National Service

Each year, national and community service participants and grantees recruit hundreds of thousands of volunteers, who donate millions of hours of service to their communities. National service programs address compelling community issues in education, public safety, health and human needs, the environment, and more. National service participants tutor children and adults, rehabilitate housing for low-income families, immunize children against preventable diseases, respond to natural disasters, mentor young people, help persons with disabilities and the elderly to maintain their independence, and manage after-school programs for social and academic enrichment, to name a few. There are various national service programs helping to develop an ethic of service and leadership skills, and expanding and sustaining organizational capacity.
The Volunteer Centers of Michigan through its partnership with the ConnectMichigan Alliance has various opportunities to serve Michigan communities.

Volunteer Centers of Michigan AmeriCorps*VISTA program
The Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network, through a generous award from the Corporation for National and Community Service, set up the Strengthening Communities initiative that will engage VISTA members placed at Volunteer Centers across the country. In Volunteer Centers throughout Michigan 14 VISTA members will recruit volunteers and develop organizational capacity for new or existing programs to meet community needs in one or more of five focus areas: Empowering Faith-Based and Grassroots Organizations; Asset Development and Wealth Creation; Strengthening Families; Homeland Security: Emergency and Disaster; and Youth-at-Risk. Applications for these positions are available though the Points of Light website http://www.pointsoflight.org/about/careers/VV31319406.cfm. If you have any questions please contact Molly Hilligoss at the Volunteer Centers of Michigan 517.492.2455 or mhilligoss@mivolunteers.org.

Michigan Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA program
Recognizing the potential for institutions of higher education to more responsibly address the local needs of those in low-income communities, MCC AmeriCorps*VISTAs act as transformative agents between institutions of higher education and their surrounding communities. AmeriCorps*VISTA members build, support, and develop the capacity for MCC member institutions and their students to be better stewards of the community, and to gain a richer and more valuable experience outside the classroom. AmeriCorps*VISTA members build mutually beneficial relationships which can lead to long-term partnerships between community-based organizations and colleges and universities; enhance the quality of campus community service and service-learning programs; and encourage increased involvement in the civic life of the community. For more information please visit http://www.micampuscompact.org/vistaprogram.asp or contact Ryan Fewins, Assistant Director for Training & Technical Assistance at 517.492.2448 or rfewins@micampuscompact.org.

Mentor Michigan AmeriCorps
The primary goal of the Mentor Michigan AmeriCorps (MMA) program is to support Mentor Michigan’s goal of recruiting 10,000 new mentors for Michigan’s youth. The ConnectMichigan Alliance (CMA) Mentor Michigan AmeriCorps program places full-time AmeriCorps Members in eligible organizations statewide to increase the development of the state’s youth mentoring infrastructure by supporting mentoring initiatives at the local and regional levels. The primary role of the MMA Members will be to improve the quality of existing youth mentoring programs by enhancing, developing and implementing systems to effectively recruit, screen, train and support volunteer mentors and their mentees. MMA will engage at least 1500 volunteers in mentoring and related activities during the program’s inaugural year. For more information, please visit http://www.connectmichiganalliance.org/mentormichiganamericorps.asp or contact Amanda Schafer at 517.492.2429 or aschafer@mnaonline.org.

National Service Program Information
AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps*VISTA
AmeriCorps*NCCC
Senior Corps
Learn and Serve America