For Immediate Release
May 12, 2024
Volunteer Iowa Announces $8.9 Million in Funding for AmeriCorps National Service Programs in Iowa
Applications for Service Members Being Accepted Now
DES MOINES, IA – Volunteer Iowa has awarded $8.9 million in grant funding and an additional $2.4 million in Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards for Iowa AmeriCorps State programs and members. These grants will support 19 programs engaging more than 750 AmeriCorps members in Iowa who will serve with nonprofit, community, and faith-based organizations across the state. Five additional grantees will conduct planning activities to develop and expand new AmeriCorps programming across the state.
Volunteer Iowa is the governor-appointed state commission which administers funds from the federal AmeriCorps agency to support national service and community volunteerism. AmeriCorps national service programs enroll individuals in intensive service positions that address community needs, such as connecting food insecure individuals to local food pantries, developing high-quality afterschool programming for disadvantaged youth, or supporting refugees in finding jobs and housing in their new communities. After completing a full term of service, AmeriCorps members receive an award of approximately $7,400 that they can use for tuition at eligible schools and educational programs or qualified student loan repayment.
Programs across the state are currently recruiting AmeriCorps members to serve in the coming year. Iowa AmeriCorps members may be eligible to receive benefits including a living allowance, health care, childcare, and the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award. Visit Join AmeriCorps on our website to search and apply for AmeriCorps positions in Iowa.
Volunteer Iowa announced the following AmeriCorps State grants today:
Program Grants:
| Program Name (Program Sponsor) | Program Description |
|---|---|
| AmeriCorps 4-H Outreach (Iowa State University) | AmeriCorps 4-H members use Positive Youth Development framework to deliver exciting, hands-on learning experiences to youth across the state of Iowa. |
| AmeriCorps Youth Launch (Graceland University) | AmeriCorps members mentor youth, build valuable developmental assets, instill civic engagement, and help young people find the "sparks" that ignite their passions in life. |
| Bur Oak Land Trust AmeriCorps Program (Bur Oak Land Trust) | Bur Oak Land Trust AmeriCorps members serve to protect and restore Eastern Iowa's natural resources through prescribed fire and planting native plants and remove invasive species. |
| City of Davenport AmeriCorps and Youth Corps Program (City of Davenport) | Members focus on reducing the high school dropout rate by serving with organizations that support youth at the elementary level during the school day and out-of-school time activities. |
| City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Program: Creating Opportunities (City of Dubuque) | Members will develop and implement social-emotional learning interventions to K-12th grade students through in-school and out-of-school-time programs. |
| College Access & Success AmeriCorps (Iowa College Student Aid Commission) | College Access and Success AmeriCorps members assist high school and current college students as they plan for, prepare for and succeed in college. |
| Conservation Corps Iowa AmeriCorps (Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa) | Members make a difference protecting the environment and gain valuable skills for their future, engaging youth and young adults in environmental stewardship. |
| Disaster PrepWise AmeriCorps Program (University of Iowa) | A Public Health AmeriCorps program with members serving to help community-based older adults become prepared for disasters and strengthen their emergency support networks. |
| Green Iowa AmeriCorps (University of Northern Iowa) | Green Iowa AmeriCorps works to empower Iowa's communities and school districts to make more environmental, conservation-minded decisions and improvements. |
| Habitat for Humanity of Iowa AmeriCorps Program (Habitat for Humanity of Iowa) | Members learn, serve, and give back to the community by building houses, managing volunteers, and engaging homeowners at local Habitat for Humanities. |
| Iowa College Corps AmeriCorps (Seed Coalition) | Members will engage college students in mentoring, serve at nonprofit/public sector organization, and/or be involved in meaningful civic engagement experiences in partnership with colleges and universities across the state. |
| Iowa Community Corps (Iowa Economic Development Authority) | AmeriCorps members will respond to public health needs by addressing food insecurity and providing resource navigation in rural and urban Iowa communities. |
| Iowa Legal Aid AmeriCorps Project (Iowa Legal Aid) | AmeriCorps members provide direct services to clients and their communities, helping them access legal information, resources and support needed to resolve fundamental civil legal problems. |
| Iowa Reading Corps AmeriCorps Program (United Ways of Iowa) | AmeriCorps members address ongoing literacy learning loss using evidence-based interventions with students in K-3rd grade. |
| Polk County Conservation AmeriCorps (Polk County Conservation Board) | Members will lead environment education program, engage Polk County teens within the Youth Corps program, complete natural resource enhancement, build volunteer programming, and increase reach and effectiveness adaptive veteran programming. |
| RedTails LEAD AmeriCorps (Hawkeye Community College) | Members form a network of support for underserved students by serving to alleviate food insecurity, construct and remodel homes, provide childcare, or help with academic and other life challenges. |
| RIVA AmeriCorps (Refugee & Immigrant Voices in Action) | The program trains emerging leaders from refugee and immigrant communities to support fellow refugee and immigrant students in job-readiness classes through learning support, referrals, outreach, and wrap around services. |
| Rural Iowa AmeriCorps (Iowa Economic Development Authority) | The program will partner with community-based organizations across Iowa to increase capacity, quality, and cultural competency of service delivery and project development. |
| Youth Connect AmeriCorps (Iowa State University) | Using a healing centered engagement approach, members connect foster care youth to resources and supports in the transition from foster care to independent living. |
Planning grants:
| Program Name (Program Sponsor) | Program Description |
|---|---|
| AmeriCorps Planning Grant (University of Iowa) | Proposes to expand existing Public Health AmeriCorps program to address public health workforce shortage by providing members with hands-on experiences to supplement their education. |
| AmeriCorps Planning Grant (World Relief Quad Cities) | Proposes to develop an AmeriCorps program to address employment barriers and strengthen career pathways for refugees and immigrants in eastern Iowa. |
| AmeriCorps Planning Grant (Camp Fire Heart of Iowa) | Proposes to develop an AmeriCorps program to expand access to quality out-of-school-time programming in high-need communities in central Iowa. |
| AmeriCorps Planning Grant – Aging and Disability Services Focus (Iowa Department of Health and Human Services) | Proposes to develop an AmeriCorps program to provide Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) with Peer Navigator AmeriCorps members. The members will be trained peer-to-peer service navigators for people with disabilities through the expansion of the ADRC system. |
| AmeriCorps Planning Grant – Refugee Services Focus (Iowa Department of Health and Human Services) | Proposes to develop an AmeriCorps program to provide experiential learning for members, recruited from Iowa’s refugee community, to create a workforce pathway within the human services field. |
Three decades ago, more than 20,000 Americans raised their right hands and pledged to get things done for America. These members helped more than 1,000 communities nationwide during their first year of service. Since then, more than 1.3 million Americans and hundreds of thousands more AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers of all backgrounds have followed in their footsteps, providing billions of hours of results-driven service across each of the 50 states and US territories.
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About Volunteer Iowa
Volunteer Iowa and its partner agencies work with organizations and individuals on three main fronts. The first is to help agencies develop quality programs that use service as a strategy to fulfill their missions and address Iowa’s greatest areas of need. The second is to help engage Iowans in their communities by promoting service and expanding the volunteer base. Finally, the third area of work is to connect individuals with appropriate service opportunities by building the volunteer infrastructure. More information is available at volunteeriowa.org.
About AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism, provides opportunities for Americans to serve their country domestically, address the nation’s most pressing challenges, improve lives and communities and strengthen civic engagement. Each year, the agency places more than 200,000 AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers in intensive service roles; and empowers millions more to serve as long-term, short-term or one-time volunteers. Learn more at AmeriCorps.gov.