K-State AmeriCorps-VISTA program celebrating first-ever AmeriCorps Week, May 13-20

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Tuesday, May 15, 2007

K-STATE AMERICORPS-VISTA PROGRAM CELEBRATING FIRST-EVER AMERICORPS WEEK, MAY 13-20

MANHATTAN -- Two members of the AmeriCorps-VISTA program at Kansas State University recently got the chance to visit with Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and state legislators.

K-State's Patrick Simpson and Arpad Szentkiralyi helped distribute copies of "Why We Care," which includes personal stories of faculty and students involved in service-learning at institutions of higher education across Kansas, to lawmakers.

May 13-20 is the first-ever AmeriCorps Week to celebrate contributions of the AmeriCorps program, which is a network of local, state and national service programs that connect more than 70,000 Americans each year in intensive service.

In Kansas, the Kansas Campus Compact AmeriCorps-VISTA project helps colleges and universities in the state to better respond to pressing issues facing low-income communities by improving the quality of camps community service and civic learning programs, and by increasing the number of students coordinator programs and directly serving in the community.

AmeriCorps-VISTA members coordinate service-learning initiatives that link course work to community work; assist with training and student development activities; recruit volunteers for schools and community/faith-based organizations; build bridges between postsecondary institutions, the community and K-12 schools; and work alongside volunteers in order to accomplish these goals.

In Kansas, AmeriCorps-VISTA sites include K-State, Butler County Community College, Fort Hays State University, University of Kansas and the University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth.

During AmeriCorps Week, AmeriCorps and its nonprofit and community partners across the country will thank AmeriCorps members and alumni for the impact they’ve had, acknowledge the many contributions of public and private community groups to the program, and urge more Americans of all ages and backgrounds to sign up for a year of service in AmeriCorps.

"AmeriCorps members help our communities tackle their toughest problems -- from poverty and illiteracy to crime and disasters -- through a new mix of social entrepreneurship, civic engagement and volunteering," said David Eisner, chief executive officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which oversees AmeriCorps programs including state and national grants, VISTA and the National Civilian Community Corps.

The Kansas Campus Compact, based at K-State, is a membership organization of Kansas colleges and universities established to support the development of campus-wide student and institutional participation in community and public service.