Pennsylvania Labor & Industry Secretary Announces Up to 2,200 Community Service Opportunities to be Created by $9 Million in Federal Grants

HARRISBURG, Pa., June 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Up to 2,200 Pennsylvanians will be placed into community service opportunities through $9 million in federal grants announced today by the PA Department of Labor & Industry.

PennSERVE: The Governor's Office of Citizen Service will distribute more than $5.3 million in funding with seven state grants which will create more than 1,700 positions in Pennsylvania. More than $3.9 million in five national grants will be awarded to multi-state programs operating in Pennsylvania, with the support of PennSERVE, creating up to 480 additional AmeriCorps positions. 

Pennsylvania received 12 AmeriCorps grants to support community organizations that sponsor national service programs addressing unmet needs in education, economic opportunity, health, clean energy and veterans' services.

"These grants create thousands of opportunities for individuals to make a difference in their communities through citizen service," said Labor & Industry Secretary Sandi Vito. "From tutoring and mentoring, to renovating residences and community cleanup, the work carried out by these organizations will have an immediate and positive effect on our neighborhoods and residents."

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America and the national call to service initiative, United We Serve.

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.

Media contact: Sarah Cassin, 717-787-7530.

Editor's note: A list of state and national AmeriCorps grant recipients with the counties they serve follows.  

Funded through PennSERVE:

Adams, Lancaster and York counties

United Way of York County.

AmeriCorps members will provide emergency and disaster coordination services in York County, engage in tax preparation services and engage in volunteer recruitment to York County community members.

Grant amount: $229,190

Positions created: 53

Allegheny and Philadelphia counties

Jumpstart for Young Children, Inc.

AmeriCorps members serve in preschool settings, including Head Start, faith- and community-based centers to engage students in learning activities.

Grant amount: $320,453

Positions created: 174

Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Clearfield, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, Mercer and Venango counties

Keystone SMILES Community Learning Center

AmeriCorps members improve academic outcomes of children and youth in grades K-8 by providing before, during, after school, weekend and summer programs in the Appalachian region of rural, western Pennsylvania.

Grant amount: $1,482,095

Positions created: 173

Allegheny, Blair, Cambria, Chester, Cumberland, Erie, Delaware, Huntingdon, Indiana, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Luzerne, Lehigh, Lycoming, Northampton, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Snyder, Schuylkill and Union counties

Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania

College students will serve as AmeriCorps members at non-profit organizations to support local education and other human needs that target various beneficiaries throughout the state.

Grant amount: $50,722

Positions created: 287

Statewide

AmeriCorps Community Fellows

AmeriCorps members will provide mentoring and enrichment activities focused on college awareness and preparation leading to improved graduation rates and volunteer recruitment for programs that target lower income youth.

Grant amount: $84,680

Positions created: 500

Philadelphia County

City Year Inc.

AmeriCorps members provide in-school tutoring and after-school services in Greater Philadelphia area schools.

Grant amount: $2,415,000

Positions created: 210

Philadelphia County

Teach For America

AmeriCorps members will provide classroom instruction and enrichment activities focused on overcoming the achievement gap for schools through education and volunteer generation in under resourced communities.

Grant amount: $802,497

Positions created: 330

National Direct-Funded:

Allegheny County

Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council

AmeriCorps members work to improve the literacy skills of adults by providing more frequent and expanded opportunities for instruction, provide employment skills counseling and job search assistance as well as recruiting community volunteers to help adult education sites in Pittsburgh, Seattle, Phoenix, Dayton, New Orleans, the District of Columbia and Los Angeles meet the needs of the functionally illiterate adults.  

Grant amount: $1,872,000

Positions created: 144

Delaware County

HOPE Worldwide

AmeriCorps members provide direct service and perform capacity-building activities in three primary programmatic areas that focus on academic enrichment, environmental stewardship and community rebuilding.

Grant amount: $298,101

Positions created: 94

Philadelphia County

Health Federation of Philadelphia

The National Health Corps promotes health careers and health education in Pennsylvania, Illinois and Florida. Members assist uninsured individuals with accessing health care, resources and assist with enrolling the uninsured in insurance and/or drug prescription programs.

Grant amount: $1,198,486

Positions created: 94

Philadelphia County

Philadelphia AIDS Consortium

AmeriCorps members will provide health education and support services and mobilize volunteers for programs that target low income minorities living with, and affected by, HIV in, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and California.

Grant amount: $374,070

Positions created: 60

Philadelphia County

Temple University of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education

This AmeriCorps program addresses health literacy needs of elders, elderly immigrants and refugees through service learning, civic engagement and tutoring. This project assists elderly immigrants and refuges in communication with health care providers. Members support the target population's access to health services and strengthen immigrant-serving organizations' ability to address the needs of this growing population.

Grant amount: $247,619

Positions created: 90

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry