Congratulations to the 2011-2012 Maryland AmeriCorps Programs

Earlier this month, the GOSV announced the entire portfolio for AmeriCorps*State programs to operate in Maryland from September 2011 through August 2012. In total, Maryland received $4.8 million in AmeriCorps grants to increase the impact of 15 organizations addressing critical community needs.

"Over the past year, Maryland's AmeriCorps programs have accomplished great things and I am pleased that with this funding, a new class of AmeriCorps members will continue to improve our communities and grow as individuals," said Governor Martin O'Malley. "I thank the Corporation for National and Community Service for their continued support of programs that serve our state's most critical needs."

The 2011-2012 Maryland AmeriCorps*State portfolio consists of programs funded through a national grant competition and those funded through a formula allotment from the Corporation for National and Community Service. Six programs were successful in the national competition, bringing in over $2.5 million, and nine additional programs will be funded with the $2.3 million that Maryland receives based on its population. In addition, one agency will receive a $25,000 planning grant to explore the feasibility of launching an AmeriCorps program in the future.

View the 2011-2012 Maryland AmeriCorps*State portfolio.

Commissioner Corner: Betsy Lafferty

Betsy Lafferty is the vice chair of the Governor's Commission on  Service and Volunteerism and the Pastoral Associate for Faith and Justice Ministries at the Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Baltimore. She has served through a variety of human resource outlets, and she's constantly using her strong networking abilities to connect people to organizations that need volunteers. Currently, she supports the Franciscan Center, which provides emergency assistance and support to economically distressed populations, and the Maryland Horse Council, which protects and promotes the equine industry.

Betsy sees the power of volunteerism and makes two things clear: Everyone should have the opportunity to volunteer and there is no such thing as "just a volunteer." Volunteering is not just for people that are living comfortably or for students who are meeting a school requirement for service. Betsy explains that at the soup kitchen where she serves, people who receive lunches engage in service by helping keep the facility neat and acting as greeters to others.

Betsy believes that volunteerism is not a hierarchy with many resources at the top that trickle from asset-rich areas to those with less, but instead it is an experience that can be extremely powerful and transformational when approached from all sides. Service and skills can be given and received on many levels, as long as everyone is treated with dignity.

Before becoming a Pastoral Associate, Betsy would often hear people say "you can't expect much, because they are just volunteers" or "I'm just a volunteer." She rails against these perceptions and believes that volunteers should be held to the same expectations as paid employees, since their service is equally if not more important. She has witnessed professionals, without any experience working with children, become trained as mentors to youth. Both the mentors and the children had rewarding results. She emphasizes that dignity and respect for the volunteers are critical, for both the organization and for the volunteer to have a positive experience.

With such insight, it seems that Betsy has volunteering all figured out, but in reality, she talks about the evolving nature of meaningful service. While serving with Catholic Charities, she had to balance what she perceived to be community problems with ways that she could positively serve people in need. She tackled what it means to have limited resources and how a person can find him/herself needing outside help. She had a "eureka!" moment when she reassessed the services being provided and asked, "Am I performing this service because I think it will help others and is this really what others need?" Since then, she says that she continues to evaluate the giving of time and resources. In the soup kitchen, she weighs the consequences of removing an extra table, which would reduce the amount of people receiving meals at one time, but may make the dining experience more comfortable and welcoming to volunteers and guests.

This combination of excitement for service and the ability to look critically at the results of service make Betsy an asset to the Governor's Commission on Service and Volunteerism. Her favorite thing about being on the commission is the exchange of knowledge from programs across the state and from her fellow commissioners.