[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 18, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1335-E1336]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      AMERICORPS 20TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID E. PRICE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 18, 2013

  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
AmeriCorps on its 20th anniversary.
  As a co-Chair of the National Service Caucus, I am proud to recognize 
the hard work and dedication of the men and women who have served our 
nation through AmeriCorps.
  Since its inception in 1994, more than 820,000 Americans have taken 
the AmeriCorps pledge, serving over one billion hours with more than 
15,000 nonprofits, public agencies and faith-based organizations across 
America. In my home State of North Carolina, 10,000 people will 
participate in one of hundreds of AmeriCorps programs this year alone.
  Their common goal is to improve the lives of the American people, and 
they have done so immeasurably. Every day, these dedicated men and 
women work with community-based organizations to deliver services, 
address local needs, and deliver aid where it is needed most, and in 
innovative ways. They support and improve low-performing schools, build 
and renovate homes for low-income families, fight

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poverty, expand access to health services, rebuild communities after 
disasters, and help veterans transition back to civilian life.
  Building on the service of individual AmeriCorps members, the 
AmeriCorps national program provides benefits far beyond the sum of its 
parts and multiplies a modest federal investment many times over.
  First, AmeriCorps members help tens of thousands of faith-based and 
community groups expand services, enhance their capacity, raise funds, 
develop new partnerships, and create innovative, sustainable programs. 
In fact, AmeriCorps is the most effective multiplier of volunteers in 
service, with its members helping to recruit, train, and supervise more 
than 4 million volunteers in 2012.
  Along the way, AmeriCorps helps organizations leverage substantial 
private investment from businesses, foundations and other sources, 
thereby stretching our federal dollars and broadening the reach of the 
AmeriCorps mission.
  But our national service programs not only transform the lives of 
those who receive services; they transform the lives of those who 
deliver them. Participants learn marketable skills and earn post-
service education scholarships, which helps them jumpstart their 
careers and increase earning potential over the course of their 
professional careers. And AmeriCorps alums are also more involved in 
their communities and more likely than their peers to enter into a 
career of public service.
  This September is just the beginning of a year-long celebration of 
the extraordinary impact AmeriCorps has had in its past twenty years. 
It is also a time to look ahead and to ensure AmeriCorps is poised for 
even greater impact in future years.
  To all of our remarkable AmeriCorps members and alums, I want to 
personally thank you for your service and commend your efforts to help 
our local communities. And once again, I extend my congratulations to 
AmeriCorps on this twenty year anniversary and my excitement for what 
is to come.

                          ____________________