LISC/AmeriCorps
LISC Chicago’s AmeriCorps program, in which volunteers learn community development skills while working with neighborhood organizations, is in its 11th year. During that time, nearly 200 members have completed one- or two-year terms of service, in which they have collectively:
- Served nearly 340,000 hours
- Tutored and mentored 13,000 students
- Counseled 800 clients for public benefits/employment (the members work in only nine Centers for Working Families (CWF) sites; therefore, the reported number is a subset of the 12 CWF sites).
- Engaged nearly 1,500 volunteers in service projects
LISC Chicago considers the AmeriCorps program to be a critical element in creating future community development leaders and is pleased to continue its involvement with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). LISC offices across the country are allocated about 240 AmeriCorps slots each year. Chicago gets up to 25 of those slots. The program has a 12-month service term that starts each year in September and ends the following August. More than 200 individuals have graduated from our program. Six graduating members from our last class received full-time employment with our community partners.
Benefits
The initiative provides funds for individuals to serve their communities for up to two years while earning an education award up to $5,555. The annual cost per full-time member is $27,000. Local LISC offices and the neighborhood organizations that employ the volunteers pick up $15,000 of the amount, with CNCS contributing the remaining $12,000.
Focus
The program involves local residents in community development efforts while helping to build LISC’s non-profit partners’ organizational capacity. Essentially, volunteers learn the business from the ground up. We place members with our Centers for Working Families, Elev8, New Communities, and Great Neighborhood partners. The members work as income support specialists, youth and sports managers, and recruiters for volunteerism.
As the LISC Chicago AmeriCorps 2011-2012 program ramps up for a new class of 22 members, the slots will be allocated as noted below:
Centers for Working Families (Public Benefits/Employment): 7 members
- Greater Southwest Reach Center
- Humboldt Park Social Services, Inc.
- Instituto Del Progreso Latino
- Jane Addams Hull House Association
- Jane Addams Resource Corporation
- North Lawndale Employment Center
- St. Sabina Employment Services
Elev8 (Education/Community Engagement): 4 members
- Greater Auburn Gresham – Perspectives Charter School
- Logan Square Neighborhood Association - Ames Middle School
- Quad Communities - Reavis Elementary School
- Southwest Organizing Project - Marquette School
Great Neighborhoods (Capability Building/Education/Sports): 5 members
- Chicago Run
- Girls in the Game, NFP
- North River Commission
- Urban Initiatives
New Communities Program (Youth, Sports, and Increasing Awareness): 6 members
- Better Boys Foundation
- Five slots (to be determined)
In preparation for the 2011-2012 term of service and to equip the members to do their best, several key events are scheduled:
- A local program orientation will be held September 19-22, 2011, where the members will gain a better understanding of the program basics, expectations and responsibilities. Stacey Rapp, National LISC AmeriCorps Program Director, will lead the orientation; Susana Vasquez, LISC Chicago Executive Director, will talk about sustainable communities; and John Hosteny, Corporation for National and Community Service - Illinois State Office, will address the group on volunteerism and community service.
- The members will participate in the Illinois Corporation for National and Community Service - National Service Recognition Day - October 13, 2011; where all streams of national service are invited to celebrate their service. The ceremony will be held at Prairie Capital Convention Center and the State Capitol in Springfield, Ill. The activities will incorporate a service project, a civic engagement forum, and professional development training. To close out the day, the members will march from the Convention Center to the State Capitol Complex. On the steps of the Capitol, members will renew their Oath of Service to America.
The local members will join their colleagues from 18 other LISC offices for the National LISC AmeriCorps Program Orientation that will take place in San Diego, California, October 22-27, 2011. The sessions will provide opportunities for professional networking; ask the experts, and training in areas such as conflict resolution, cultural competence, team building, community organizing, economic development-financial services and much more.
For more information, contact Sandra Womack at 312-422-9561, or swomack@lisc.org.