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Governor Commemorates AmeriCorps Turning 20

The following is a transcript of Governor Mike Beebe's weekly media address: 

Every day, you can witness Arkansas’s volunteer spirit in action. You may see individuals, families and groups who show up to lend a hand at the site of a natural disaster. There are many in our communities who take the initiative and give their own time and resources to start programs that help make our hometowns better places to live. Ginger and I see it all the time among all the nonprofit organizations that hold events at the Governor’s Mansion. For a great many Arkansans, helping each other is engrained in our DNA. 

In 1994, one of those Arkansans, then-President Bill Clinton, launched the AmeriCorps National Service Program to promote the ethic of service and volunteering. The program engages citizens of all ages and backgrounds to meet a wide range of community needs. To date, Americans have donated one billion hours of volunteer service through the organization, with Arkansans contributing 13 million of those hours. Their efforts have helped improve the lives of our state’s most vulnerable residents, strengthened our education system, protected our environment and contributed to our public safety. 

As the organization marks its 20th year, Arkansas AmeriCorps Week 2014 will focus on the critical issue of hunger relief. Along with other community organizations, volunteers will collect, pack, and distribute non-perishable food items for those in our State who do not have enough to eat.

Of course, AmeriCorps volunteers are working year-round for a wide range of worthy causes. The scope of their work spans from disasters and the environment to veterans and health care. In Arkansas, AmeriCorps members have been vital in addressing our most critical needs in the areas of education and poverty relief. No matter what tasks they undertake, AmeriCorps volunteers provide a collaborative, cost-effective solution for the challenges our communities face. 

More than 8,600 Arkansans have volunteered for AmeriCorps. As is often the case with volunteer work, they find their own rewards of accomplishment and satisfaction while gaining useful skills. AmeriCorps members learn teamwork, leadership and responsibility, traits that help better prepare them for careers and for life, in general. Additionally, most members receive a student loan deferment and may be offered a living allowance and health insurance. At the end of the service term, volunteers receive an award to help pay for college, graduate school, vocational training or existing student loans. In the past 20 years, Arkansans have qualified for awards totaling more than $24 million.

As Governor of Arkansas, I recognize the strong and positive impact made by the National Service members in our State. Arkansas AmeriCorps Week 2014 is an opportune time to salute this group of young idealists who choose to accept a demanding year of community service and personal development. They represent a true partnership of government and the private sector joining to form a powerful resource for our country. I truly believe that each one of us can make a difference. AmeriCorps has shown for two decades that organizing those individuals nationally can help so many and improve our world one story at a time.

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