Last week, 900 AmeriCorps members, from 30 different programs, came together in Albany, for the New York State Commission on National & Community Service Kickoff Event. The day was filled with energy, idealism, determination and hope. The inspirational program started with some of City Year’s signature PT moves before we heard from the event speakers.

First up was Mark Walter, Executive Director State Commission on National & Community Service, who used one of City Year’s Founding Stories, The Starfish Story, to share his vision of the incredible impact that all 7,800 AmeriCorps members serving across New York State will make this year. Next we heard form the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Education, Dr. John B. King. Dr. King a Brooklyn native, shared perspective about the challenges that many of us will face, working in some of our states most high-need schools and communities. After seeing the dedication of the many people in the room, he was optimistic about the future of education in New York.

“The transformative impact that you will have this year will provide hope in communities where there is often despair… You have the opportunity to be the difference for somebody.” -Dr. John B King

As alway, the part of the program that got the most cheers, was when current AmeriCorps members shared their personal testimonials from their service. We were lucky to have our own Jordan Halane speak and to get a copy of the video, posted above.

Other highlights included a volunteer fair that highlighted employment opportunities throughout NY, this year’s corps taking their AmeriCorps Oath of Service, and a moving musical performance by Giovanina Bucci, from AmeriCorps for the Adirondacks.

I consider myself lucky to work at City Year New York – daily I get to interact with our amazing staff and passionate Corps Members. But it is rare that I get to spend a full day with like-minded organizations, advocating for the work that we get to do and for the communities that we get to serve. Last Thursday, I was privileged to spend the day on the Hill in DC with Voices for National Service, fighting for critical funding that keeps so many amazing programs alive.

There are incredible non-profits in New York that are leveraging federal dollars through AmeriCorps members to meet critical needs. Kathy, from the Rockland County AmeriCorps, is fighting to get back funding she lost in the cuts last year, and is working to ensure that her Environmental, Educational and Civic Engagement Corps can meet the needs of the community. Or Monthina, who works with Habitat NYC and is tasked with building 100 units, over the next few years. She relies heavily on AmeriCorps members to get the job done – in fact, they make up half of her full time work force. Or Lucian, who works with Green City Force to ensure that the unemployment rates that plague our city aren’t a reality forever, and even better, trains AmeriCorps members in green jobs that result in 80% job or college placement after Green City Force. Or, Catherine from NYRP, which has the hefty task of planting a million trees in ten years. But with the help of a 14 year old AmeriCorps program, NYRP is set to plant their 500,000 tree ahead of schedule. Or, Mary from Reserve Inc who is giving people 55 and older the opportunity to serve organizations like schools and libraries. It’s remarkable to me that my colleagues across the state and across the country both continue to do more with less, but also hold out hope that eventually we will see the realization of the Edward Kennedy Serve America Act – that eventually, we will all be able to grow.

With unemployment rates nearing 20%, for 17-25 year olds, programs like ours are critical. And it was refreshing to get to meet with elected officials on the Hill that not only believe in our work, but are willing to stand up and speak out in support of CNCS despite a difficult budget season ahead. A huge thank you to Senator Gillibrand, Congressmen Serrano, Engel, Rangel and Congresswoman Lowey, Velazquez, and Maloney for taking the time to hear about our work, and for agreeing to continue to support us in the upcoming budget battle. Your support means that we can continue to provide critical services to combat the high school drop-out crisis, environmental challenges, housing shortages, and unemployment.

There is a hard year ahead. While applications for AmeriCorps have increased 67% since 2008, opportunities to serve have been cut.  We are a generation answering the call to service, and I hope that for years to come, there will be places for us to do just that. I was lucky enough to serve with City Year New York six years ago, at a middle school in the South Bronx. Our Corps Members still serve in that school, and I hope that if they ever leave that schools, it is because they are no longer needed, not because our program was cut.

Click here to see our post from last year’s Hill Day.

For more information about Voices for National Service, please visit www.saveservice.com.

Tomorrow we need you to take a few minutes out of your day, pick up the phone, and tell Congress why they need to invest in National Service and City Year. When I made visits on District Day, every office told me that nothing get their attention more than their phones ringing off the hook for a specific cause. These calls are very important to the future of City Year and other AmeriCorps programs and it only takes a few minutes.

All you need to do is call 1-855-US-SERVE (1-855-87-73783) and you will be connected with your representative.

For more information please visit www.saveservice.org

Disclaimer: This is a message for all current City Year corps members: As AmeriCorps member you are not able to participate in political debate or political activities while serving and that includes tomorrow’s Call Day. If you have any questions contact the CYNY Communications Department.

Where will we find tomorrow’s innovators?

A post on GOVERNING, by Jim Balfanz, President of City Year, Inc. and Jim Emerman, Executive Vice President of Civic Ventures, helps answer this question, sharing their thoughts that the path to future innovation starts with national service. Whether its mobilizing recent HS and College grads with City Year, or with Civic Ventures, who are putting the the talents and expertise of the growing number of retiring baby boomers to work in our communities, we “need all the help and new ideas we can get to tackle today’s challenges.”

They identified 4 strategies to help make this happen:

Find the right people: Diversity is keys when finding new ideas to solving old problems.

Identify the right work: Provide the best volunteer experience possible when working with professionals with specifics skills. Volunteers need to be adding value to organizations, and organizations need to provide flexible work environments for professional transitioning into retirement.

Develop the right capacities: Volunteers can’t just give back, they need to “become a significant force in solving problems.” Organizations need to be mission driven and set volunteers up to have an impact on the problems facing our communities.

Create the right culture: Change the perception of taking time off for service. Volunteering needs to be viewed as a rite of passage, for both our younger and older generations. Volunteering will better prepare the youth for future careers and education, and give our newly retired “a stepping stone to highly meaningful work.”

Read the whole story “The Innovators of Tomorrow (and Yesterday)”

Rep. Maloney & City Year Announce $2.9 Million Grant to Serve NYC Schools

“With tough budgets in Washington, federal education grants are becoming tougher to secure… Citizen Service is an essential part of the solution to many of the problems facing our city, especially in difficult economic times.  Thanks to this grant, City Year corps members will be helping our children learn and strengthening our community as they develop civic and leadership skills that will last a lifetime.” -Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney

Also in attendance for Monday’s announcement; Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, Susan Stern of the New York State Commission on National & Community Service, District 30 Superintendent Dr. Philip Composto, P.S. 112 Principal Rafael Campos, Representatives from the offices of Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer and Assemblywoman Catherine Nolen.

Not in attendance on Monday but sharing his thoughts was New York State Senator Michael Gianaris. “The receipt of millions of dollars for an essential education initiative like City Year is reason to celebrate, particularly as we continue to struggle with severe budget cuts forced upon us by the difficult economy.”

Congressman Jose E. Serrano (D – Bronx) also shared this announcement last week from his office in Washington DC. “The Bronx has benefitted greatly from the work of the City Year volunteers and we are thrilled that they will continue to serve in our community,” said Congressman Serrano. “As a part of the great AmeriCorps program, they are both helping our community, while learning more about the nation – and the experiences of Bronx residents. The learning flows both ways, and the experiences can be life-changing. I congratulate City Year for receiving this grant and thank all those who have answered the call to service by joining AmeriCorps.”

To read more about these announcements visit the website of Jose Serrano, the Queens Campaigner, the Queens Gazette, and the Epoch Times and see the video below.

Dear Save Service partners:

In a few days, the latest continuing resolution will expire and Congress will be forced to take action on the FY11 budget—so it is time to raise our voices again.

You have done an incredible job mobilizing over the past six weeks, and we are so inspired by the creativity and dedication all of you are bringing to this campaign. To date:

• Over 2,700 people visited their local congressional office on District Day
• Over 10,000 calls were placed to the Senate on Make the Call Day
• Over 160 articles and op-eds have been published in support of service in papers across the country.
• Over 200 Mayors, 350 University Presidents, 220 Private Sector CEOs have signed onto letters of support
• Over 110,000 people signed onto an online petition

This has required a tremendous amount of work, all which has been done on top of the important service you and your networks are providing to communities across America. But now that we are in the homestretch, we must push forward with determination if we are to succeed.

We have been advised by our friends in the Senate that now is the time when we must once again flood the phone lines. Senators and their staff are literally keeping tallies on who they hear from and about what. When it comes time for a vote, these tallies matter.

That is why we are organizing a second MAKE THE CALL DAY this Monday, April 4th. As we did last time, we will provide you with a toll-free number and talking points. All you will have to do is spend five minutes making the call, and then spreading the word to your friends.

Please look out for more instructions through email and at WWW.SAVESERVICE.ORG over the next few days, and thank you so much for your ongoing work.

Very best,

AnnMaura Connolly
Campaign Director
Save Service

UPDATE: Today, March 15, the House approved another continuing resolution that gives Congress a three-week extension to compromise on a complete FY 2011 spending bill to prevent a government shutdown.  The original spending bill known as H.R. 1 was introduced by the House and included language to zero out funding for the Mentoring Children of Prisoners program and eliminate the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).   The bill passed the House on February 19 and was rejected by the Senate on March 9.

The Senate will vote on the continuing resolution later this week to keep the government funded at its current level and the bill will require the president’s signature, all of which is expected to be approved.  The three-week extension will give Congress until April 8 to establish a long-term spending bill for the rest of the 2011 fiscal year that ends September 30.

Post author Mai-Anh Kapanke is the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota’s Associate Director and oversees the Public Policy and Marketing departments.

We would like to thank Rabbi Goldsmith for sharing his perspectives with us and bringing City Year and AmeriCorps to his congregation. Below is the transcripts from his sermon.

Shekels for City Year – Shabbat Shekalim

There are a number of Sabbaths throughout the Jewish calendar that have special names. The most familiar of these is probably Shabbat Shuva, the Sabbath of Return, which takes place between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. These special Sabbaths each serve a purpose, some historical, some still relevant today. Tonight begins Shabbat Shekalim, the Sabbath of Shekels. It takes place every year on the Shabbat before the month of Adar. It is named for a special verse of Torah read on this date which commands every Israelite to contribute half a shekel to support the sacrifices in the ancient Temple.

Now, the Second Temple was destroyed in the year 70 CE and, with its destruction, came the end of Jewish sacrificial worship. So the notion of a half shekel contribution to The Temple is an interesting historical idea, but, beyond that, seemingly irrelevant to our 21^st Century lives. And yet, there were several things about this contribution which still resonate today.

First, this was a shared responsibility. The obligation to give a half shekel fell to each and every Israelite, regardless of income. The text reads: “The rich shall not pay more, and the poor shall not pay less than half a shekel.” This shared tax must have led to a unique sense of unity and belonging among the Israelites.

Second, this money went to support what was considered the main institution which guaranteed the welfare of the Israelite nation. The Temple did not provide food or clothing… it provided something much more important: good relations with God which gave faith in the future. In that ancient Near East culture, nothing had the value of a good relationship with the Divine. They understood all blessings and the fulfillment of all needs as flowing from a powerful God. Sacrifices ensured that the power of God would be tempered with mercy. From the perspective of the Israelites, that half shekel tax was the first step to providing prosperity, safety and happiness to the entire nation… to providing hope for the future. In other words, no one could complain about this modest tax which ensured the future of the Israelites.

Why can’t the American people today have that same sense of commitment to the future? Why are we so willing to cavalierly cut programs which invest so much in the future of our country? Let me give you one example: City Year. City Year is a program supported in part by AmeriCorps, the national service program for new college graduates. Over 1,000 dedicated young men and women work for several years in underperforming schools. Their intervention in the lives of at-risk students has proven effective in boosting graduation rates and learning. Why does it matter?

“Because according to City Year, high school dropouts are three times more likely than college graduates to be unemployed, high school dropouts are eight times more likely to be in jail or prison than high school graduates, barely 50% of all African American students and less than 66% of Hispanic students will graduate with their class, and the more than 12 million students projected to drop out over the next decade will cost the nation $3 trillion in the coming decade.”

This is our future, we can either invest a little now through the equivalent of our half-shekel tax, or we’ll pay a lot later. These are the same issues of prosperity, safety and happiness and faith in the future that faced the ancient Israelites. They did not flinch from investing in their future and neither can we.

The Temples stood in Jerusalem for nearly 1000 years thanks in part to the collective commitment of the Israelites and their half shekel tax. That tax did a good job of ensuring their future for a millennium. What decisions will we make as a county of only 234 years? Will we continue to invest in our future through government funded programs like City Year? Or, will we risk everything for a short-term savings? On this Shabbat Shekalim, I pray that we have the fortitude to support those dedicated groups of people who make our nation better today and greater tomorrow.

Congregation Emanu-El of Westchester

Rabbi Howard J. Goldsmith

This sermon was also posted on eJewish Philanthropy

I thought about skipping Save Service Day altogether. I thought to myself, someone else from our office would send emails to our representatives… I also thought about the fact that the Senate has not yet voted on this bill, and after they vote on it , it will still need to go to the President, so what is there to be so worried about? And certainly, Senator Franken and Senator Klobuchar will not support the cuts to national service programs and mentoring. Plus, I had lots of work to do before the weekend. And it was really, really cold outside.

But I had talked to my colleague at Mentor Michigan, Amber Troupe, the day before, and because of all of the work she was doing to mobilize people in her state, I decided I couldn’t let myself off the hook. So I registered myself at SaveService.org and at lunchtime on Friday, I headed over to Senator Amy Klobuchar’s offices in downtown Minneapolis.

And it was worth it. The conference room was packed with current and former AmeriCorps members, parents of AmeriCorps members, and staff from nonprofits whose organizations and clients benefit from AmeriCorps service. I was glad to represent the Mentoring Partnership alongside amazing organizations like Habitat For Humanity, Admission Possible, Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration, National Youth Leadership Council and the Minnesota Serve Act Committee.

Each program talked about their work and how AmeriCorps and other national service members impact their ability to achieve their mission. The return on investment for national service programs is huge. We emphasized not just the importance of maintaining funding for AmeriCorps, but the need to expand it!

One of my favorite testimonials was shared by a current AmeriCorps member. She talked about how proud her friends and family members were when she shared that after college she was planning to devote a year of her life to national service. She then described how disheartening it feels to now be in this position, defending the existence of a program she was led to believe was revered and respected by her nation and its leaders.

Again, we know that H.R. 1 – as it passed the House – will not be the last word on this legislation. But Congress does have to agree on something before March 4th or the government is at risk of a shutdown. What can you do to help? Take the time to contact your legislators (from both the House and Senate, and from both parties!) and encourage them to support a Continuing Resolution that restores funding to the Mentoring Children of Prisoners program and CNCS.

• Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota – Take Action
• Voices for National Service
• MENTOR/The National Mentoring Partnership
  • Legislative Alert: Save Service Day

Post author April Riordan is the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota’s Director of Training & Community Partnerships.

Uno and I met at City Year Washington, DC. She is a smart and caring young leader (ok she’s really pretty too) and I’m so lucky to have shared two years in DC with her.

_______________________________________

After serving two years with City Year Washington, D.C., my first semester back in college was a whirlwind. Transitioning from 9+ hour workdays to full-time college student was more difficult than I anticipated; leaving the emotionally and physically draining, sleep deprived days of CYDC behind was extremely hard, surprisingly.

In trading my khakis for sweatpants and paint brushes for books, I suddenly had an overwhelming sense of separation anxiety from service and, more importantly, from a sense of purpose.

After high school, I went to Indiana University. After a year of Pre-Med classes I was almost convinced college wasn’t for me. I was slightly devastated. But instead of giving up I was determined to find my passion in life. Three months later, I was serving with City Year in Washington, DC.

As most of my peers started their second year of college with the usual round of welcome week festivities, I had a crash course in CYDC, SE, WSWC, ABCs and ten other acronyms. I served at a Southeast DC school with nine other corps members and to say we had nothing in common was a gross understatement.

But as the year progressed, my awkward team became my family, our school became my home, and the kids definitely became my heart. We served as full-time tutors, mentors, and role models, but more importantly we became an integral part of improving the school and the community.

As I lost myself in service to others, I truly began to find myself (that’s definitely Gandhi’s). I stayed with City Year another year as the Project Leader for Recruitment and Alumni Affairs.

In December, I finished my first semester back in college at Butler University studying Urban Affairs. Without taking two service years, I would be graduating in May. Instead, I am a very mature sophomore. I’m 21, independent, and determined to follow my passion for social change. I’m surrounded by 19 year-olds that have little knowledge of the real world and limited life experience. I don’t think I’m surrounded by idiots or bad people by any means. I’ve met some awesome people this semester and, like all young people, their potential is unlimited.

But it is very frustrating and isolating at times to be a non-traditional student. Missing the direct service and impact of CY work is one thing, but being surrounded by my City Year family is an even greater missing piece. The bond and friendship among CY people is amazing. Being surrounded by very diverse yet like-minded people sharing similar experiences is a comforting feeling. What was once my challenge zone at City Year became my comfort zone; and I have now started the cycle over again in college.

As I tell people about my experience I get mixed reactions. Some think what I did was awesome and bold. Most think it’s cool but way too risky and too non-traditional. And some don’t understand it at all and brush it off as a weird hippy program I did to be a slacker for two years.

As I reflect; I too have mixed emotions. There is no doubt that it was bold and risky to move to DC and put my life and education on hold, but there is also no doubt that it was one of the best things I have ever done in my life.

Sometimes I think that if I were to redo my City Year I would change the timing. Maybe serve a year between high school and college or a year between undergraduate and graduate school/the work force, like the majority of young people who serve. Maybe it would have made me less of an outcast and adjusting back to college life would have been easier. But I served when I needed it most.

Although it may have made certain things in my life a bit awkward, the benefits of my gap years are obvious to me every day.

UnoBlessed Coons

Note: These are my personal feelings and in no way do I speak as a representative for City Year Washington, DC or Butler University. (I always wanted to say this)