MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — It’s been 22 years since the founding of AmeriCorps.
“This fall, we will hit another milestone because we will have enrolled over 1 million individuals throughout the country who have served in AmeriCorps which is equivalent to 1.3 billion hours that individuals have contributed to lifting up communities in need,” noted Bill Basl, Director of AmeriCorps.
Per capita, West Virginia produces the third most AmeriCorps members than any other state in the country.
“It’s a very giving state. Individuals want to step up and serve their state and our country and it’s very gratifying to see,” Basl said.
AmeriCorps volunteers take on projects that address poverty and hunger, a high school dropout crisis and a number of other educational programs like Energy Express.
“I was in Morgantown a couple weeks ago to visit schools in the summer. There are close to 500 college students who are summer-only AmeriCorps members primarily helping children who are struggling with reading,” Basl explained.
AmeriCorps members have earned more than $3.1 billion in education scholarships to pay for college or pay back student loans.
AmeriCorps members serve at more than 21,000 locations from coast to coast. While Mountain State residents play an important role in the work AmeriCorps does, the state has also been a destination for volunteers outside West Virginia.
“We had large numbers of AmeriCorps members deployed in West Virginia when the state unfortunately had to deal with a huge amount of flooding and is still dealing with it. So, being able to respond to those kinds of disasters is another activity that AmeriCorps members are involved in,” added Basl.
According to Basl, AmeriCorps volunteers can be counted on to show up and be committed to the job at hand.
“Over 400 national employers, many large corporations, many small, many nonprofits, many units of government are actually saying they will prioritize, in the hiring process, folks who have served their country in AmeriCorps.”
For more information on AmeriCorps or how to find local volunteer opportunities in your community, visit nationalservice.gov.