Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry Invests $10.2 Million in Federal Grants to Create More Than 2,000 Community Service Opportunities

HARRISBURG, Pa., July 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 2,000 community service opportunities will be created through $10.2 million in federal grants announced today by the Department of Labor & Industry.

Eighteen grants totaling $10,227,200 will be awarded to support 2,007 AmeriCorps positions throughout Pennsylvania. The grants will support community organizations that sponsor national service programs addressing unmet needs in education, economic opportunity, health and wellness, disaster preparedness, and veterans and military families.

"These grants enable citizens to make a real difference by serving their communities," said Labor & Industry Secretary Julia K. Hearthway. "Whether it is tutoring, mentoring a child, helping with community clean-up projects, or countless other service projects, these organizations are having an appreciable, positive impact on our communities and their fellow citizens."

PennSERVE, which is the Governor's Office of Citizen Service, works to encourage and support civic engagement across the state.

For more information on becoming involved with community and citizen service in Pennsylvania, go to www.dli.state.pa.us. Click "Community Services/Volunteerism" in the left navigation area, then click "PennSERVE," or call 1-866-673-7838.

Editor's Note: A list of AmeriCorps grant recipients follows.  

PennSERVE Grants:

Allegheny County  
Allegheny County Dept. of Human Services – KEYS Service Corps
Working with community partners, KEYS AmeriCorps members provide youth mentoring and student academic assistance as well as community service/service-learning projects, and volunteer generation.
Grant amount: $1,364,795
Positions created: 152

Allegheny County
Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council – Compass AmeriCorps
Compass AmeriCorps members will help organizations that serve immigrants, internationals, and refugees to provide more intensive, personalized, and expanded services to clients. Members will also engage in community outreach, volunteer generation, and service project coordination.
Grant amount: $195,007
Positions created: 15

Allegheny, Armstrong, Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Centre, Clearfield, Fayette, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Somerset, Washington, and Westmoreland counties
Appalachia Intermediate Unit 8 – Pennsylvania Mountain Service Corps
PMSC/AmeriCorps members are placed at more than 75 non-profit agencies, in 16 counties in southwestern/south-central Pennsylvania.  In addition, the PMSC will partner with non-profits in any county statewide that would place a member in an environmental position.  PMSC members provide service in the areas of Education, Environment, Human Needs, and Public Safety.
Grant amount: $1,378,612
Positions created: 155

Allegheny, Beaver, Clarion, Clearfield, Elk, Erie, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Mercer and Venango counties
Keystone SMILES Community Learning Center – Keystone SMILES AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps members provide tutoring and social and behavioral enrichment activities such as teambuilding, mentoring and study skills instruction in before-, during- and after-school sessions to students hosted by community children's centers, school districts and other community agencies.  In addition, members recruit and engage volunteers and service-learning participants to assist in member's projects and assignments. 
Grant amount: $1,415,345
Positions created: 168

Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Indiana, Lancaster, Lehigh, Perry, Schuylkill, Scranton and York counties
United Way of York County – SecureCorps
Working with community partners, SecureCorps will help local nonprofit agencies prepare to offer services during a disaster and assist the business community in effectively engaging in those services via donation management and volunteerism.
Grant amount: $229,190
Positions created: 53

Butler County
Family Services of Butler Memorial Hospital – Family Service Corps/AmeriCorps
Family Service Corps/AmeriCorps of Butler Memorial Hospital has established partnerships with more than 30 non-profit and faith-based human service agencies in Butler and Lawrence counties in Western Pennsylvania. AmeriCorps members are placed within these agencies to enhance family, child, and adult support services, family wellness, and to provide health, education, and recreational opportunities and other human services.
Grant amount: $531,061
Positions created: 71

Centre County
Centre County Youth Service Bureau
CentreServe AmeriCorps members provide youth mentoring, substance abuse prevention education, and after-school educational activities to Centre County youth and families as well as life skills education and academic assistance to youth in residential placement.
Grant amount: $151,064
Positions created: 12

Juniata, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties
Union Snyder Community Action Agency –C.O.R.E. Susquehanna
C.O.R.E. Susquehanna centered in Snyder County partners with approximately 20 non-profit service sites in seven central PA counties to help provide solutions for a range of human service and educational needs.

Grant amount: $374,547
Positions created: 37

Lycoming, Clinton, and Tioga counties
Lycoming-Clinton Counties Commission for Community Action (STEP)
Community Connect AmeriCorps Program serves the region to provide economic opportunity for low income/disadvantaged individuals and families within Lycoming, Clinton and Tioga counties. Partnering with various non-profit agencies and schools, members will serve in various capacities at individual sites that address youth development and leadership, education (including pre-school and K-12), health, housing, and community needs. Also, members as a team will identify and provide opportunities for youth to become engaged in their community, and promote volunteer generation for people of all ages.
Grant amount: $265,893
Positions created: 25

Philadelphia County
City Year, Inc.
This urban focused program recruits young adults, ages 17 to 24 years, from diverse racial, cultural, and socioeconomic and educational backgrounds to give one year of service. Service focuses on increasing in school student retention and increased on-time high school graduation rates. Corps members serve students in grades 6-9 through tutoring, in-class support, mentoring, after school programming, and community service programs. There is also a focus on developing youth leadership and citizenship skills.
Grant amounts: $2,681,000
Positions created: 230

Philadelphia County
Communities in Schools of Philadelphia – Digital Service Fellows
AmeriCorps members are strengthening the educational technology infrastructure of Philadelphia schools and bridging the digital divide. Members provide service to enrich academic after-school programs, provide technology training and resources for students and families, and support teachers and school administrators. The program is in partnership with the Philadelphia School District.  
Grant amount: $332,500
Positions created: 25

Philadelphia County
Philadelphia Education Fund – The Philadelphia Teacher Residency
AmeriCorps members will co-teach math or science with an experienced mentor teacher in a high need high school for the School District of Philadelphia. Members will employ specific techniques to increase student engagement and enhance their students' overall learning opportunities. In doing so, members will enrich math and science teaching and learning in five schools within the Philadelphia School District.
Grant amount: $130,000

Positions created: 18

Philadelphia County
Philadelphia Youth For Change, Inc. – YouthBuild Philadelphia Technology Program
AmeriCorps members will improve access to technology by refurbishing donated computers, and providing technology training and support to low-income individuals, schools, faith-based and community organizations.
Grant amount: $124,249
Positions created: 23

Philadelphia County
PlayWorks
PlayWorks Philadelphia is part of a national nonprofit that improves the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity, while offering safe, meaningful play at schools during recess, throughout the school day, and beyond. AmeriCorps members will serve as school program coordinators at 10 elementary schools in Philadelphia. Members will help children learn how to resolve conflicts, how to take turns, how to lose with dignity and how to win with grace - thus providing the foundation for critical life skills of self-reflection and self-control.
Grant amount: $133,000
Positions created: 10

Philadelphia County
Teach For America – Greater Philadelphia
Teach For America – Greater Philadelphia provides a critical source of well-trained teachers who are helping break the local cycle of educational inequity. AmeriCorps members teach for two years throughout schools in the greater Philadelphia region, going above and beyond traditional expectations to help their students achieve at high levels. Teach For America – Greater Philadelphia provides pre-service and ongoing support and professional development to allow corps members to lead students to achieve more than one year of academic growth through the course of the school year. Armed with the experience, conviction, and insight that come from leading children to fulfill their potential, our alumni are working from all sectors to shape our schools, policies, and investments in low-income communities.
Grant amount: $802,497
Positions created: 330

Statewide
Pennsylvania Campus Compact – AmeriCorps Community Fellows
The purpose of the AmeriCorps Community Fellows program is to address compelling community needs in the areas of college access and success, while developing college students as active citizens. AmeriCorps Community Fellows of Pennsylvania are college students who serve in K-12 schools and community-based after-school organizations in order to enhance at-risk students' college access and readiness. Community Fellows work with at-risk children and youth to provide career awareness and study skills development, standardized test preparation, and college and career information workshops. They also encourage one-on-one advising through high school guidance counseling and pursuing college visits, assist students in the college application process, guide youth to finding resources for financing college, and help school faculty create a school-wide-college-going culture. More than 30 colleges and universities in Pennsylvania will be served through this statewide initiative.
Grant amount: $67,728
Positions Created: 400

Statewide
Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania/PHENND – Scholars in Service to Pennsylvania
Scholars in Service to Pennsylvania is a campus-based AmeriCorps program through which students at more than 40 colleges and universities perform significant services to their community in a variety of settings, including schools, community centers, nursing homes, shelters, and food cupboards.
Grant amount: $50,712
Positions created: 287

Media contact: Sean Yeakle, 717-787-7530.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry