CitySquare takes the gold!

AmeriCorps--another look: Summer 2015



CitySquare AmeriCorps team at work in the heart of Dallas

Here's a report on one of CitySquare's placement sites for its AmeriCorps team members. Well-deserved recognition!

Join AmeriCorps at CitySquare!

2014-15 AmeriCorps Member Requirements

Position Title: Afterschool Hero!

Eligibility: 17 or older by 09/08/2014

High School Graduate

US Citizen or Permanent Resident

Pass a criminal background check

Must have reliable transportation

General availability Sept-May, M-F, 1-7pm

Commitment: 09/08/2014 through 05/29/2015 (full 9 months)

Min. Hours: 20 Hrs/Wk



675 Hrs Total
 Compensation: $221 Biweekly; $4,200 Total Living Allowance

$2,150 End of Term Education Award
 Required Events: AmeriCorps & Site Training 09/08-09/12/2014

Additional Trainings TBD

Afterschool Position Description:
 Members serve with one partner agency for the length of their term to provide afterschool assistance, homework help, tutoring and lead academic enrichment and recreational activities to youth grades K-12 under the supervision of a Site Coordinator.

Before students arrive on site, members plan, gather materials and prepare their stations for the day’s activities. When the students arrive, members guide students to the appropriate stations, help with homework and provide an afterschool meal. Based on the curriculum set out for the day, the member will assist or lead an academic enrichment activity. In the evening, the member will ensure students are picked up safely by a parent or guardian. Workstations will be cleaned up and team meetings may take place at this time. Any required data collection will be completed at this time, including time sheets, student attendance records, meal counts and homework completion.

Members also assist with program-related special projects and events as determined by site staff. Members are expected to help with program based events to help whenever possible, as long as these requests are within the AmeriCorps guidelines and do not take away time from essential functions.

Placement Process:
 All prospective members must be interviewed by both the partner agency and AmeriCorps before receiving an official offer to be a part of the AmeriCorps program. This offer will be made by the AmeriCorps program via email and requires an official acceptance. Once a member has accepted the position, information on training and completing the required FBI fingerprint background check is provided.

All members will be confirmed no later than September 8, 2014.

Partner Agencies:
 Cornerstone Baptist Church http://www.cornerstonedallas.org/

Jubilee Park and Community Center http://www.jubileecenter.org/

Kids University http://kids-u.org/

Trinity River Mission http://www.trinityrivermission.org/

Wesley Rankin Community Center http://wesleyrankin.org/wp/  

Summer jobs now open!

Looking for 225 good community builders!

CitySquare AmeriCorps is recruiting for Summer 2014!

Help us spread the word about our summer of service opportunity by forwarding this information on to friends, peers, family, coworkers and anyone else you think might be interested! The application is available at www.citysquare.org/becomeamember.

How can you help?

1.   Forward this Email! Word of mouth is our best recruitment tool so forward this email to everyone you think might benefit!

2.   Post a Flyer! Help us plaster the city with this awesome summer program! (Pull-Tab flyer available in English and Spanish--just call number below!)

3.   Invite us to an Event! We’re happy to come out to your group and discuss our program!

Members commit to 300-450 hours of service during the summer, receive a biweekly living allowance while they serve and upon successful completion receive money for school! More details available in the “AmeriCorps Handout 2014” we'll send if you call us.

This summer we have over 225 positions with following programs:

Food on the Move – Serve with a mobile feeding program that provides daily meals to 10,000 children residing in low income apartment communities in Irving, Dallas and Houston. Members must be willing to serve outside all day in the heat, be energetic, have reliable transportation and thrive in a team environment. Preference is given to applicants 21 or over, bilingual (English/Spanish) and access to reliable transportation.

Education - Help eliminate summer learning loss with one of our twelve community partner agencies; members support structured summer programming to provide daily enrichment activities to youth in low income areas of Dallas and San Antonio. Members must have reliable transportation and interest in working with youth.

Member Eligibility:

-      Available full-time beginning June 4, 2014 (exceptions will not be made for HS students)

-      17 or older by June 4, 2014

-      US Citizen or Permanent Resident (temporary work or student visa does not suffice)

-      Available all summer (Edu - August 8, FOM - August 15)

-      Reliable Transportation

Priority consideration is given to applications received by March 14, 2014 and on a rolling basis until all summer positions are filled.

We encourage applicants to apply early! Interviews will begin in mid-March!

In service,

Jennifer A. Rajkumar

Director of AmeriCorps

CitySquare

409 N. Haskell Ave.

Dallas, TX 75246

P: 214 828 1085 ext 122

F: 214 828 6392

jrajkumar@citysquare.org

www.CitySquare.org

This note came to me after our all-staff meeting on Tuesday.  Inside look into the world of CitySquare!

The TED Talk reminded me of a new program at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library that launched in September with the help of two CitySquare AmeriCorps members.  The program is an effort to more proactively embrace the homeless neighbors who regularly visit the library, a constituency that has long been ignored, marginalized and dismissed by fellow patrons and library staff. In fact one homeless neighbor expressed that she has visited the library every day for the past 10 years and has never been addressed or approached by a staff member…until now.

To more effectively understand the needs of these neighbors, the library now hosts a regular “Coffee & Conversations” hour where homeless neighbors are directly engaged in conversation with each other and perhaps more notably, with library staff. For the first time in the library’s history, staff are learning the names, stories, needs, interests and dreams of folks they have discounted for years.

New programs are being implemented at the library that is driven and developed by the homeless for the homeless. The change is transformational and exciting and it would not be possible without the two AmeriCorps members.

If you ever visit the Central Library, you will see a Resource Center on the first floor staffed by two members. They are available daily to any neighbor in need of referral services – or even just to chat. The next Coffee & Conversations is this Thursday, December 5^th at 2 pm on the first floor. If you are available, I encourage you to stop by! In fact, one of the projects they are starting is a podcast with these neighbors to share their stories and there has already been a request to get an interview with you!

Here are the two members serving downtown, both are Food on the Move alum from last summer as well! (L: Antoinette Carey Spriggs; R: Dominique Edwards)

  

Had to share!

In service,

Jennifer A. Rajkumar

Director of AmeriCorps 

Press Release: CitySquare wins state award!

CitySquare Receives Governor’s Volunteer Award for Community Leadership for Its Food on the Move Program

Dallas, TX. August 5, 2013 --- The 30^th Annual Governor’s Volunteer Awards have been announced with CitySquare being named as a recipient in the Community Leadership category. These awards allow the State of Texas to recognize individuals, organizations, corporations and public entities that truly embody the Texas tradition of community service.  The Community Leadership category recognizes an individual, group or organization for strengthening their community through outstanding partnerships, service and volunteerism. Community Leaders understand the importance of service and develop connections between groups and individuals to help them craft collaborative solutions to local needs. They exhibit a dedication to their communities that inspires those around them to serve.

Food on the Move provides over one million meals in a mobile feeding program targeting youth at low-income apartment sites, churches, nonprofits, and summer camps.  Funding for the food comes through the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program. Food on the Move takes a stand against childhood hunger statewide, offering mobile feeding programs in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin. Through an innovative collaboration with AmeriCorps, the program has delivered meals and provided enrichment to thousands of children. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has hailed Food on the Move “a model for the rest of the nation.”

“Both the kids we serve and our AmeriCorps members benefit from Food on the Move,” says Dr. Keven Vicknair, Director of the Food on the Move and AmeriCorps programs at CitySquare, “We are proud to be recognized with the Community Leadership Award especially for a program that is helping to shape young people into community leaders.”

All of the awardees will be honored on September 11^th at a private dinner with OneStar Foundation board members and other dignitaries at the Renaissance Austin Hotel in Austin. In addition, awardees will be recognized throughout the Texas Nonprofit Summit on September 12th and 13th 2013.

CitySquare is one of the largest, most effective faith-based organizations in North Texas, operating a network of services and programs focused on fighting poverty through hunger relief, health care, housing and hope. CitySquare is the third largest summer food sponsor in the state of Texas.  A United Way agency, CitySquare is ranked a 4-star charity by Charity Navigator with more than 92% of revenue going directly to its programs.

                                                                     # #  #  #

For more information about the event and the work of CitySquare, please contact: Katherine Allen at 214.303.2146, kallen@CitySquare.org  or Lou Ann York at 214.343.1599, lapub@sbcglobal.net .

Summer hunger and nutrition

Watch this report on CitySquare's "Food on the Move" program this summer in Austin, Texas.

 We're also delivering meals in Dallas and Houston. In addition to the meals, we provide organized physical fitness activities for low-income children.

 

Good News for CitySquare AmeriCorps Team!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

 

DATE: July 5, 2013

 

CONTACT: Elizabeth Darling, 512-287-2062, liz@onestarfoundation.org

 

OneStar Foundation Announces AmeriCorps Grants to Texas Organizations

 

2,126 AmeriCorps members to meet state and local needs

 

Austin, TX – OneStar Foundation announced today that 22 organizations in Texas have received AmeriCorps*State grants from the Corporation for National and Community Service. 

 

The grants will support 2,126 AmeriCorps members across the state who will serve as in-school, after-school and summertime teachers, tutors and mentors, provide intensive college access and success services, engage in adult and early literacy interventions, participate in early childhood development programs, distribute food to economically disadvantaged children and families, engage children in daily physical activity, assist with case management for the homeless, recruit hundreds of volunteers, and respond to disasters throughout the state.

 

OneStar Foundation will distribute more than $12.3 million in funding to organizations selected in a highly competitive statewide and national process. 

 

“National service is an essential part of the solution to many of the social challenges facing our Texas communities,” said Elizabeth Darling, President/CEO. “These AmeriCorps members will meet pressing local needs and strengthen Texas as they develop civic and leadership skills that can last a lifetime.”

 

The current year’s AmeriCorps grant cycle was highly competitive, due to the strong and growing demand by organizations seeking AmeriCorps resources. Demand is also strong from individuals wanting to serve. CNCS received a record-breaking 582,000 AmeriCorps applications in 2011, a dramatic increase from the 360,000 seen in 2009. 

 

"AmeriCorps members are improving the lives of millions of citizens and having a positive and lasting impact on the toughest challenges facing our communities,” said Wendy Spencer, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. “I congratulate these organizations for their strong applications in a highly competitive year. Thanks to the dedicated service of AmeriCorps members, these organizations will increase their reach and impact on meeting local needs.”

 

The grants advance the priorities of the bipartisan 2009 Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act and focus AmeriCorps resources on six key service areas: disaster services, economic opportunity, education, environmental stewardship, healthy futures, and veterans and military families.

 

On a national level, AmeriCorps engages 80,000 Americans of all ages and backgrounds in service to meet critical needs. Members serve through more than 14,000 organizations in rural and urban communities throughout the nation. Among other accomplishments, AmeriCorps members last year mobilized 3.4 million community volunteers, and tutored, mentored or served more than 3.5 million disadvantaged youth.

 

Since 1994, more than 775,000 Americans have provided more than 1 billion hours of service to their communities and country through AmeriCorps. In 2012, 1,964 AmeriCorps members served at 20 programs across the state of Texas in the fields of Education, Economic Opportunity, Healthy Futures, Environmental Stewardship, and Veterans & Military Families. Members provided 2.3 million hours of service and earned $7.4 million in Segal Education Awards to further their own education and repay student loan debt after serving. The 20 AmeriCorps*Texas programs received $12,111,429 in federal AmeriCorps funding, and leveraged an additional $9,766,781 in match funding.

 

Below is a listing of 2013 AmeriCorps grants in Texas:

• Amarillo ISD, $285,430 to support 55 AmeriCorps Members
• American YouthWorks, $260,000 to support 20 AmeriCorps Members
• AVANCE, Inc. El Paso Chapter, $930,960 to support 74 AmeriCorps Members
• Breakthrough , $330,013 to support 106 AmeriCorps Members
• CitySquare, $1,142,953 to support 304 AmeriCorps Members
• City Year, Inc. , $1,476,300 to support 111 AmeriCorps Members
• College Forward, $965,655 to support 75 AmeriCorps Members
• Communities in Schools of Central Texas, $711,044 to support 96 AmeriCorps Members
• Communities in Schools of the Heart of Texas, $279,168 to support 48 AmeriCorps Members
• Front Steps, $403,000 to support 31 AmeriCorps Members
• Harris County Department of Education, $326,618 to support 32 AmeriCorps Members
• Literacy Coalition of Central Texas, $330,592 to support 32 AmeriCorps Members
• Project GRAD, $244,353 to support 25 AmeriCorps  Members
• Project Transformation, $477,984 to support 115 AmeriCorps Members
• Reading Partners, $370,500 to support 30 AmeriCorps Members
• SA Youth, $265,421 to support 40 AmeriCorps Members
• Schulenburg Weimar In Focus Together, $282,830 to support 41 AmeriCorps Members
• Teach for America, $950,000 to support 634 AmeriCorps Members
• Travis County Dept. of Health and Human Services and Veterans Service, $301,696 to support 32 AmeriCorps Members
• University of North Texas, $466,436 to support 83 AmeriCorps Members
• The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, $265,892 to support 40 AmeriCorps Members
• University of Texas at Austin | Charles A. Dana Center, $1,330,000 to support 106 AmeriCorps Members

###

 

OneStar Foundation is the Governor-designated National Service Commission in Texas and administers the AmeriCorps*State grant program. The Governor-appointed Board members oversee the legal and policy governance of the AmeriCorps*Texas program portfolio. OneStar Foundation connects partners and resources to build a stronger nonprofit sector in Texas. Learn more at onestarfoundation.org.

 

AmeriCorps is a national service program administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that engages more than 5 million Americans in service each year and administers United We Serve, the President’s call to service.  Individuals can learn about available opportunities and apply online by visiting AmeriCorps.gov.

 

 

 

 

 

Just in from our AmeriCorps team in Houston. . .

[This report just in from Dr. Keven Vicknair, Director of our AmeriCorps team at CitySquare.  CitySquare directs almost 300 AmeriCorps members who work in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin this summer at children's programs and delivering summer lunches to thousands of low-income kids.  I find this report both amazing and yet, not at all atypical for some of the neighborhoods where we live and work.]

AmeriCorps members are gathered right now, eating lunch and talking about their day with one another.

As I walked through, I heard two members tell a story of their experience putting out door hangers at one of their stops.

The manager had told them not to talk to anyone on site. As the team of two young people made their way through the complex, they came across a group of young men blocking the path and talking about shooting someone the night before.

The team had to make a choice to turn back to go the long way around the property or to casually pass.

They choose to casually pass and the group stopped talking, let them pass, and then resumed their discussion of the person they shot the previous evening.

So... as you go about your day, please know you will at least not have to experience anything like the fear these two 20 years old members did today as they tried to make sure kids have a decent meal for lunch.

Keven

CitySquare AmeriCorps recruiting summer members!

Celebrating the New Year means preparing for another big summer of service! CitySquare’s N² Texas Corps will engage over 250 AmeriCorps members in nearly 100,000 hours of service this summer alone but we need your help to fill these positions and spread the word about our summer program!

The N² Texas Corps is actively recruiting for over 250 summer positions in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio! Positions are available in the following programs:

     
Food on the Move – Members serve 40 hours a week June 5 – August 23, 2013 to provide daily meals and play to youth in low-income apartment communities (positions available in Dallas, Irving and Houston). Preference is given to bilingual (Spanish/English) applicants and applicants 21 and over.

      Education – Members serve with a community partner site 30-40 hours a week starting June 5 (end date varies by site) to provide daily educational enrichment and structured activity to at-risk youth (positions available in Dallas and San Antonio).

The application is attached and available online at www.CitySquare.org/BecomeAMember.

How to refer someone to our program:
      1. Forward this email with the attached application to anyone who might be interested.

2.  Simply direct your friends, peers, neighbors, family, etc to the CitySquare website at www.CitySquare.org/BecomeAMember.

3.   Direct potential applicants to us via email at AmeriCorps@CitySquare.org.

How to help us spread the word:

1.   Pass this on via email to friends, family, peers, church groups, civic groups, PTA, neighborhood associations, any group you have access to via email.

2.   Invite us to speak at a relevant networking event, organizational meeting, college class, etc.

3.   Word of mouth – share this opportunity with your friends and family over dinner, at church, and other social gatherings!

4.   Post a Flyer – I’ve attached a pull-tab flyer you can print out and post at your site, church, or any other community boards you have access to.

5.   Social Media – blog, tweet, or facebook us, you name it! – spread the word about this opportunity through your social networks!

Again, the application is attached but it is available online!  Additional information is available on the application cover page and our website but feel free to contact me with additional questions and/or ideas to help us spread the word! 

In service,

Jennifer A. Rajkumar
Associate Director

N² Texas Corps

CitySquare
409 N. Haskell Ave.
Dallas, TX 75246

P: 214 828 1085 ext 122
F: 214 828 6392

jrajkumar@CitySquare.org
CitySquare.org

AmeriCorps

CitySquare's great summer AmeriCorps team begins work on Monday, June 4!  All of our members will be working with children and nutrition in one way or another throughout the summer.

Texas has the 2nd highest rate of “food insecurity” in the U.S. and the highest rate of child hunger in the nation.

With the cut-backs in funding for recreation centers and summer programs in Dallas, CitySquare has filled in the gaps for several years. Summer 2012 is no different.

Once again, City Square and its team of AmeriCorps volunteers, begin a Summer of Service and the summer food program, Food on the Move, to see that Dallas area kids living in under served communities will have food and activities this summer. CitySquare’s Food on the Move program deploys mobile feeding units into the neighborhoods where children are not involved in other summer programming.

This year, CitySquare goes statewide instituting the summer food program in Irving, Austin, Houston and San Antonio! The goal for Food on the Move 2012 is to serve over 500,000 summer meals and make an impact on childhood hunger across Texas.

It is not only food that will be served up by these young ambassadors. They also spend an hour each day with the kids on their “routes” in activities geared to enrich young minds and to prevent obesity.

Food on the Move is a project in partnership with Pepsi.

Last week, CitySquare organized the swearing in of over 250 AmeriCorps members!  Thanks to Dr. Terry Flowers and St. Philip’s School & Community Center for  hosting the rousing ceremony!

It was my great honor to administer the AmeriCorps Pledge to our new members:

I will get things done for America

To make our people safer, smarter and healthier

I will bring Americans together

To strengthen our communities

Faced with apathy, I will take action

Faced with conflict, I will seek common ground

Faced with adversity, I will persevere

I will carry this commitment with me this year and beyond

I am an AmeriCorps member

And I will get things done!

CitySquare AmeriCorps team recruiting for summer 2012!

CitySquare is still actively recruiting for nearly 230 summer AmeriCorps positions in Dallas to serve with Food on the Move.

CitySquare’s Food on the Move program combats childhood hunger by deploying mobile teams of AmeriCorps members into low-income apartment communities to provide youth with a nutritious lunch and 30-45 minutes of enrichment each day during the summer break from school. The youth we touch do not have access to traditional summer programming or nutritious meals during the day – so we bring it to them!

Members must be 17 or older with a HS Diploma or GED prior to program start (May 29), have reliable transportation, and a desire to work with youth. In return for 330 hours of service between May 29-Aug 17, members receive a $1,800 living allowance and $1,175 education award.

CitySquare's AmeriCorps team provides the perfect service opportunity for returning college students, graduating seniors, or someone who just wants to give back in a big way this summer!

How to refer someone to our program:

1. Simply direct your friends, peers, neighbors, family, etc to the CitySquare website at www.CitySquare.org/BecomeAMember.

2. Direct potential applicants to us via email at AmeriCorps@CitySquare.org.

How to help us spread the word:

1. Pass this on via email to friends, family, peers, church groups, civic groups, PTA, neighborhood associations, any group you have access to via email.

2. Invite us to speak at a relevant networking event, organizational meeting, college class, etc.

3. Word of mouth – share this opportunity with your friends and family over dinner, at church, and other social gatherings!

4. Post a Flyer – I’ve attached a pull-tab flyer you can print out and post at your site, church, or any other community boards you have access to.

5. Social Media – blog, tweet, or facebook us! – spread the word about this opportunity through your social networks!

All the information any applicant will need to know may be found at our website.

Please feel free to contact me with questions or ideas on how to get the word out about this great summer opportunity.

In service,

Jennifer A. Rajkumar
Associate Director
N2 Texas Corps
CitySquare
409 N. Haskell Ave.
Dallas, TX 75246

P: 214 828 1085 ext 122
F: 214 828 6392
jrajkumar@CitySquare.org
www.CitySquare.org

Join CitySquare AmeriCorps Team for Summer 2012

It’s that time of year again – we’re recruiting for summer!

The N2 Texas Corps is actively recruiting nearly 230 summer positions in Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, and Houston!

The application is also available online at www.CitySquare.org/BecomeAMember.

How to refer someone to our program:

1. Simply direct your friends, peers, neighbors, family, etc to the CitySquare website at www.CitySquare.org/BecomeAMember.

2. Direct potential applicants to us via email at AmeriCorps@CitySquare.org.

How to help us spread the word:

1. Pass this on via email to friends, family, peers, church groups, civic groups, PTAs, neighborhood associations, any group you have access to via email.

2. Invite us to speak at a relevant networking event, organizational meeting, college class, etc.

3. Word of mouth – share this opportunity with your friends and family over dinner, at church, and other social gatherings!

4. Post a Flyer--request one by email at AmeriCorps@CitySquare.org.

5. Social Media – blog, tweet, or facebook us, you name it! – spread the word about this opportunity through your social networks!

 All the information any applicant will need to know may be found on our website.

As always, feel free to contact me with your questions or ideas.

In service,

Jennifer A. Rajkumar
Associate Director
N2 Texas Corps
CitySquare
409 N. Haskell Ave.
Dallas, TX 75246
P: 214 828 1085 ext 122
F: 214 828 6392
jrajkumar@CitySquare.org
http://www.citysquare.org/

Ready to serve? www.CitySquare.org/BecomeAMember

Dallas Business Journal spotlights new "Opportunity Center"

CitySquare celebrates construction launch
Dallas Business Journal by Bill Hethcock, Staff Writer
Date: Wednesday, January 25, 2012, 1:31pm CST

Construction is under way on the $12.5 million CitySquare Opportunity Center at the southeast corner of Interstate 30 and Malcolm X Blvd. in Dallas.

Public officials including Mayor Mike Rawlings and other project supporters will get a bus tour of the site at a breakfast Thursday to celebrate the start of construction.

The 52,000-square-foot campus will include a food distribution center; a teaching and production kitchen; a wellness center; and a large employment training center that will house new offices for Workforce Solutions of Greater Dallas and CitySquare’s WorkPaths employment training department. The center also will house the AmeriCorps headquarters/offices and a staging area for a summer and after-school lunch program funded by the Texas Department of Agriculture.
The services are all under one roof with easy access by Dallas Area Rapid Transit Dallas Area Rapid Transit.

The opportunity center, scheduled to open in 2013, will serve low-income residents of East and South Dallas. The center has been a dream of CitySquare’s President and CEO Larry James, a longtime leader in efforts to end poverty in the heart of Dallas.

"The opportunity center will create both enhanced synergy among a vital group of nonprofit partners and convenience of access for the neighbors who come to us seeking to take positive, proactive steps toward a better, more stable life for themselves and their families," James said.

About half of the $12.5 million in development funds for the facility has already been raised, and a public fund-raising campaign is under way.

Omniplan provided the architectural design and Con-Real serves as general contractor for the Opportunity Center.

Bill covers health care, law, education and nonprofits.

Take Action Today: Save AmeriCorps!!!

On Friday, a number of us had the privilege to meet with Robert Velasco, II, the CEO of the Corporation of National and Community Service, best known for its AmeriCorps program created in 1993.  Talking with Mr. Velasco for over two hours allowed me to rehearse some fairly amazing facts and stats about our AmeriCorps program here at CitySquare.  

For example. . .

• 80% of our AmeriCorps resources go out the door to our partners in the community, typically very effecitve but smaller non-profits who use the members to build capacity in operating summer and after-school programs
• Over the past year our members worked with 3,700 low-income children in these programs and at CitySquare
• AmeriCorps members provided nutritious food products to 28,000 individuals, including 8,000 children in our mobile summer lunch program who also participated in enrichment programs focusing on learning and fitness

The list could actually go on and on as to the benefit and cost effectiveness of the AmeriCorps program.  I've witnessed amazing "return on investment" in human and community capital over the past 6 years that we've been involved with AmeriCorps and the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Upon my return to the office from my meeting with Mr. Velasco, I learn that members of the U. S. House of Representatives have crafted a legislative plan to end almost all of the work of the Corporation of National and Community Service!  A truly absurd, short-sighted, ridiculous plan.

Here's the briefing I received:

The Save Service Coalition learned yesterday that the House of Representatives has issued draft legislation to shut down the Corporation for National and Community Service and eliminate funding for AmeriCorps, the Social Innovation Fund, the Volunteer Generation Fund and Learn & Serve America. While we are pleased that the House bill includes funding for the National Senior Volunteer Programs, the bill dissolves the entire service enterprise, cuts over 100,000 jobs, and eliminates essential services that children, seniors, veterans and entire communities rely on.

Please visit the Save Service Take Action page to write and call your Members of Congress immediately to prevent this House bill from becoming law.

All of this comes at a time when the nation's investment in service should be growing to create jobs and better provide services to local communities. We will continue to work with the tens of thousands of Americans who are engaged in the Save Service initiative to ensure our country's policymakers recognize the value national service provides to our country and the critical role that the Corporation for National and Community Service plays in support of the 70,000 nonprofit and community organizations that mobilize Americans in service.

At a time when we need to find inexpensive ways to get things done, provide educational services for children and leverage scarce resourses, destroying AmeriCorps and its family of service solutions makes no sense whatsoever. 

Please take action today to tell your Senators and your member of Congress that you support continuing the vital work of the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Food on the Move

We received the drawing above from a child involved in our "Food on the Move" initiative this summer.  You'll also see a thank you letter from this child's mother. 

Partnering with the Texas Department of Agriculture through our Nurture, Knowledge and Nutrition (N,K,N) team, our AmeriCorps team and our for-profit allies at PepsiCo, we delivered thousands of meals to eligible children living all across Dallas. 

Theresa Cissell, Program Specialist for our AmeriCorps team sent the drawing and the letter my way with the following commentary:

I thought you might enjoy the letter (an accompanying drawing) we got from one of the parents at a Food on the Move site. I think it shows that this program is about more than lunches!
 
Here are some stats for the summer that I sent to the amazing AmeriCorps members that made it through the summer, and with smiles on their faces.


We started the summer with 53 dedicated AmeriCorps members & 9 mobile routes.


You made it through 40 days of triple digit temperatures & 23,943 hours of service.

And together, this is what you achieved:  1,136 children received the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award & 279,551 meals were served to kids.

The Food on the Move effort does not take into account the meals delivered through N,K,N to well over 100 program sites across Dallas.  We'll have those numbers to add to this report later.  Combined we served well over 500,000 meals to low-income children during the summer school break.
Great work in the midst of recording breaking summer in terms of both temperature and community service!

The City Square "Opportunity Center"--a dream coming soon. . .



Fall AmeriCorps positions open!

Important Announcement from CitySquare!

Summer is almost over and we’re gearing up for our fall program! We are currently recruiting for 80 AmeriCorps positions whose work begins on September 1st.

These new members will be placed with one of our partner agencies to provide after-school programming to youth in low income areas of Dallas.

Minimum Requirements:

· 17 years or older
· HS Diploma or Equivalent
· No criminal background
· Ability to serve M-F 1pm-6:30pm between 9/1/11-6/1/12
· Commitment to community service and development
· Interest in education and working with kids

Member Benefits: (see application for details)

· Biweekly living allowance
· End of Term education award
· Loan forbearance

More information is available online at www.CitySquare.org/BecomeAMember or www.AmeriCorps.gov.

Spread the word!

Help us spread the word about this opportunity by forwarding this email to friends, colleagues, family, and any other email listserv you have access to!  Or, use Facebook, Twitter and/or other social media to direct anyone interested to CitySquare's AmeriCorps team!

In service,

Jennifer A. Rajkumar
Program Manager
N2 Texas Corps
CitySquare