LISC Awarded Nearly $2.2MM in 2011 AmeriCorps Funding

NEW YORK, June 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has awarded the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) more than $2.15 million to support 240 LISC AmeriCorps members who will help revitalize disadvantaged communities across the country.

This is LISC's 18th year as an AmeriCorps sponsor.  The new grant will fund LISC AmeriCorps members in 15 urban areas and support some of LISC's national work as well, particularly as it relates to connecting low-income families with good jobs and providing financial counseling.

"We're thrilled that the Corporation for National and Community Service continues to recognize the value that LISC AmeriCorps members offer to low-income communities," said Michael Rubinger, LISC president and CEO. "This program has been tremendously successful for LISC and for the many struggling neighborhoods in which we work"

Unlike most AmeriCorps programs, LISC AmeriCorps draws the majority of its members from the low-income communities served by its local programs.  Members are placed in community-based organizations and pursue projects that are part of LISC's Building Sustainable Communities strategy to transform distressed neighborhoods into good places to live, work, do business and raise families.

"AmeriCorps members are invaluable assets to neighborhood nonprofits and the communities where they operate," Rubinger noted.  "But they also represent the future of community development.  Through their LISC AmeriCorps experience, they can feed into a pipeline of professionals who will continue this important work long after their national service is concluded," he said.  

The efforts of LISC AmeriCorps are connected to the priorities of the communities in which LISC operates. "In some cases, that means working on quality affordable housing," noted Stacey Rapp, LISC AmeriCorps program director.  "But it certainly doesn't end there.  Our members work on programs to help families stabilize their financial outlook through employment services and financial literacy training.  They support education programs by developing after-school curriculum and service learning opportunities.  They help neighbors improve the safety of their communities, and they spearhead efforts to clean up and expand neighborhood green space.  Their work is as diverse as the places in which they operate," she said.

In 2011-2012, LISC AmeriCorps members will be deployed through LISC programs in Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Duluth, Houston, Jacksonville, Michigan (statewide program), Milwaukee, Newark, Rhode Island, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, Toledo, and the Twin Cities. LISC AmeriCorps also helps support one of LISC's national programs, Youth Development and Recreation.

"We are grateful to CNCS for its significant, ongoing support for national service that impacts the long-term health of distressed areas.  There is a clear need, and this program helps fill it," said Rapp.

About LISC:  LISC combines corporate, government and philanthropic resources to help nonprofit community development corporations revitalize distressed neighborhoods. Since 1980, LISC has raised $11.1 billion to build or rehab 277,000 affordable homes and develop 44 million square feet of retail, community and educational space nationwide. LISC support has leveraged nearly $33.9 billion in total development activity.  For more information, visit www.lisc.org.

About Corporation for National and Community Service:  The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs, and leads President Obama's national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit www.NationalService.gov.

For More Information:
Stacey Rapp,  LISC/AmeriCorps
212-455-9308 or [email protected]

SOURCE Local Initiatives Support Corporation