Washington, DC, Oct. 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- America’s Service Commissions (ASC) is pleased to announce that it will be able to support 11 states in expanding youth service opportunities at a statewide level, thanks to a $265,000 grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. The two-year grant will fund a multi-year initiative to identify how the state service commission network can expand youth service opportunities through national service, such as AmeriCorps and the Volunteer Generation Fund. ASC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association of the 52 Governor-appointed state service commissions across the United States and its territories that administer AmeriCorps State grant and other volunteer-related funds.
ASC will facilitate monthly learning calls for the participating state commissions, conduct a national landscape analysis of promising program models and initiatives, and identify strategies to sustain youth service at the state level. At the conclusion of the project, ASC will identify lessons learned from the participating state service commissions to share with the broader state service commission network.
ASC selected the following 11 states to receive $20,000 mini-grants for 15 months to support their capacity in expanding youth service:
- Arkansas: EngageAR
- Colorado: Serve Colorado
- Connecticut: Serve Connecticut
- Iowa: Volunteer Iowa
- Maine: Volunteer Maine
- Massachusetts: Massachusetts Service Alliance
- Michigan: Michigan Community Service Commission
- Minnesota: ServeMinnesota
- North Carolina: VolunteerNC
- Ohio: ServeOhio
- Utah: UServeUtah
Each selected state will be assessing the current youth service landscape and exploring opportunities to expand the quality and/or quantity of youth service opportunities, with a focus on middle school and high school youth that are less likely to be engaged in service.
“We are grateful to the Mott Foundation for their support to help expand youth service opportunities at the state level,” said Kaira Esgate, CEO of ASC. “State service commissions are uniquely positioned to do this work. We know young people benefit from meaningful service opportunities, and we believe having early exposure to service is critical to establishing lifelong volunteers and engaged citizens.”
For more information on this initiative, visit statecommissions.org/youth-service.
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About America’s Service Commissions
America’s Service Commissions (ASC) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association representing and promoting the 52 state service commissions across the United States and territories with the mission to lead and elevate the state service network. State service commissions are governor-appointed public agencies or nonprofit organizations made up of more than 1,000 commissioners, private citizens leading the nation’s service movement and administering more than 75 percent of the federal AmeriCorps funds to address pressing community needs. Learn more at statecommissions.org.
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