Funding will support 58 AmeriCorps members who will assist our public lands management agencies address the backlog of unmet needs while launching their own careers in natural resources and public lands management.
Trout Lake, WA– The Mt. Adams Institute has received a $499,000 AmeriCorps grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to support 58 AmeriCorps members in the successful career development programs: VetsWork Environment, VetsWork GreenCorps and Public Lands Stewards. These members will support the efforts of public lands management agencies in a broad range of roles designed to improve access, use and conservation of our natural resources.
This grant will support AmeriCorps members in eleven states across the country.
AmeriCorps members will tackle the critical challenges faced by our natural resources/public lands management agencies while supporting the Mt. Adams Institute’s mission to strengthen the connection between people and the natural world. Additionally, the VetsWork programs directly assist veterans seeking a career transition from the military to the civilian work force.
“Our AmeriCorps programs are a fundamental component of our organization. Not only do they help veterans and young adults find purposeful careers in the environment and natural resource management sector, they support our country’s public lands” said Brendan Norman, executive director of the Mt. Adams Institute. “We’re thrilled that the Corporation for National and Community Service has recognized the value that our AmeriCorps members offer to communities. These AmeriCorps members will meet pressing local needs as they develop civic and leadership skills that last a lifetime.”
In addition to the grant funding, CNCS will make $261,151 in education scholarships for the AmeriCorps members funded by these grants to help pay for college, vocational training, or pay back student loans. After completing 1,700 hours of service, AmeriCorps members earn an education award of $5,815.
AmeriCorps operates as a public-private partnership that leverages significant amounts of outside resources to stretch the federal dollar and increase community impact.
This grant will generate an additional $832,500 in local matching support and other outside resources from businesses, foundations, and other organizations.
AmeriCorps engages more than 60,000 members in intensive service annually to serve through nonprofit, faith-based, and community organizations at more than 21,000 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 1 million men and women have served in AmeriCorps, providing more than 1.4 billion hours of service and earning more than $3.3 billion in scholarships, more than $1 billion of which has been used to pay back student loan debt.
Below is a listing of where Mt. Adams Institute’s AmeriCorps members will serve: Gifford Pinchot National Forest (NF), Mt. Hood NF, Deschutes NF, Wallowa-Whitman NF, Umatilla NF, Okanogan-Wenatchee NF, Mark Twain NF, Hoosier NF, Shawnee NF, Monongahela NF, Chattahoochee-Oconee NF, George Washington and Jefferson NF, Pisgah NF, Nantahala NF, Sumter NF, Ouachita NF, Willamette Resources and Educational Network, Pacific Northwest Trails Association, Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery, King Conservation District, and Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
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Mt. Adams Institute is a nonprofit organization with a mission to strengthen the connection between people and the natural world through education, service learning, career development and research. More information about the organization and its AmeriCorps programs can be found at: www.mtadamsinstitute.org and www.facebook.com/Mt.AdamsInstitute
AmeriCorps is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that engages millions of Americans in service through AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, the Social Innovation Fund, and the Volunteer Generation Fund, and leads the President’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit www.NationalService.gov .