#ICYMI: Last week we bid farewell to our Biden-Harris Administration appointees. Join us in thanking them for four years of dedication to strengthening #NationalService!
AmeriCorps extends our gratitude to our Biden-Harris Administration appointees who have championed community and national service for the last four years. AmeriCorps CEO Michael D. Smith shares his farewell: To the entire AmeriCorps community – agency staff, members and volunteers, alumni, grantees and sponsors, partners, and everyone who channels and champions the power of national service, thank you. It has been a true gift to serve as CEO of AmeriCorps these last few years. I am so proud of all we’ve accomplished together, and the ways in which we have strengthened communities across the country. We celebrated milestones, reduced barriers to service, and reformed policies and systems. And, invested in uniting Americans through service. Here are just a few of my favorite highlights from my time as CEO: 1⃣ Today, more than 6,500 Public Health AmeriCorps, members are supporting solutions to community health challenges while gaining access to public health careers, 20,000 American Climate Corps members are turning climate anxiety into action; and hundreds of Youth Mental Health Corps members in schools are turning darkness into light. 2⃣ In 2023 we began a yearlong celebration of AmeriCorps’ 30th anniversary. The AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent and RSVP programs celebrated 50 and 60 years of older Americans supporting children, families, and one another. And In 2022, FEMA and AmeriCorps celebrated the 10th anniversary of FEMA Corps and a five-year renewal of the interagency agreement. 3⃣ AmeriCorps joined forces with the White House Office on Gun Violence Prevention, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Energy Communities Interagency Working Group, the USDA Forest Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to launch or expand: Safer America Network, Public Health AmeriCorps, Environmental Justice Climate Corps, Energy Communities AmeriCorps, Forest Corps, Working Lands Climate Corps, and AmeriCorps Second Chance programs. 4⃣ We took action to reduce barriers to service by increasing the minimum living allowance to at least $12 per hour across AmeriCorps programs, and during this administration, stipends for AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion volunteers increased by 33 percent. This is just a snapshot of how our small but mighty agency and powerful national service movement got big things done for America over these past few years. As we move forward, there will be more neighbors searching for normalcy after a natural disaster. There will be more members who need an open door when all others have closed. And when America calls—whether it be from our schools, food banks, shelters, churches, community centers, or any place where someone needs a helping hand —AmeriCorps will answer. We always have, and we always will. Bit.ly/CEO2025Farewell #NationalService #Volunteer #CEO