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)