AmeriCorps fills needs in community
After helping the homeless as an AmeriCorps member, Beth Grubbs molded her own career into a daily act of service.
Now the associate director of the Lighthouse Foundation in Butler, Grubbs, 26, also understands the struggle of nonprofit organizations in an unstable economy. She said a new law expanding AmeriCorps will help both the unemployed and organizations that work to meet community needs.
"A lot of the agencies that use AmeriCorps workers are hit hard by the economy, and if they are able to have a worker come in, it can help them accomplish a lot without having to pay another person on staff," Grubbs said.
The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, signed Tuesday by President Barack Obama, will triple the size of AmeriCorps from 75,000 to 250,000 members across the country in the next eight years. It will focus on programs for clean energy, education, health care, veterans care and economic opportunity.
The new law also will provide service opportunities for millions of Americans.
AmeriCorps is a federal program for people to commit to a year of service in the country. More than 500,000 people have served since it was started in 1994 by President Bill Clinton.
Grubbs got her start at the Lighthouse Foundation through AmeriCorps as she helped provide transitional housing and other services to people in need. She said she is excited other people will get the same chance to serve their communities through AmeriCorps.
"To have the opportunity to help so many people with basic needs of food and shelter, to fill in the gaps that welfare and other programs can't fill is a cool thing to be a part of," Grubbs said. "People can't believe the things we can offer and they are just so grateful."
President Obama said the new law will "connect deeds to needs."
In a news release, Obama said, "We're doing this because I've always believed that the answers to our challenges cannot come from government alone. Our government can help to rebuild our economy and lift up our schools and reform health care systems and make sure our soldiers and veterans have everything they need, but we need Americans willing to mentor our eager young children, or care for the sick, or ease the strains of deployment on our military families."
Obama also said there has been a 400 percent increase in the number of people applying to AmeriCorps in the past four months.
Karen Zapp, program coordinator at Butler Memorial Hospital Family Services, links AmeriCorps service members to agencies in the Butler area. Family Services has been receiving AmeriCorps grants since 1995.Zapp said the new law will give Pennsylvania an extra $1 million in funding statewide. That could provide six more AmeriCorps members in Butler in May.She isn't sure how many more members will be sent here because the application process has not been completed.A large number of agencies in Butler are applying for AmeriCorps service members."My nonprofit partner agencies do so much wonderful service for families in Butler, and I really want my members to help any agency that identifies a need to do what they do better," Zapp said.About 40 AmeriCorps members work at nonprofit organizations across Butler, including the Butler County Area Agency on Aging, Family Pathways, the Butler County Children's Center and Catholic Charities.Zapp said the program's expansion is good, but she wants to make sure people will value the opportunity to work through AmeriCorps as much as they did before."I am excited because I want there to be more AmeriCorps programs in the country because it's a wonderful opportunity for an individual to gain personal and professional growth, and for communities to benefit. But it should be a privilege, and if it's made too big, people may take it for granted," Zapp said.She also said the program is especially important during a time when general funding for nonprofit agencies is being cut."As the dollars shrink in the world for nonprofits and as the needs increase, when you don't have enough staff, you struggle to do what you do in an efficient way," Zapp said. "If a member can come in and meet some of the basic needs of the agency, the staff have more time to meet critical needs."Alice Kaiser-Drobney, director of the Institute for Community, Service Learning and Non-Profit Leadership at Slippery Rock University, said the new law has the potential to transform society."I have been involved in national service since 1979 when there was no AmeriCorps, and it's just a piece of legislation I have been waiting for for 30 years," Drobney said. "We have had 729 AmeriCorps members with us over the past decade. To be able to think of multiplying that by three and giving more people that opportunity is amazing."They learn about themselves, and at the same time, they are changing the world."The institute acts as a link between the state and AmeriCorps, with 24 members through the university and others in Mercer, Lawrence and Butler counties working at agencies in each county. She hopes the expansion will mean 100 more members of AmeriCorps next year in those three counties."We will see how the legislation translates and hopefully it will really provide an engine and an army for social change that enhances everybody's life," Drobney said. "I am in it for the long run."Harold Davis, a utilities specialist at the Center for Community Resources in Butler, was an AmeriCorps member from 2006 to 2008. Davis was hired by the agency after his term ended.He said that while Butler has more agencies than other communities, the need is always there."I think any of the service organizations could benefit from more workers," Davis said. "There are so many help organizations that we are a network of and AmeriCorps workers would be welcome at any because we have so many service organizations geared to helping people in the community."Davis said whatever the need might be, all organizations are challenged daily. He said he hears about people struggling every day through his own work at the center, which is an organization that helps people with utilities, especially in the winter when bills are high."People are hurting nationwide losing homes and jobs and deciding between paying rent and buying groceries, and people are out of work," Davis said. "Every situation is unique, but we are getting to a point where we hear the gamut of what people are struggling with."
Agencies in Butler County that have AmeriCorps service members include:• Area Agency on Aging• Associated Artists of Butler County• BC3- Adult Literacy Program• Butler County Children's Center• Butler County Housing Authority• Butler County Parks and Recreation• Catholic Charities• Center for Community Resources• Community Care Connections/ADS• Community Health Clinic• Deshon Place• Dunbar Community Center• Family Pathways• Grapevine• Irene Stacy Community Mental Health• Karns City School District• Lighthouse Foundation• Suit Yourself• United Way of Butler County• VA Butler Healthcare• Visiting Nurses Association• YMCA/ Activate Butler County• YWCA Personal Care
Here's how to become involved with AmeriCorps.• An applicant must be at least 17 years old and be a permanent resident of the United States.In the program, members receive a living allowance of at least $11,400, health care, and receive an education grant at the end of 1,700 hours of service, which equals one year.To apply call Lisa Russo, program coordinator at the Institute for Community, Service Learning and Non-Profit Leadership at Slippery Rock University, at 724-738-2273 or Karen Zapp, program coordinator at Butler Memorial Hospital Family Services, at 724-284-4894.AmeriCorps is accepting applications for 2009 and 2010.• Organizations that want to become a service site should contact Mary Strasser at AmeriCorps Corporation state offices at 215-597-2806.The application can be downloaded at www.americorps.gov.Nonprofit groups also can contact Russo and Zapp for information
