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Serve DC Announces more than $2 Million in AmeriCorps Grants Awards to Support Tutoring & Mentoring in DC Schools
 "This funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service complements and assists the efforts of my administration to provide a world-class education to all of the District's children," said Mayor Gray. "We are in the midst of a multi-year effort to fundamentally change and improve the nature of public education and the wrap-around supporting services for young people across our city. AmeriCorps members will help meet unmet educational needs and strengthen our students' academic performance." The grants will support more than 400 AmeriCorps members who serve in traditional public and public charter schools in each ward of the District. Members will help young children learn to read, mentor at-risk youth, tutor students, recruit volunteers and provide health education, including HIV/AIDS and teen-pregnancy prevention. Learn more about AmeriCorps' impact in DC. |
Serve DC Expands Emergency Preparedness Training to District's Deaf Community
On July 10-12, 2012, Serve DC brings its signature Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training to the District's deaf community with a pilot program at Gallaudet University, the world leader in undergraduate liberal education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. The Gallaudet training marks the District's first-ever CERT training specifically tailored for a deaf and hard-of-hearing audience and engages more than 35 participants, including Gallaudet staff and students and American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters.
"Ensuring all District residents, regardless of hearing impairment or other disability, are empowered and prepared in the event of an emergency or disaster is key to improving public safety and security," said Mayor Vincent C. Gray. "This training places the District of Columbia at the forefront of inclusive emergency preparedness and embodies the spirit of One City."
In 2011, Serve DC began offering Spanish-language CERT training in an ongoing effort to increase emergency preparedness training among access and functional needs populations. Access and functional needs refers to individuals who may face unique challenges during an emergency and includes non-English speakers, people without transportation access and single parents, as well as people with physical and mental disabilities. On September 24, 2012, Serve DC will host its second annual Access & Functional Needs Emergency Preparedness Forum as part of National Preparedness Month in DC.
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Save the Date: 2012 DC Public Schools Beautification Day is Saturday, August 25
Save the Date: the 7th annual DC Public Schools Beautification Day is Saturday, August 25, 2012. Established in 2005, DCPS Beautification Day is the annual, official citywide "spruce up" of DC Public Schools and grounds. Last year, more than 4,100 volunteers participated at 105 schools across the city. Each year, Serve DC supports DCPS Beautification Day by partnering with the DCPS Office of Community Partnerships and various local entities, including sports teams, companies, and other community- and faith-based groups, to adopt several schools as "signature sites." Serve DC's confirmed 2012 signature-site partners include long-time partner and supporter, the Washington Capitals, and new partners, Booz Allen Hamilton and Living Social. |
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Serve DC Welcomes New AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Rachel Veclotch
 Serve DC is proud to welcome Rachel Veclotch as the new Grant Writing & Development AmeriCorps VISTA member. Rachel is from New Port Richey, Florida. She is a 2009 graduate of Seton Hall University, where she majored in anthropology and international relations, and a 2012 graduate of the University of Florida's Levin College of Law.
Rachel is interested in addressing the issues surrounding both domestic and international poverty, and when she isn't serving DC, her outside interests include running, gardening, line-dancing, and hockey. The AmeriCorps VISTA program provides full-time AmeriCorps members to community organizations and public agencies to create and expand programs that build capacity and ultimately bring low-income individuals and communities out of poverty. Learn more about the AmeriCorps VISTA program. |
