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Expanding the Reach of National Service in Baltimore

Summary: 
Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) CEO Wendy Spencer 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 CNCS programs in the city.
AmeriCorps members assemble energy kits in Baltimore

AmeriCorps members assemble energy kits in Baltimore, MD, June 12, 2015. (Photo courtesy of the Corporation for National and Community Service)

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.

AmeriCorps members plant shrubs in Baltimore

AmeriCorps members plant shrubs in Baltimore, MD, June 12, 2015. (Photo courtesy of the Corporation for National and Community Service)

Some of the initiatives that will benefit from this investment include:

  • AmeriCorps members and Senior Corps volunteers serving with the Family League of Baltimore to help provide summer meals to those in need.
  • AmeriCorps members serving with Civic Works Service Corps to leverage volunteers to educate students, make housing more affordable and improve access to healthy food.
  • Senior Corps Foster Grandparents and volunteers serving with the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) to mentor youth during and after their terms in DJS facilities.
  • Teach For America AmeriCorps members serving as teachers in 115 city schools this fall to help struggling students improve their academic performance. 

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! 

Group photo with CNCS CEO Wendy Spencer and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake

Group photo with Corporation for National and Community Service CEO Wendy Spencer and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. (Photo courtesy of the Corporation for National and Community Service)