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Sept. 21,
2005
Contact: Gordon Ovenshine
724-738-4854; gordon.ovenshine@sru.edu
SRU RECEIVES $334,800 GRANT TO SUPPORT COMMUNITY-SERVICE
WORK
SLIPPERY
ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University’s
AmeriCorps Program received a $334,800 state grant today [Sept. 21]
to provide money for students and local residents to serve at 15
schools and social-service organizations, including Habitat for
Humanity.
SRU’s program, launched in 1997,
received $285,000 last year. AmeriCorps is a federally funded
program operated through PennSERVE: The Governor’s Office of
Citizen Service. Those 18 or older serve for one year improving
their communities and receive a living allowance and an educational
award.
The grant provides AmeriCorps positions for
26 SRU students and 33 local residents, who will serve at the I
CARE House in New Castle, the Lawrence County Habitat for Humanity,
Children’s Advocacy Center and several schools and
organizations. They coordinate after-school programs in Lawrence
County schools, host parenting workshops, feed senior citizens and
recruit volunteers.
“The president
[Dr. Robert Smith] has said many times that our students need to be
civic-minded citizens who solve problems in the world,” said
SRU’s Alice Kaiser-Drobney, director of AmeriCorps and a
political science faculty member. “We want students and
community members to become part of the solution to the challenges
faced in our communities.”
“The need for Pennsylvanians to agree
to volunteer and serve is greater than ever before. While we are
responding in great ways to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, we
know that every day our services are needed,” said Karen
Kaskey, executive director of PennSERVE: The Governor's Office of
Citizen Service, who delivered the grant.
Where they
work
SRU student
members design and deliver after-school programs in the Slippery
Rock Area School District. They tutor at the I CARE House in New
Castle, which serves children and their families as a community
center. They plan SRU’s annual Empty Bowls fund-raiser
against hunger and help organize CareBreaks, an alternative spring
break and weekend program that takes SRU students to others states,
including the Gulf Coast where they complete a week of
service.
Other students and residents will serve at
the Disabilities Network, Lawrence County Penn State Cooperative
Extension, Wilmington Middle School, Lawrence County
Vocational-Technical School, Lawrence County Social Services,
Lawrence County Habitat for Humanity, Lawrence County Family
Connections and Lawrence County Communities that
Care.
“AmeriCorps is one way for people to
get engaged, and these two programs are fine examples of what
happens when people choose to volunteer for an entire year,”
Kaskey said. “We offer hope and encouragement to people who
have lost hope.”
#PN, PgN, PR
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