Spring and summer are when Serve Washington, with AmeriCorps, steps up recruitment for people to serve as AmeriCorps members in the upcoming service year. Most AmeriCorps programs begin in the fall. During the current 2022-23 service year, there are 1,490 AmeriCorps members serving in hundreds of locations around Washington state, including 71 AmeriCorps members in Thurston County.
AmeriCorps members serve at local nonprofit and community-based organizations performing service related to healthy futures, veterans and military families, environmental stewardship, disaster services, economic opportunity, and education.
Examples of things they do include:
According to Rachel Friederich, Communications Coordinator for Serve Washington, there are AmeriCorps programs specifically targeted to young adults 17-25 and AmeriCorps Seniors programs for people who are 55+. “There are also programs for everyone in between. You can visit the Serve Washington programs page for descriptions. The Washington Service Corps and Washington Conservation Corps are also part of AmeriCorps state-run programs”, says Friederich. You can also find listings for AmeriCorps programs at:
The Washington Service Corps (WSC) is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Friederich says that while there was a celebratory event in May, the 40th celebration is for all of 2023. “As you can see by the host sides by county chart, WSC members are serving at sites in Thurston County that include Garfield Elementary, Intercity Transit, Lincoln Elementary, Madison Elementary, the Nisqually Land Trust, Nisqually River Foundation, Olympia High School, the Wa He Lut High School, Shotwells Landing & Thurston County Preserves, and several more.
Serve Washington has partnered with the Schultz Family Foundation for an exciting opportunity to support the engagement and participation of BIPOC-led and small community-based nonprofit organizations in marginalized communities.
According to Friederich, many individuals have a desire to participate in national service but cannot due to lack of funds.
“Individuals not currently partnered with an AmeriCorps program but are interested in finding out how to remedy that, here is your chance! The BIPOC-led and Small Nonprofit Equity fund is addressing financial and capacity barriers to participating in National Service by providing host fee subsidies and more,” explains Frederich.
Applicants are required to submit requests for funding in accordance with the Notice of Funding Opportunity for BIPOC and Small Nonprofit Equity Fund, released October 28, 2022. The grant period will begin December 1, 2022, and end June 30, 2024. Requests will be accepted on a rolling basis as funds are available.
Increased Blood Needs in the SummerAs the former marketing director of the blood bank serving North Texas, I know that there is increased need for blood during the summer months. There are several reasons there is a blood shortage, one of the reasons is that many regular blood donors and organizations that schedule blood drives take off the summer months and therefore the number of blood donors decreases. But also, there is an increased need for blood during the summer due to accidents as well as individuals who schedule elective surgeries during the summer. Did you know that only 3% of us donate blood annually? Therefore, each donation is critical to supporting patients who need blood for trauma, cancer, and surgery. To encourage individuals to donate during the summer, everyone who donates at our local blood center Bloodworks from July 1 – July 31 is eligible to enter to win a $3,000 gift card. However, donors who donate next week (July 1 - July 5) will receive a triple entry, boosting their chance to win! There will be three lucky winners, so book your July donation appointment at the Bloodworks donor center! There is more to blood than blood Before you finish reading this column, someone will need blood.Contrary to popular belief, those four people who receive your blood are not necessarily people with Hemophilia (an inherited bleeding disorder) or people who have been in an accident. Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood for surgeries, cancer treatment, chronic illnesses, and traumatic injuries. Whether a patient receives whole blood, red cells, platelets, cryoprecipitate or plasma, this lifesaving care starts with one person donating. Which brings us to another misperception about blood, there is still no such thing as artificial blood. The military does have something that can sustain life for a period, but nothing can replace the need for real blood and the only way to get that is by people donating theirs. Bloodworks NorthwestOur local blood center supports more than 90 hospitals coast to coast. According to Bloodworks Northwest, each year Bloodworks helps hundreds of thousands of patients to receive lifesaving transfusions. Founded in 1944, they are local, non-profit, community-based, and backed by 230,000 donors and volunteers. To learn how you might become one of those donors or volunteers, go to https://www.bloodworksnw.org |
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Soliciting your ideas If you know of a nonprofit that is doing something great, celebrating a success, needs some outstanding volunteers, or hosting an event, let me know! This column (aside from a little education) celebrates nonprofits! Mary Beth Harrington, CVA (Certified Volunteer Administrator) lives in Tumwater. She travels the country speaking at conferences and to individual organizations articulating issues facing nonprofits. Send your ideas to her at MaryBeth@theJOLTnews.com |
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