Congressman Fattah Announces $4.1 Million for City Year and AmeriCorps in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee and a leading advocate of programs for young people committed to national service, announced today that City Year Greater Philadelphia will receive more than $2.6 million as part of AmeriCorps grant awards for Philadelphia totaling $4,190,958 in federal funds.

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AmeriCorps is funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The federal grant money is distributed as AmeriCorps State Grants from PennSERVE: The Governor's Office of Citizen Service in the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.

Congressman Fattah is cosponsor of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act which reauthorizes AmeriCorps.

The grants announced by Fattah will fund or create 636 positions for Philadelphia-based community service programs.

"In a time of belt tightening, these investments in national service and jobs for young Americans have multiplying benefits," Fattah said. "Not only are we supporting the growth and experience for teenagers and young adults, these Corps members are building up the generation following them.

"It would be hard to find a more efficient or effective use of federal funds than the AmeriCorps program," he said.

AmeriCorps members of City Year Greater Philadelphia are 17 to 24 year olds from diverse racial, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds who spend a year of service primarily in education-related programs. They include after-school programming, in-school academic support and citizen leadership initiatives for middle and high school students.

City Year Greater Philadelphia, which was established in 1997, has won a competitive grant for $2,618,000, which will fund 230 positions.

City Year participants play a critical role in the successful "Diplomas Now" high school graduation initiative which, piloted in Philadelphia, is now being replicated across the country. Fattah is an early and vocal advocate for this targeted system of interventions which seeks to dramatically improve the life chances of Philadelphians attending some of the city's lowest performing middle and high schools.

The other grants announced by Fattah for AmeriCorps programs in Philadelphia:

• $802,497 for Teach for America Greater Philadelphia, creating 330 positions for AmeriCorps members to teach two years at schools throughout the Philadelphia region.
• $332,500 for Communities in Schools of Philadelphia for AmeriCorps members of the Digital Service Fellows program for after-school technology training.
• $133,000 for PlayWorks, for AmeriCorps members to serve as coordinators for conflict resolution and life-skill programs in 10 city elementary schools.
• $130,000 to the Philadelphia Teacher Residency Program for AmeriCorps members to work with experienced mentor teachers in high-need city high schools.
• $124,249 for Philadelphia Youth for Change Charter School Inc., where AmeriCorps members in the YouthBuild Philadelphia Technology Program will be engaged in a vocational program focusing on computer skills and the digital divide.
• $50,712 for the University of Pennsylvania's Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development, which administers the Scholars in Service to Pennsylvania program tied to AmeriCorps.

SOURCE Office of Congressman Chaka Fattah