On November 3rd, in partnership with ServeNext, AmeriCorps Alums will be in Washington DC for the Fight the Zero rally – an event mobilizing 200+ people onto Capital Hill to draw attention to the necessity of funding for AmeriCorps.
Even if you cannot make it to the physical event, there will be a social media rally via the Twitter hashtag #FighttheZERO and Facebook on Nov. 3rd, from 9:00am – 11:00am in all time zones, where you can let your voice be heard.
To represent as a part of AmeriCorps Alums, you can get involved with us in the following ways, on Nov 2nd & 3rd:
Post on our Facebook page or send us a tweet at @AmeriCorpsAlumsanswering, "Why Are You Fighting to Save Service?” Tell us how important your service year was to helping to get you where you are today - and on Nov. 3rd, during the social media rally, we will share your quotes and experiences; putting faces to the Save AmeriCorps movement.
Share and Retweet content that we will be posting on our Twitter and Facebook to your network. The only way we can garner support is the keep informing the masses that still may not understand the impact AmeriCorps has on bettering our nation.
Sign up to participate on Nov 3rd. in the Social Media Rally. Let's build a virtual rally to really make noise for what we are fighting for. We’ll be using the #FighttheZERO hashtag directing messages like these to Congress directly:·
As an Alum, I am fighting to see future members of AmeriCorps make a better America. #FighttheZERO
With youth unemployment at 20%, we can’t afford to cut AmeriCorps #FighttheZERO
We refuse to be the Lost Generation! Save AmeriCorps #FighttheZERO
Save AmeriCorps and save 85,000 jobs #FighttheZERO
Create jobs. Support communities. Fund AmeriCorps. #FighttheZERO
We aren’t looking for a bailout. We are looking to serve. Save AmeriCorps #FighttheZERO
To do nothing in the wake of Congress’s proposal would be to turn our back on the future of AmeriCorps. Let’s take action and fight for what has enabled us to live a Lifetime of Service. Join AmeriCorps Alums, ServeNext, and a community of young Americans to Save AmeriCorps and Fight the Zero on Nov 3rd.
In service,
Ben Duda
Executive Director, AmeriCorps Alums
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Networking With Director of AmeriCorps (John Gomperts)
8/9/2011
| When: | Tuesday, August 9, 2011 5:00 PM to 6:30PM |
| Where: | Map this event » The Bulldog Uptown 2549 Lyndale Ave S. Minneapolis, Minnesota 55405 United States |
| Contact: | Kara Balcerzak (kara.balcerzak@gmail.com) |
| REGISTRATION INFORMATION |
|---|
| Online registration is available until: 8/8/2011 |
| DETAILS |
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| The Minneapolis / Saint Paul Chapter of AmeriCorps Alums is organizing an informal gathering at The Bulldog Uptown |
Saturday, July 2, 2011
AmeriCorps Alums Newsletter - June 2011
JUNE 2011 MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
Letter from the Executive Director
Being back in New Orleans for the 2011 National Conference on Service and Volunteerism was exhilarating. I did my best to reflect this enthusiasm in my welcome address (beads included) at an event we co-hosted the night before Conference kicked off. This was my first conference as Executive Director of AmeriCorps Alums, and I was pleased to meet so many alumni that are making change in cities across the country. Researcher at a Major University: AmeriCorps Alum. Grant Manger at Fortune 500 Corporate Foundation: AmeriCorps Alum. Nonprofit Entrepreneur: AmeriCorps Alum….The presence of so many inspirational leaders reaffirmed what we know about individuals who serve in AmeriCorps: you vote, you’re engaged in civic life, and your AmeriCorps experience informs the type of aspirations you have for organizations and communities. Other conference highlights included: participating in two panel presentations (one with Achieve / Case Foundation on themdsummit11.com study and one with the CNCS Director of AmeriCorps on the "Member experience”); the AmeriCorps*NCCC Town Hall with all five current Campus Directors and new Director of AmeriCorps*NCCC; and our own AmeriCorps Alums Chapter roundtable.
A lot of exciting conversations were started in New Orleans, and we’re hard at work identifying new ways to engage a national network of 600,000 individuals who have served. We believe it’s a mix of strong engagement and support for local chapters, leadership and professional development opportunities, and new ways to catapult you from your service experience to transformational leadership. If you have ideas or input, don’t hesitate to reach out and share atben@americorpsalums.org – Thanks!
Member Profile Survey
We’re looking to collect new, updated data about our membership. This information will help in our fundraising and field-building efforts, and helps to effectively paint as clear a picture possible in answering - "Who are AmeriCorps Alums?” Please take 10-15 minutes to complete the linked survey. There will be Fandango and Best Buy gift cards available to randomly selected, completed surveys, so please help guide our mission and take the survey today!
9/11 Grant Opportunities and Funding to Cities with Strong Chapters
This week we’ve been convening chapter leader calls to discuss the 9/11 Day of Remembrance and Service 10th anniversary grant program that funds $2,000 service projects in 5 cities. This program is part of a national effort to make 9/11 a day of service and remembrance, with an overarching campaign goal of engaging one million volunteers this year. The deadline for this grant is July 8th – and can serve as good motivation for you to re-connect with your local chapter to see what future funding could be available. We see strong chapters as a key strategic component for change, and a great way for AmeriCorps Alums to impact their community’s civic landscape as an organized body of leaders. To learn more about how to (re)launch a chapter in your city, contact Greg atgheinrich@americorpsalums.org Learn more about the 9/11 effort and be part of this national movement at 911dayofservice.org …. Be on the lookout for the national campaign rollout this summer too.
Save AmeriCorps
Funding for AmeriCorps, and the Corporation for National and Community Service, are set to undergo another round of scrutiny and debate this year for Fiscal Year 2012 and the Save Service Coalition has outlined a new set of strategies to engage legislators with planned visits to 100 local offices on July 20th and August 10th this summer. AmeriCorps Alums is a Field Team Partner and we’ll have more information about how to get involved in your city and online, with stories from the field this summer, and about thenational Hill Day in September.
AmeriCorps Week 2011: Metrics of Success
We are pleased to report the following from YOUR hard work during National AmeriCorps Week 2011
- 3,124 volunteers reported through AmeriCorps Alums
- 564 service leaders reported through AmeriCorps Alums
- 11,872.75 hours of service reported through AmeriCorps Alums
- 1,217 registrants, 330 live participants for Professional Development Webinar
- 32 elected officials engaged – including Senators, Representatives, and Mayors
- 333 projects registered through AmeriCorpsAlumsEvents.org
- Incredible Return on Investment (ROI) from $10,000 grant, valued at over $250,000 (considering value of a volunteer hour is $21.36)
- Newspaper article in Nation’s Cities Weekly featured AmeriCorps Alums local chapters, in partnership with leading Mayors (view article here)
A special, heartfelt "thank you” to Amity Tripp for her leadership and service over the last five years. As many of you know, Amity stepped down as the Executive Director of AmeriCorps Alums last summer but was still working on strategy and business development for the organization. This year’s NCVS conference in New Orleans marked her last official duties with the organization, as she heads off to life’s most important job – being a mother to two wonderful young children. We wish her all the best and thank her for her contributions, vision, and passion in service.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Message from the new Executive Director of AmeriCorps Alums
Welcome from the new Executive Director of AmeriCorps Alums
The answer is 1998, March 2005, and 28 days
If you guessed, "When did you: hear about AmeriCorps, engage with AmeriCorps Alums, and start serving as the new AmeriCorps Alums Executive Director," you'd be right! Hearing Harris Wofford speak about AmeriCorps for the first time as an undergrad in 1998 profoundly and significantly impacted my personal and professional trajectory. I arrived at DC Village in the fall of 1999 as a new NCCC Corps Member, next serving as a Team Leader at the San Diego NCCC campus. Adding a third year at Citizen Schools as part of their two-year Teaching Fellowship in Boston, my early career was defined by AmeriCorps and five years of direct service experience in communities in need. I went to graduate school in Baltimore to learn more about the policies and programs that impacted the neighborhoods, schools, and citizens I had been working with. While at Johns Hopkins, I was able to spend a summer and a semester as a Mayoral Fellow in the O'Malley Administration, and see innovative urban government up close in the Baltimore Planning Department. Most recently I've spend the last five years working at KaBoom!, first as the Manager of Special Projects to the CEO and then as a Senior Program Manager, supporting the organization's mission and scaling their municipal engagement strategy.
Attending the March 2005 HandsOn Network Conference in Portland was another seminal moment, because this was where AmeriCorps Alums was re-launched in the form you find it today. Serving on the AmeriCorps Alums Advisory Council in those first few years has certainly helped prepare me for my role as Executive Director, which I assumed on April 4. It's an exciting time to be at the center of a national debate on the value of AmeriCorps and national service, particularly when over seven hundred thousand Americans can identify as an AmeriCorps Alums.
In the coming weeks and months, we'll be working hard to deepen our collaborations and elevate our organizational profile to provide greater impact and connectivity to the entire field of AmeriCorps alumni. We'll also be looking for input from our robust chapter network of volunteer leaders, our partner organizations, and most importantly from YOU, the Alums in our national network. Please don't hesitate to email me at ben@americorpsalums.org or leave a comment on our blog.
I am excited to serve as the new Executive Director of AmeriCorps Alums because I believe that there are hundreds of thousands of Americans that look to their AmeriCorps experience as their most important, most impactful, most life-altering achievement. It is our collective voice and leadership potential that will be the 21st century transformational force for change in America's communities.
I look forward to working with you towards this vision, please be sure and tell your friends and fellow Alums to get connected at www.americorpsalums.org.
Proudly an AmeriCorps Alum,
Ben Duda
600 Means Street, Ste. 210 | Atlanta, GA 30318
Phone: 202.729.8186 | Fax:202.729.8100
The answer is 1998, March 2005, and 28 days
If you guessed, "When did you: hear about AmeriCorps, engage with AmeriCorps Alums, and start serving as the new AmeriCorps Alums Executive Director," you'd be right! Hearing Harris Wofford speak about AmeriCorps for the first time as an undergrad in 1998 profoundly and significantly impacted my personal and professional trajectory. I arrived at DC Village in the fall of 1999 as a new NCCC Corps Member, next serving as a Team Leader at the San Diego NCCC campus. Adding a third year at Citizen Schools as part of their two-year Teaching Fellowship in Boston, my early career was defined by AmeriCorps and five years of direct service experience in communities in need. I went to graduate school in Baltimore to learn more about the policies and programs that impacted the neighborhoods, schools, and citizens I had been working with. While at Johns Hopkins, I was able to spend a summer and a semester as a Mayoral Fellow in the O'Malley Administration, and see innovative urban government up close in the Baltimore Planning Department. Most recently I've spend the last five years working at KaBoom!, first as the Manager of Special Projects to the CEO and then as a Senior Program Manager, supporting the organization's mission and scaling their municipal engagement strategy.
Attending the March 2005 HandsOn Network Conference in Portland was another seminal moment, because this was where AmeriCorps Alums was re-launched in the form you find it today. Serving on the AmeriCorps Alums Advisory Council in those first few years has certainly helped prepare me for my role as Executive Director, which I assumed on April 4. It's an exciting time to be at the center of a national debate on the value of AmeriCorps and national service, particularly when over seven hundred thousand Americans can identify as an AmeriCorps Alums.
In the coming weeks and months, we'll be working hard to deepen our collaborations and elevate our organizational profile to provide greater impact and connectivity to the entire field of AmeriCorps alumni. We'll also be looking for input from our robust chapter network of volunteer leaders, our partner organizations, and most importantly from YOU, the Alums in our national network. Please don't hesitate to email me at ben@americorpsalums.org or leave a comment on our blog.
I am excited to serve as the new Executive Director of AmeriCorps Alums because I believe that there are hundreds of thousands of Americans that look to their AmeriCorps experience as their most important, most impactful, most life-altering achievement. It is our collective voice and leadership potential that will be the 21st century transformational force for change in America's communities.
I look forward to working with you towards this vision, please be sure and tell your friends and fellow Alums to get connected at www.americorpsalums.org.
Proudly an AmeriCorps Alum,
Ben Duda
600 Means Street, Ste. 210 | Atlanta, GA 30318
Phone: 202.729.8186 | Fax:202.729.8100
Friday, April 29, 2011
AmeriCorps NCCC E-Newsletter
As an AmeriCorps Alumnus (2004), I do my best to try to "get things done" for the Guam community. I encourage my fellow AmeriCorps alumni to continue to make a difference!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Save Service in America!
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On Tuesday, March 15th, we are asking you, your friends, your family, your neighbors, the milk man, and anyone else you can think of to make a call toSave Service in America! Help us get the attention of the entire Senate by overwhelming their offices with phone calls asking them to support AmeriCorps and keep national service alive in America! Congress has passed a short-term spending bill that will avert a federal government shutdown for two weeks. Before March 18th, Congress must reach a compromise on the FY11 budget. As you know, the House already voted to eliminate AmeriCorps when they passed H.R. 1. This week, the Senate weighed in: the vote on H.R. 1 and on the Democratic alternative failed. Now, serious negotiations will follow, as the House and Senate try to make the tough decisions and find common ground. The question is: will the FY11 budget agreement fund AmeriCorps and Corporation for National and Community Service? That is why, on March 15th, we are going to flood their offices with calls telling them to support AmeriCorps and service. The best part is, you don't even have to take off from work for this! You can locate your Senators here and find the phone number to their office. When you call, simply tell them you support AmeriCorps, what it does for the country, and that Congress should keep it funded in the next year.Your voice matters! You can also continue to help support service by submitting your personal testimonials of service. We're preparing a collection of these to give to the Senate. Our best stories will show how national service has shaped and changed the U.S. for the better for the last 45 years and cutting it now would be a terrible mistake. For those who have already contributed stories, thank you! For those who haven't, now is your chance to share! That's all for now, but keep following us onFacebookandTwitterfor updates. Keep on the great work and don't forget to call your Senator on March 15th and tell them to Save Service! Serve On! The AmeriCorps Alums Team |
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Guam AmeriCorps Induction
Guam - The Serve Guam Commission and the Guam Americorps program inducted more than a hundred newly-recruited Americorps members. These members will provide volunteer services at different private/non profit/governmental organizations.
A kickoff event was held January 15, 2011 at the Saint Francis School Auditorium in Yona. In attendance included Governor Eddie Calvo and First Lady Christine Calvo, along with Department of Labor director Leah Beth Naholowaa.
AmeriCorps Alums Update - Jan. 23
Now that MLK, Jr. Day is a success AmeriCorps Alums is turning its attention to Follow The Leader!(And if you have not already, please take a quick moment to complete the MLK, Jr. Day meriCorps Alums survey)
In the footsteps of our TAG! challenge, Follow the Leader encourages people to turn their service into an ongoing commitment to community change by offering step-by-step playbooks that recreate some of the most successful volunteer projects we’ve seen delivered across the nation.
To play Follow the Leader, simply pick a project to replicate (find them here) and then recruit others to join you. Follow the Leader is partnering with Crowdrise, which will give you an opportunity to raise funds with your social networks to make your project incredibly successful.
Completing and reporting back on a project will earn you a shot at winning the Grand Prize: an all expense paid trip for two to the Philippines for a one week "Volunteer Vacation” coordinated by HandsOn Manila, that includes airfare, fees and six night’s lodging! You could also win these monthly prizes...
January:iPad for you and $2,500 grant for your cause
February: All expense paid trip for two and two tickets to the Tribute event in Washington DC in March 2011
March:All expense paid trip for 2 to the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in New Orleans - June 6-8, 2011
April:iPad for you and $2,500 grant for your cause
May:All expense paid trip for two for taping of Curb Appeal: The Block with John Gidding
So what are you waiting for? Let's Play!
In service,
The AmeriCorps Alums Team
In the footsteps of our TAG! challenge, Follow the Leader encourages people to turn their service into an ongoing commitment to community change by offering step-by-step playbooks that recreate some of the most successful volunteer projects we’ve seen delivered across the nation.
To play Follow the Leader, simply pick a project to replicate (find them here) and then recruit others to join you. Follow the Leader is partnering with Crowdrise, which will give you an opportunity to raise funds with your social networks to make your project incredibly successful.
Completing and reporting back on a project will earn you a shot at winning the Grand Prize: an all expense paid trip for two to the Philippines for a one week "Volunteer Vacation” coordinated by HandsOn Manila, that includes airfare, fees and six night’s lodging! You could also win these monthly prizes...
January:iPad for you and $2,500 grant for your cause
February: All expense paid trip for two and two tickets to the Tribute event in Washington DC in March 2011
March:All expense paid trip for 2 to the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in New Orleans - June 6-8, 2011
April:iPad for you and $2,500 grant for your cause
May:All expense paid trip for two for taping of Curb Appeal: The Block with John Gidding
So what are you waiting for? Let's Play!
In service,
The AmeriCorps Alums Team
Archive AMC Snapshot of Promoting Academic Excellence
AmeriCorps members volunteer at LBJ Elementary School during its July 4, 2003 celebration.
Archive AMC Snapshot of Promoting Literacy 2
AmeriCorps volunteer Benjamin Beatima (right) helps a child greet Clifford the Big Red Dog, while his brother (seated) waits for his turn to shake Clifford’s hand during the Hagatna Public Library’s “C.O.L.O.R. Day – Celebrate Our Love of Reading” Celebration held on June 26, 2004.
Archive AMC Snapshot of Promoting Literacy 1
Happy New Year from Around the Pacific!
Happy New Year from around the Pacific! May the year 2011 bring you many blessings filled with much love, joy, peace, and happiness!HAPPY NEW YEAR! - English
Filis Añu Nuebo! – Chamorro
Feliz Año Nuevo! – Spanish
Engan ke ya sasu! - Kosraean
Gung Hay Fat Choy – Chinese
Ungil Beches Er Rak! – Palauan
Selsalan Ebéach e duw! – Yapese
Peren En Parakapw! – Pohnpeian
Hauoli Makahiki Hou – Hawaiian
Pwapwan Ei Ier Mi Fo – Chuukese
Sehe Bokmanee Bateuseyo! – Korean
Maligayang Bagong Taon – Tagalog
Cung-Chuc Tan-Xuan! – Vietnamese
Jeramman ilo iio in ekaal! – Marshallese
Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu – Japanese
Ameseighil ubwutiiwel Layúi Luugh me raagh féé! – Carolinian
Image source: Google.com
Merry Christmas from around the Pacific!~Felis Pasgua (Chamorro)
~Maligayan Pasko (Tagalog)
~Peren en Krismas (Pohnpeian)
~Monono ilo raaneoan Nejin (Marshallese)
~Falang e Baynag (Yapese)
~Tok Tapeng (Kosraean)
~Ungil Kurismas (Palauan)
~Pwapwan Kirisimas (Chuukese)
~Mele Kalikimaka (Hawaiian)
~Ameseighil ubwutiiwel Layi Luugh me raagh fee (Carolinian)
AmeriCorps Alumni Showcases Guam IRA Website
One of AmeriCorps' alumni, Dr. Matilda Naputi Rivera, Class of 2004, serves as the Guam Council International Reading Association Webmaster. She is a Guam IRA Board member and maintains the Guam IRA website on a continual basis.
The Guam Council of the International Reading Association helps educators and parents alike discover the wonder and the worlds to be found in books. Guam IRA is a professional organization for individuals who are genuinely concerned with the development of reading programs for children and adults. They work together to improve literacy and reading instruction in Guam and Micronesia.
Visit the IRA website at http://iraguam.blogspot.com/. Enjoy!
The Guam Council of the International Reading Association helps educators and parents alike discover the wonder and the worlds to be found in books. Guam IRA is a professional organization for individuals who are genuinely concerned with the development of reading programs for children and adults. They work together to improve literacy and reading instruction in Guam and Micronesia.
Visit the IRA website at http://iraguam.blogspot.com/. Enjoy!
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