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Serve America Press ReleaseFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 21, 2011 SERVE AMERICA Iowa Service Organizations Celebrate 2 Anniversary of Serve America Act "Serve America" Tour Honors Volunteerism and Service Initiatives in Dubuque, Iowa Made Possible by Landmark Bipartisan Legislation Dubuque, Iowa - Ten public and private partner organizations and seven different National Service Programs celebrated the two year Anniversary of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act with a "Serve America" bus tour through Dubuque, Iowa today as one of nine communities selected across the country. Dubuque City Manager, Mike Van Milligen, Senate and U.S. House of Representative Staff and other community leaders visited leaders and members visited Loras College, the Dubuque Art Center, the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque and the National Mississippi River Museum to recognize the impact local service organizations have on the community of Dubuque every day. "It is essential to recognize local service organizations support Dubuque, often times by offering services that local government can't afford to provide on its own," said City of Dubuque Mayor Roy Buol. "Without their help and the help of the volunteers they mobilize, fewer children would benefit from mentors, more senior citizens would be forced to turn to expensive full -time care, and local schools would struggle to provide after- school programs to at- risk children." The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, a bipartisan bill signed into law by President Barack Obama on April 21, 2009, expanded opportunities for Dubuque's residents to serve through increased support for local and national service organizations throughout the state, administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, enabled stronger public private partnerships in support of local and national service organizations, and encouraged innovative approaches to solving problems in communities across the country. By focusing investments in service on key national issues and local community challenges, the Serve America Act enables locally based organizations to provide increased critical services to at -risk communities such as affordable and sustainable housing for low- income families, youth mentoring, veterans' services and teachers for urban schools at a time when local governments are facing increasingly tighter budgets. -more- The impact of local service organizations on communities throughout Iowa includes; • More than 19,000 people of all ages currently serving through over 790 local and national service organizations. • More than 930 AmeriCorps positions. • More than 6,500 seniors serving through various Senior Corps programs. • More than 5,700 young people who benefit from Foster Grandparents. • More than 1,000 homebound seniors and other adults who maintain independence in their own homes through the help of Senior Companions. • More than 5,700 young people participate in service learning opportunities. • More than 6,900 AmeriCorps members have contributed 9 million hours of service since 1994. • According to a report released by Volunteering in America, Iowa college students rank second in the nation in volunteering within the college student demographic up from 32nd in 2006, with 41 percent of college students volunteering their time in 2009. • Iowa has the second - highest volunteer rate in the country with 38.7 percent of its residents volunteering their time in 2009, surpassing its fifth -place ranking from the year before. • Dubuque currently has 85 citizens serving in State and National AmeriCorps programs and 380 in RSVP (Senior Corps). The tour is being organized on the national level in key states across the nation by a coalition of national service organizations. Dubuque and Loras College were chosen because the area was identified as a high impact area for service by Rachel Manuel, Iowa Campus Compact Director and Adam Lounsbury, Executive Director of the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service. Dubuque is recognized as a state and national leader as a community that collaborates to utilize national service programs in a highly successful way. Other cities and leaders commemorating the anniversary are currently: Washington, D.C., Denver, CO, Boston, MA, Baltimore, MD, Miami, FL, Bay Area, CA, Chicago, IL, and Atlanta, GA. The tour will begin at Loras College at 9 am for coffee and juice and a meet - and- greet; then travel to locations in Dubuque where Loras' students have given service through various national programs including Partners in Learning, Green Corps, RSVP, Loras Campus Compact AmeriCorps and VISTA. During the tour, testimonials will be featured from AmeriCorps members and community leaders who have benefitted from service. The bus tour will conclude at Loras College for a closing lunch. # ## Serve America Tour - Dubuque, Iowa Thursday April 21, 2011 9:00 AM: Greetings by Loras College President Jim Collins Loras College Alumni Campus Center — Ballroom A - (juice, coffee, and water served) 9:20 AM: Leave Loras College — (Windstar bus to pick up in front of Alumni Campus Center turn around.) Presentation on Bus: Amy Schauer, RSVP Director — Dubuque County 9:30 AM: Visit Dubuque Art Center (210 West 1 Street) National Service partners include: Iowa Campus Compact AmeriCorps and VISTA programs and the City of Dubuque Partners in Learning AmeriCorps Program 9:45 AM: Return to bus, depart for 2" stop Presentation on Bus: Anna Nalean & Kelly Cornelius, Iowa Campus Compact AmeriCorps *VISTA Members 9:55 AM: Visit - Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque (700 Locust St. Suite 195) National Service partners include: America's Promise Fellows, AmeriCorps *VISTA, Iowa Campus Compact AmeriCorps 10:40 AM: Return to bus, depart for 3rd stop Presentation on Bus: Stacy Martin, Director of Foster Grandparents — Dubuque, Delaware, Jackson Counties 10:50 AM: Visit National Mississippi River Museum (530 E. 3 Street) National Service partners include: City of Dubuque Partners in Learning, AmeriCorps Program, Green Iowa AmeriCorps, Iowa Campus Compact AmeriCorps, NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps), RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program) 11:30 AM: Return to bus for pass -by tour of Four Mounds Foundation: HEART Program homes 1St home address: 2315 Jackson Street 2nd home address: 1896 Washington Street Presentation on Bus: Nathaniel Wagner, Iowa Green Corps & Amanda Dellwo, Youthbuild Iowa National Service partners include: City of Dubuque Partners in Learning, Green Iowa AmeriCorps, Youthbuild Iowa AmeriCorps 11:45 AM: Return to campus for lunch and closing remarks Remarks from: Beverly Berna, Board Member, Multicultural Family Center, Fred Schuster from Senator Grassley's Office, Dan Smith from Senator Harkin's Office Loras College Alumni Campus Center — Ballroom C Please join us for the entire tour, a portion of it, or meet us at a particular site! SERVE AMERICA Iowa Serves The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, a bi- partisan bill signed into law April 21, 2009, reauthorized and expanded national service programs administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service. On the 2 Anniversary of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, the legislation has been shown to expand opportunities to residents to serve and increased the capacity of individuals, nonprofits, and communities throughout Iowa. • Iowa receives more than $18.5M in funding annually for AmeriCorps, Learn & Serve, Foster Grandparents, Senior Companions and RSVP programs throughout the state. • More than 19,000 people of all ages currently serve through over 790 local and national service organizations throughout Iowa. • Iowa supports more than 930 AmeriCorps positions, offering $2.8M in earned AmeriCorps education awards that fund tuition or help to repay student loans. • More than 6,500 seniors serve their communities through various Senior Corps programs. • More than 950 low income Iowa residents serve as Foster Grandparents and Senior Companions throughout the state, earning a $2.65/hr stipend that enables them to afford prescriptions and heating bills. • More than 5,700 young people in Iowa benefit from Foster Grandparents who serve as one -on -one tutors and mentors. • Senior Companions help more than 1,000 homebound seniors and other adults throughout Iowa maintain independence in their own homes. • Iowa distributes nearly $1M in Learn & Serve grants, enabling service learning opportunities, improving academic quality and preparing more than 11,600 young people for a lifetime of responsible citizenship. • RSVP volunteers conduct safety patrols for local police departments, protect the environment, tutor and mentor youth, respond to natural disasters, and provide other services through more than 680 groups across Iowa. • Since 1994 more than 6,900 AmeriCorps members in Iowa have contributed 9 million hours of service through organizations dedicated to making an impact on local education, environmental and health issues. Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service February 2011 What would Iowa look like without National and Community Service Programs ?' • Over 2180* Iowans would be forced to seek alternative forms of employment, including more than 1,100 AmeriCorps members. Most AmeriCorps members are 18 -25 years old, the age group which has the highest unemployment rate. AmeriCorps is putting our young Iowans to work in a much more productive way than the unemployment line. • Iowans would lose over $5 million annually in higher education funding. • Nearly 20,000 national service participants in Iowa would lose their positions. • Eliminating national service programming would deprive Iowans of core services provided in an extremely cost - efficient manner —$233 million worth of direct services at a cost of just $19.4 million to the federal government. In fact, volunteers provide Iowa with $2.2 billion worth of services, a figure that has increased $426 million annually (when adjusted for inflation) since the creation of the Corporation for National and Community Service and its programs. 1 Based on program year 2009 -2010 data from the Corporation for National & Community Service and the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service. *includes 114 national service staff positions and 2073 stipended national service positions Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service February 2011 A sample of some of the services that would be lost annually by eliminating Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, Lean & Serve and the Volunteer Generation Fund: • Disaster Services: 0 1,138 individuals affected by disaster would lose assistance, 436 disaster - affected homes would remain damaged or unlivable, over 20,000 sandbags would not be placed to hold back flood waters • Youth Development: O 9,755 children would lose a caring adult in their life by losing their mentor /tutor o 493 children and youth of incarcerated parents would lose support services o 13,910 disadvantaged children and youth would lose youth development programming o 11,941 youth would not be provided with safe places to play and learn during out -of- school hours o 2,637 youth would fail to be engaged in "Healthy Start" programming to promote nutrition and exercise o 1,550 youth would no longer learn about school -to -work transition o Over 11,000 students would lose the opportunity to engage in community service linked to academic achievement and civic engagement • Volunteer Management: o Over 100,000 fewer volunteers would be recruited and utilized in Iowa communities o Over 1,000 community agencies would lose the critical services that help keep their doors open • Human Services: O 94 houses would fail to be built for families in need o 4,283 Iowans would no longer be educated on energy and environmental sustainability o 782 homebound seniors and older adults would lose the help they receive to continue living independently in their own homes • Energy & Environmental Programming: O 6,284 home owners would lose weatherization services or consultations o Over 65,108 Kilowatt hours /year of energy ($2 million in long term energy savings) and 5,159,640 gallons of water /year would not be saved o 14,297 youth would lose environmental education programming o Over 9,932 trees and native plants would not be planted,2500 acres of land would not be treated for fire mitigation through controlled burns and 15,355 acres of wildlife habitat would not be restored or improved o 399 miles of trails would not be established or restored (water and land)