Corporation for National & Community Service Volunteer Vision

 The field of Emergency Management has become one of the most vital departments in the American government due to the increase in natural and manmade disasters such as Hurricane Katrina or terrorism. In addition to new emergencies, many disasters in America have been neglected and require substantial funding and manpower to fix.  My passion for America and to assist the citizens caught in disasters is what led me to choose my degree plan in Emergency Management.  I believe that I can achieve becoming the Executive Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency if I work diligently towards that goal. I realized the importance of community service early in my college career and began building my portfolio during my first year of college. I am a disaster responder for the American Red Cross, and I am also the spearhead for the first nontraditional student alliance in my area. The American Red Cross offers me hands on experience in disaster management. The student association gives me training on how to become a leader as well as a resource manager. These skills are valuable to my future career. However, if I could choose any organization in the world to volunteer with, it would be the Corporation for National & Community Service (CNCS). As a federal agency, the efforts of CNCS assists millions of Americans through the service of fellow citizens. This corporation is the umbrella for many sub-affiliations such as AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, the Social Innovation Fund, the Volunteer Generation Fund, and more. By volunteering with this organization, I could serve the communities within my nation, use my volunteer service to build communities, and make an impact in the lives of my fellow Americans.  

     The Corporation for National & Community Service functions throughout more than 60,000 locations across the country according to their website at www.nationalservice.gov. AmeriCorps is a nonprofit civil society program that engages adults into absolute community service positions that teach workforce skills, earns money for college, and develops citizenship skills. Foster grandparents assist young children in education by fostering a stimulating and engaging educational environment. The military is supported by CNCS through transition assistance from military life back into the civilian workforce. Communities are served through volunteers supporting independent seniors, bringing awareness and solutions to childhood obesity, and helping families gain access to health care. There is a significant impact on mentoring citizens, promoting completion of higher education, teaching job training skills, and seeking employment. My student alliance would fall into this category. I am supporting successful completion of college by volunteering my time to help them find the resources needed to afford the costs associated with college.

     The cost of national service is outstanding but with the assistance of 80,000 AmeriCorps members that mobilize more than 4 million volunteers, the costs are significantly decreased. The more manpower they hold, the more lives and tasks they can accomplish. This in itself is appealing to me because it shows the “can do” approach to problems within the nation. When we rise as one force to tackle an objective, our efforts are virtually impossible to stop. The Senior Corps program offers the skills and experience of more than 360,000 seniors that desire to contribute to the needs of communities nationwide. The Social Innovation Fund and the Volunteer Generation Fund enables non-profit and private sectors to focus on volunteer retention and offer leadership, training, coordination, and resources to empower citizens and volunteers alike. This training is creating the future leaders of America.

     When volunteers unite for the same cause, the strength of our nation is the result. The efforts battle homelessness, hunger, illiteracy and other disasters throughout America. With a combined amount of 800,000 Americans giving more than 1 billion hours of community service, the outcomes are helping millions of citizens. AmeriCorps VISTA has fought poverty since 1965 and strives to improve the lives of low-income families across the nation. Education Awards are providing more than 2.4 billion dollars in grants to assist students in continuing their education.                      

     Volunteers and national servicemen and women are the way to make significant changes on a tight budget. Humanitarians do not offer their assistance to gain anything. They offer their time and service to promote social well-being and a better quality of life. Together, we build our nation up where it is falling, and together we can build our communities stronger. The future is in our hands as volunteers. Volunteerism is contagious and with enough publicity, more people get involved in joining the cause. I want to be a part of this movement, and once my young children have left my home, I will join the Corporation for National & Community Service. I want to serve, build, and impact the lives of fellow citizens in America. 

For more information: http://www.nationalservice.gov/