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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 248-10
June 2, 2010

MAYOR BLOOMBERG AND THE CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE ANNOUNCE FEDERAL GRANT TO SUPPORT NYC SERVICE ‘CIVIC CORPS’ PROGRAM

17 NYC-based Nonprofits to Receive AmeriCorps Funding

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the Corporation for National and Community Service today announced that New York City will receive a $5.85 million, three-year AmeriCorps grant to support the NYC Civic Corps, which is the center-piece program of NYC Service – the Mayor’s comprehensive initiative to promote a new era of volunteerism in New York City and direct volunteers toward the City’s areas of greatest need. NYC Civic Corps is a first-of-its-kind program where members work at nonprofits and public agencies to help those entities use more volunteers and use volunteers more effectively to assist New Yorkers in need. During the first year of the program, Civic Corps members expanded the volunteer capacity at 56 organizations throughout the city, allowing those organizations to engage 44,641 new community volunteers.  Those new volunteers performed more than 400,000 hours of service and served more than 450,000 New Yorkers. The first year of the NYC Civic Corps was funded with AmeriCorps grant funding made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The new funding announced today will allow the City to fund the program for an additional three years. Additionally, the Mayor and the Corporation for National and Community Service announced that 16 additional nonprofit organizations in New York City will receive AmeriCorps grants. The Mayor and Corporation for National and Community Service CEO Patrick Corvington were joined at the announcement in the Blue Room of City Hall by the City’s Chief Service Officer Diahann Billings-Burford, Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey, New York State Commission on National and Community Service Chair Susan Stern, and Teach for America Executive Vice President of Public Affairs Kevin Huffman.

“Thanks to this Federal grant, we will be able to continue the NYC Civic Corps program for the next three years,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “This first-of-its kind program has been an incredible success, with less than 200 Civic Corps members helping more than 50 nonprofits add more than 44,000 volunteers – and those volunteers served more than 400,000 New Yorkers. So the work of 200 served more than 450,000, and that is why we say our Civic Corps serves as a ‘force multiplier’ in the community service world. I want to thank the Corporation for its willingness to invest in this idea, which had never been tried before, and for its continued support of nonprofits here in the City that is the national leader in community service.”

“While our economy is starting to grow again, far too many people in New York and across the nation are suffering,” said Corporation for National and Community Service CEO Patrick Corvington. “Meeting today’s economic and social challenges requires tapping the most precious resource we have – the energy and talents of our people – and that’s what AmeriCorps is all about. The grants we are announcing today will support thousands of AmeriCorps members across New York who will use service a solution to some of the toughest problems facing our communities – teaching and tutoring youth, expanding health services, providing job training and financial literacy, preventing substance abuse, weatherizing homes, supporting people with disabilities, and much more. I congratulate all the organizations in New York that are receiving AmeriCorps grants for developing strong proposal and rising to the top in a stiff competition, and thank all those who will answer the call to serve by joining AmeriCorps and one of these worthy programs.”

NYC Civic Corps members helped build or expand volunteer programs at a wide range of organizations throughout the five boroughs. At the New York City Housing Authority, Civic Corps members worked to create and expand a program where volunteer residents worked to make housing complexes more sustainable. At Year Up, Civic Corps members expanded a mentorship program for at-risk youths. Working with Common Cents, Civic Corps members helped provided service opportunities at hundreds of City public schools. Civic Corps members also led the City’s efforts to recruit volunteers to assist in H1N1 vaccination efforts.

Nearly 400 public and nonprofit organizations and 800 individuals applied to be a part of the first-ever NYC Civic Corps. Members and host organizations were selected through a rigorous application process, screened by both the AmeriCorps VISTA program and a City committee formed by NYC Service.

The following organizations benefited from the work of one or more NYC Civic Corps member:

Amigos del Museo del Barrio
Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation
Big Brothers, Big Sisters of NYC
Broadway Housing Communities
BronxWorks
Catholic Big Sisters and Big Brothers
Catholic Charities
Citizens Committee for New York City
Common Cents
New York Community Environmental Center
Community Health Action of Staten Island
Computers For Youth Foundation, Inc.
CUNY Citizenship and Immigration Project
The Doe Fund
Doing Art Together, Inc.
DOROT, Inc.
Elmcor Youth & Adult Activities, Inc.
Episcopal Social Services of New York, Inc.
FDNY Foundation
NYC Department of Consumer Affairs, Office of Financial Empowerment
NYC Department of Cultural Affairs
NYC Department of Education – Schools support
NYC Department of Education
NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
NYC Department of Parks & Recreation
NYC Housing Authority
Mayor’s Office of Operations
Phipps Community Development Corporation
Federation Employment and Guidance Service, Inc.
Food Bank for New York City
From Farm to Table, Inc.
Girls Incorporated
Global Kids
Good Shepherd Services
Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement
Jewish Association for Services for the Aged Jumpstart
Learning Leaders, Inc.
Legal Information for Families Today
Mentoring USA
Mid-Bronx Senior Citizens Council, Inc.
Moshulu Preservation Corporation
New York Cares
New York Legal Assistance Group
NYC Department for the Aging
Planned Parenthood of New York City, Inc.
ReServe Elder Service Inc.
Safe Horizon
SCO Family of Services / Center for Family Life
Union Settlement Association, Inc.
United Way of New York City
University Settlement Society of New York
Visiting Nurse Service of New York
Year Up!
Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Association of Washington Heights
YWCA of the City of New York

About NYC Service

The NYC Civic Corps is a component of NYC Service, which was launched by Mayor Bloomberg in April 2009 to meet his State of the City pledge for New York City to lead the nation in answering President Obama’s national call to volunteerism. NYC Service is meeting its goals to make New York City the easiest place in the world to volunteer, target volunteer efforts to address the most pressing local challenges, and promote service as a core part of what it means to be a citizen of the greatest city in the world. NYC Service aims to drive volunteer resources to six impact areas where New York City’s needs are greatest: strengthening communities, helping neighbors in need, education, health, emergency preparedness and the environment.

In its first year of operation, NYC Service engaged nearly 120,000 New Yorkers in a wide range of volunteer activities, from helping with the City’s H1N1 vaccination and education efforts, to providing tax assistance to low-income families, to beautifying neighborhood blocks, to coating rooftops with reflective white paint. NYC Service launched 33 new or expanded volunteer initiatives and the comprehensive website, located at www.nyc.gov, has made it easier for New Yorkers to find opportunities to make a difference. More than 231,000 unique visitors to the NYC Service website had access to 1,000 volunteer opportunities.

New Yorkers can find opportunities to serve their communities by visiting www.nyc.gov or by calling 311.

The Corporation for National and Community Service today awarded AmeriCorps grants to a total of 17 New York City organizations, totaling more than $20 million. The organizations receiving funding are:

Teach for America $9,659,659
City Year $2,921,000
Local Initiatives Support Corporation $2,152,742
NYC Civic Corps $1,950,000
Harlem Children’s Zone $1,651,000
AmericaSCORES $1,005,422
Jumpstart for Young Children $830,513
Fund for the City of New York $529,888
New Teacher Project $477,915
Phoenix Houses of New York $455,040
After School Corporation $386,693
Community Health Care Association New York State $359,978
Sunset Park Health Council $359,082
Grand Street Settlement $260,002
Cypress Hill Local Development Corporation $191,281
Teachers College – Columbia University $169,276
Groundwork, Inc. $151,875






MEDIA CONTACT:


Stu Loeser / Marc La Vorgna   (212) 788-2958

Sandy Scott (Corp. for National and Community Service)   (202) 355-2173




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