More than twenty years ago, President Bill Clinton and bipartisan group of leaders in the United States Congress created AmeriCorps, an innovative national service program designed to harness the energy and ingenuity of American citizens to address the nation's most pressing challenges. Since its founding, nearly one million men and women have stepped forward to serve, providing more than 1.2 billion hours of results-driven service to the nation.
AmeriCorps - managed by the Corporation for National and Community Service - provides critical services to communities in need, and develops the skills and experience of those who serve. The program helps to build a robust pipeline of 21st century leaders with a deep commitment to public service.
Education is the single largest priority area for AmeriCorps. AmeriCorps grantees are providing education services in one in ten public schools, serving students from one out of four persistently low achieving schools. These were referenced in CNCS' congressional budget justification that was published in February 2015.*
Likewise, City Year believes that national service has a powerful role to play in improving educational outcomes for students, and for the past two decades, the Corporation for National and Community Service has been a steadfast partner. The support the federal agency provides has allowed City Year to expand from one city (Boston) to 27 cities nationwide. More than 20,000 AmeriCorps members have served with City Year, delivering a combined 29 million hours of service. City Year AmeriCorps members provide intensive support to students who are struggling, and help students develop the right academic behaviors and mindsets so that they can succeed in school and in life.
Federal investments in City Year are highly leveraged to ensure a maximum return on the taxpayer dollar. For every federal dollar invested in City Year through AmeriCorps, an additional four dollars are raised in matching support through private and local resources.
More About AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps engages more than 75,000 members in intensive service annually to serve through nonprofit, faith-based, and community organizations at 25,000 locations across the country. These members help communities tackle pressing problems while mobilizing millions of volunteers for the organizations they serve. Since 1994, more than 900,000 Americans have provided more than 1.2 billion hours of service to their communities and country through AmeriCorps.
AmeriCorps is a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that engages more than 5 million Americans in service through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund, and Volunteer Generation Fund programs, and leads the President's national call to service initiative, United We Serve.
950,000: Number of individuals who have served as AmeriCorps members since 1994.
1.3 billion: Total number of hours served by AmeriCorps members.
$3 billion: Total amount of Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards earned by AmeriCorps members.
20,000: Number of nonprofits, faith-based and community organization, schools, and other sites that AmeriCorps members serve with annually.
5:1: Interest in AmeriCorps far outpaces available positions. CNCS receives nearly 5 applications per every available position.
For more information visit www.americorps.gov.
Wendy Spencer leads the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the agency that administers AmeriCorps and other programs. Click here to read how she empowers citizens to address big challenges through service.
Click here to read an interview with AnnMaura Connolly, City Year's Chief Strategy Officer and the President of Voices for National Service, a coalition of hundreds of service organizations.