly 50 years? We’ve created a new national service timeline to show how we got to where we are today.
 

The transient nature of military life can make life difficult for students in military families, and many are stationed at Fort Leonard Wood for less than two years or experience parental deployment. They often have challenges with making new friends, fitting into social groups, and connecting with the community.
 

AS220 Youth Studio, a Rhode Island program to help troubled youth get involved with the arts to bring positive outcomes in their lives and longstanding AmeriCorps VISTA project, was recognized as one of the nation’s 12 most outstanding arts programs for young people during a White House event hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama.
 

Recently discharged veterans shouldn’t have to struggle to find work when they return home from service, but they often do. AmeriCorps VISTA Heather Hays is helping vets make the most of a program that lets them serve their country in a new way while placing them on a pathway to permanent employment.
 

The formula to improve student achievement doesn’t start and end with the classroom -- talented teachers, committed parents, and engaged communities must also factor into the equation. Earlier this week, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and U.S. Department of Education recognized 31 organizations from across the nation for their pursuit of that goal in the Together for Tomorrow (TFT) Challenge.
 

You will hear the acronym STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) a lot whenever the discussion turns to improving education in the United States, and there is a good reason. Those disciplines are the cornerstones of the jobs that will keep America competitive in the near and distant future, and we have to get our students ready for that future now.
 

Many homeless people face significant barriers to employment, including lack of work-appropriate clothing, limited access to computers or computer skills, and transportation issues. The dilemma is that these challenges are tough to surmount when people with a strong desire to work can’t access the practical tools they need to find and maintain long-term employment.
 

“Believe in something; stand for something; act on something.” These ideas epitomize the career of new AmeriCorps Director Bill Basl as he continues his impressive work in public and national service and takes the helm of the program with more than 80,000 members.
 

At the Corporation for National and Community Service, we hear and learn about amazing things happening through national service every day. But the best way to experience the power of national service isn’t in our headquarters in Washington, DC.
 

One of the major factors that contribute to children falling behind in reading is the learning loss that occurs during summer break. Low-income students, in particular, lose two to three months in reading achievement over the summer.
 

The London 2012 Summer Olympics opens tonight, and we’re feeling the Olympic spirit. With that in mind, we asked visitors to the AmeriCorps Facebook page which events would be included in an AmeriCorps Summer Games. As you might imagine, we received some mighty interesting responses.
 

Nearly half of Ohio’s school children qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, and many of these children do not have access to adequate nutrition during the summer months. This lack of access to adequate nutrition has been linked to poorer academic performance, which can easily perpetuate the vicious cycle of poverty.
 

The Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa has a rich heritage in food production, but an increased reliance on processed foods has left them susceptible to America's obesity epidemic. One way to battle this problem is to increase the availability of locally grown, healthy food choices, and the Red Cliff Mino Bi Ma De Se Win (Return to the Good Life) Community Farm is tackling the problem head-on
 

On April 20, Nebraska young people paused for seven seconds of silence. These students and young adults were illustrating the fact that every seven seconds someone in our country is bullied. Together, 61,709 students and youth in communities across Nebraska made a personal pledge to fight bullying and stand up for those who are bullied.
 

Today, I was thrilled to be with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at Memorial Middle School in Orlando, FL to announce Together for Tomorrow, a new initiative to expand community engagement and citizen service to improve low-performing schools.
 

Today, a group of young men and women, many of them veterans, will stand up and pledge to “get things done for America”. They will join a legion of more than 750,000 Americans who have served in AmeriCorps and become the first class to also serve as VetCorps members.
 

On March 16, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made his last visit to the city of Los Angeles. He used that occasion to deliver a speech calling for an end to poverty, and to build support for a Poor People's Campaign to demand jobs, health care and housing for the country's poor.
 

Last week the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) convened more than 200 leaders in the disability and service communities at the 2011 Symposium on Service and Inclusion. Our goal: to discuss strategies to recruit, engage, and support more people with disabilities in national service.
 

Within tribal communities, Native Americans are uniting to combat the dire problems affecting their populations, including poverty, addiction, and high suicide rates. Native American youth leaders have taken the lead, inspiring their communities to take action and tackling these issues head on.
 

When our armed forces return from combat, the impact it has on their lives is lasting, though not always evident. For many, they are returning with invisible wounds, that left untreated, can turn into scars.
 

Supporting our nation's troops, veterans, and military families is critical to our national security and to strengthening our communities. It is also a top priority for of Corporation for National and Community Service, stemming from the bipartisan Serve America Act.
 

Chuck Hundley, a Marine Reservist throughout college was never deployed overseas because his skills as an AAV Technician were needed back in the states. That didn't stop him from trying however, “I wanted to go so badly and support my fellow troops, but I got the orders to stay back.”