The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is committed to improving the lives of our fellow citizens through our signature AmeriCorps and Senior Corps programs. Last Friday, I joined local leaders and national service members and volunteers for a combined service project and grant announcement in Baltimore to announce $4.4 million in new investments to expand our programs in the city.
The new funds will support more than 630 additional AmeriCorps members and Senior Corps volunteers during the coming year — including 105 who will begin their service this summer — to tutor and mentor youth, build and repair homes, mentor ex-prisoners and youth offenders, clean neighborhoods, and help connect low-income communities to healthy food.
Summer programs are especially important to ensure children do not lose reading and math skills they gained during the previous school year.
Some of the initiatives that will benefit from this investment include:
Our agency’s new investment of $4.4 million will be combined with local matching funds of $3.8 million for a total of $8.2 million in support of service in Baltimore. Best of all, many of these positions will be filled by Baltimore’s very own — giving more young people the chance to build valuable workforce skills that can open the doors to greater economic opportunity.
These new funds are in addition to the $17.6 million CNCS has already put to work in Baltimore to support 2,024 AmeriCorps members and Senior Corps volunteers at 339 sites across the city.
Congratulations to Baltimore and the city’s nonprofits, schools, and local organizations that are partnering with us to engage citizens as a solution for local issues and needs!