• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Spotlight Articles

National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month
Posted on: February 01, 2012

Teen dating violence— also called intimate relationship violence or intimate partner violence among adolescents or adolescent relationship abuse — includes physical, psychological or sexual abuse; harassment; or stalking of any person ages 12 to 18 in the context of a past or present romantic or consensual relationshipi . It is important to understand and recognize the signs of teen dating violence. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), dating violence is not about love, it is about power and control. “Dating violence involves a pattern of behaviors that one partner uses to try to control the other. These behaviors may include physical and sexual violence and emotional abuse.”iiCDC has created a factsheet that explains the warning signs of teen dating violence as well as strategies to prevent teen dating violence.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development/GreatSchools Partnership – Coordinating Housing Assistance with Educational Opportunities
Posted on: January 23, 2012

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has partnered with GreatSchools, a national non-profit educational resource for parents, to provide their free web-based toolto parents who live in public housing or who receive Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) rental assistance. This user-friendly website, www.GreatSchools.org offers a database of more than 200,000 PreK-12 public, charter, magnet, and private schools across the U.S., and includes information on how parents can choose the best school for their children. It also features about 2,000 articles and videos that provide information on how parents can help their children be successful in school with free materials such as subject-based worksheets, parent-teacher conference information, homework help tips, college preparation support, and answers to parenting questions.

Myth Busters: National Reentry and Medicaid
Posted on: January 23, 2012

The Interagency Reentry Council, led by Attorney General Holder, produces a series of Reentry Myth Busters that clarify existing federal policies that affect formerly incarcerated individuals and their families. The National Reentry Resource Center, a project of the Council of State Governments Justice Center, hosts the Reentry Council webpage and products, including the Reentry Myth Busters. Each year, more than 700,000 individuals are released from state and federal prisons. Another 9 million cycle through local jails. When reentry fails, the social and economic costs are high – more crime, more victims, more family distress, and more pressure on already-strained state and municipal budgets.

Martin Luther King Day of Service-2012
Posted on: January 04, 2012

The Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday is a National Day of Service, and a time to re-commit ourselves to serving each other and our communities. This year, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) will shine a spotlight on the connection between service and economic opportunity, and promote the MLK Day of Service as the first of many opportunities throughout the year for Americans to come together and tackle critical challenges for the greater good.

Training Young Adults How To Save At Work
Posted on: December 02, 2011

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and America Saves are collaborating nationally to promote saving at work for young adults. Low-income youth are more likely to utilize expensive non-bank financial products and are less likely to have a checking and / or savings relationship with an insured financial institution or save a portion of their paycheck, all to their determent. Without savings, it is difficult or nearly impossible for individuals to move out of poverty.

National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention Working Session 2011
Posted on: November 18, 2011

Representatives from Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, Salinas, and San Jose gathered in Washington, DC on October 31 and November 1, 2011 for the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention Working Session. The Forum is a collaboration between the U.S. Departments of Justice, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Add Us In
Posted on: November 14, 2011

Add Us In is a new initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). The initiative is designed to increase the ability of companies to employ both adults and youth with disabilities, particularly businesses owned and operated by African-Americans; Asian-Americans; Latino or Hispanic Americans; members of federally recognized tribes and Native Americans; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals; and women.

National Runaway Prevention Month: Ten Years of 'Making the Connection'
Posted on: November 3, 2011

Each year, thousands of U.S. youth run away from home, are asked to leave their homes, and / or become homeless for a variety of reasons leaving many young people without a safe place to stay. They sleep on the streets, in cars or on their friends’ couches. Through its Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs, the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) funds initiatives that serve and protect these young people. The National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth offers many resources for organizations that serve runaway and homeless youth in emergency shelters and longer-term residential programs as well as through street outreach.

Cities Working Together to Reduce Youth Violence
Posted on: October 31, 2011

The National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention (the Forum) is an interagency effort for localities to share knowledge and experience in what works and what doesn't work in preventing youth and gang related violence. Six cities are part of the Forum: Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, Salinas, and San Jose. These cities have developed comprehensive strategic plans that blend prevention, intervention, enforcement, and reentry. Federal agencies are offering interagency technical assistance and are working together to support promising efforts at the local level.

Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Summit
Posted on: October 18, 2011

The Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention joined for the second annual Bullying Prevention Summit, on September 21-22, 2011, hosted by the U.S. Department of Education and eight other federal agencies. The event engaged representatives from federal agencies, national organizations, parents, teachers, and students with the goal to discuss and share their progress on anti-bullying efforts across the country.

Teen Dating Violence Prevention
Posted on: October 18, 2011

Teen dating violence is an often-unrecognized subcategory of domestic violence. Adult intimate-partner violence and marital abuse have gained more recognition, as seen, especially in the past three decades, in policy, program, and legal responses, and in an extensive research literature base devoted to the problem. Adolescents, by comparison, have been long overlooked as a population that suffers from relationship abuse. Although there is research on rates of crime and victimization related to teen dating violence, research that examines the problem from a longitudinal perspective and considers the dynamics and perceptions of teen romantic relationships is lacking. Consequently, those in the field have to rely on an adultframework to examine the problem of teen dating violence.

National Drug Facts Week
Posted on: October 18, 2011

Teens and drug experts will connect for the second annual National Drug Facts Week this October 31 through November 6. This weeklong observance will bring together teens and scientific experts in community events across the country to discuss scientific facts about drug abuse.

Grants.gov Youth Funding Opportunity Grants
Posted on: October 18, 2011

Youth serving opportunities and partnerships at the state and local level tell us that using Grants.gov to find funding opportunities to serve youth and their families is a challenge. FindYouthInfo.gov is happy to announce the launch of the new tool that helps to solve this problem by allowing users to search for grants for programs that specifically serve youth and their families. This search tool taps into the Grants.gov database and allows users to customize their search results by applying keywords and filters for youth-related topics (such as bullying, mental health, and substance abuse) and grant-providing agencies.

Safe Routes to School (SRTS)
Posted on: September 2, 2011

Multiple Federal agencies are working to ensure that when children travel to and from school this year, they do so in a way that is safe and healthy. The Department of Transportation (DOT) operates the Safe Routes to School Program, which helps make walking and biking to school safe and appealing for children and youth. Safe Routes to School is well-aligned with several other Federal initiatives, such as the First Lady's Let's Move! campaign against childhood obesity, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) efforts to promote physical activity and fight obesity through active transport to school.

Improving education for youth living in poverty
Posted on: September 2, 2011

As part of its "Back to School" day on August 5, 2011, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) introduced its "Coordinating Housing with Education"Initiative. The initiative is part of HUD's effort to bridge the gap between poverty and education, by increasing the number of HUD-assisted households with school-aged children who have access to schools scoring at or above the local average. Providing low-income parents and guardians with access to information regarding local schools and their performance ratings is a key ingredient to this effort. Access to information can enable low-income parents to make informed educational choices for their children, and empower them to become further involved in their children's education.

Students weigh in on 2020 College Completion Goal
Posted on: September 2, 2011

President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have an ambitious agenda to create a world class education system, and lead the world in college completion. Six million more Americans need to graduate from one, two, or four-year post-secondary education programs by 2020, as over the next decade, more than half of new jobs will require more than a high school degree. Meeting the President's 2020 College Completion Goal is essential for the long-term prosperity of today's students—and for the health and competitiveness of America's economy. Secretary Duncan sees education as the civil rights issue of our generation, and as in all civil rights efforts, people directly affected by the problem are engaged to be a part of the solution.

Keeping youth in school and out of the justice system
Posted on: September 2, 2011

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the launch of the Supportive School Discipline Initiative, a collaborative project between the Departments of Justice and Education that will address the "school-to-prison pipeline" and the disciplinary policies and practices that can push students out of school and into the justice system. The initiative aims to support good discipline practices to foster safe and productive learning environments in every classroom.

National Service Teams Deployed for Hurricane Irene Response
Posted on: August 30, 2011

Washington D.C. – As Hurricane Irene causes flooding, damage and mass evacuations on its run up the Eastern seaboard, AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members are responding in multiple states, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) announced today.

Federal Government Releases Annual Statistical Report on the Well-Being of the Children and Youth
Posted on: August 1, 2011

The report was compiled by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, a working group of 22 federal agencies that collect, analyze, and convey data on issues related to children and families. The report uses the most recently available major federal statistics on children and youth to measure family and social environment, economic circumstances, health care, physical environment and safety, behavior, education, and health.

CrimeSolutions.gov Website Launched
Posted on: August 1, 2011

Washington, D.C. – The Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs (OJP) today launched www.crimesolutions.gov. This new website is a central, credible resource to inform practitioners and policymakers about what works in criminal justice, juvenile justice, and crime victim services. The site includes information on more than 145 justice-related programs and assigns "evidence ratings" – effective, promising, or no effects -- to indicate whether there is evidence from research that a program achieves its goals.

Illinois High School Addresses Teen Traffic Safety Through Service-Learning Approach
Posted on: August 5, 2011

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens, accounting for approximately one-third of all teenage deaths (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). Per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to be involved in a crash (CDC, 2009).

Adventure Central
Posted on: July 14, 2011

Adventure Central is a trusted, community-based, positive youth development partnership of 4-H, Ohio State University Extension, and Five Rivers MetroParks. The partnership has been serving at-risk children and their parents in urban Dayton, Ohio since 2000 by providing educational programs outside of school hours. Adventure Central places a priority on high-intensity programming (four days a week throughout the school year). The after-school program is the primary programmatic effort for this dynamic youth education center, serving an average of 85 youth per day.

First HHS Event in Recognition of Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month

On Tuesday, May 10th the Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) hosted an event in recognition of Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month in the Great Hall of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Hubert H. Humphrey Building in Washington, DC.  The event theme Evidence + Collaboration = Better Outcomes was selectedto highlight the coordinated efforts being undertaken at HHS to address teen and unintended pregnancy, which is one of Secretary Sebelius’ key inter-agency collaborations.  This occasion marked the First Annual Federal Teen Pregnancy Prevention Awareness event.

Nation's Housing Authorities to Celebrate Fathers Day

With the help of hundreds of public housing authorities across the nation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is taking Father's Day to a whole new level. HUD appealed to the nation's 3,200 public housing authorities to host Father's Day 2011 on Saturday, June 18th – a day to celebrate fatherhood, family and to support fathers in staying connected with their children.

Supporting Summer Youth Employment Programs

With the arrival of summer, communities are looking for ways to engage youth in supportive, pro-social activities. Summer youth employment programs are a popular strategy in many communities to ensure that youth gain valuable workforce experience and have a safe, productive way to spend their time. These programs provide subsidized wages for youth who work at selected employers during the summer, and often include job readiness training and other supports for youth who participate. FindYouthInfo.gov provides a variety of strategies, tools, and resources to assist communities in their efforts to support youth over the summer months.

Teen Pregnancy Prevention & Social Media Web Page

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has developed new social media tools and messages available support teen pregnancy prevention efforts. CDC's new Teen Pregnancy and Social Media web page is available at: http://www.cdc.gov/TeenPregnancy/SocialMedia/index.htm

Pilot Project Helps YouthBuild Address Youth Substance Abuse

One of the biggest challenges at most YouthBuild employment and training programs funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is how to identify and address alcohol and drug use among students. Substance abuse is one of the main reasons for youth dropping out of the training program and it interferes with a young person's ability to obtain employment after completing training.

Minnesota's Support Systems for Rural Homeless Youth Program

Among homeless youth in Minnesota, Native Americans are one of three high risk populations (the others being African Americans and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and/or Questioning youth).  Native American youth make up 1% of the state’s youth population but constitute 20% of the state's homeless youth.1  Despite this disparity, there are few programs that are culturally specific to Native youth and even fewer located on any of the state's eleven Reservations.  

National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day is May 3, 2011!

National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day is a key strategy of the Caring for Every Child's Mental Health Campaign (the Campaign), which is part of the Public Awareness and Support Strategic Initiative by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Six Cities Present Plans to Reduce and Prevent Youth Violence

Officials from Boston; Chicago; Detroit; Memphis, Tenn.; Salinas, Calif.; and San Jose, Calif., have spent the past several months preparing plans detailing how they can work within their communities to address youth violence.

Gang Prevention: An Overview of Research and Programs

The recent Juvenile Justice bulletin, published by the U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Programs (OJJDP), presents a compilation of current research on gangs, including data on the state of gang problems in the United States today, why youth join gangs, the risk factors and attractions that increase youth’s propensity to join gangs, and how gangs form.

National Child Abuse Prevention Month

Learn how you can raise awareness about child abuse and neglect and create strong communities to support children and families to help prevent child abuse during Prevention Month in April and throughout the year.

2011 National Financial Capability Challenge

The 2011 National Financial Capability Challenge, organized by the U.S. Department of Treasury and the U.S. Department of Education, was part of a nationwide initiative to promote financial education among high school aged youth.

Energy Express

Energy Express is a research based summer reading and nutrition program for children living in rural and low-income West Virginia. AmeriCorps has been Energy Express's largest funder and source of volunteers since 1995. According to one of its youth participants, Energy Express is "awesome and fun."

AmeriCorps NCCC: Strengthening Communities and Developing Leader

The National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) is one of the three programs that form AmeriCorps, a network of national service programs that engage Americans in service to address critical community needs within the United States. AmeriCorps NCCC is a full-time, team-based residential program for men and women ages
18-25.

Join the Community of Practice on Helping Youth Transition!

Are you interested in learning what resources federal, state, and local groups offer to help youth successfully transition to adulthood and independence?  Would you like to network with others like you who are working on this topic – without leaving your desk?  Do you want to better understand the range of supports that are available to transition-age youth – from workforce development, to behavioral and physical health, to housing, and more?  The Solutions Desk/Helping Youth Transition is here and has critical resources to help you in your work with youth.

CDC's Division of Violence Prevention Offers Online Course on Principles of Prevention

Each year, more than 50,000 people lose their lives to violence. In addition to the tremendous physical and emotional toll, violence has substantial medical and lost productivity costs. In 2000, these totaled more than $70 billion in the United States. The figure grows when we add criminal justice system costs, social services, and other expenses.

Teen Dating Relationships: Opportunities for Youth to Define What's Healthy and Unhealthy

The Federal Interagency Workgroup on Teen Dating Violence, in collaboration with Concept Systems, Inc. (CSI), is conducting research to better understand how youth conceptualize healthy and unhealthy dating relationships.

MyMoney.Gov: Expanding Financial Education and Access

The new MyMoney.gov creates an online point of access to financial information from 22 Federal entities. Young people will be able to find a great deal of information related to planning for their financial future.

25th Anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Unites Americans in National Day of Service

Thousands of nonprofit, faith-based, educational, and national service groups in all 50 states led community projects on the day, including weatherizing homes, beautifying schools, serving meals, and providing employment counseling. Americans of all ages and backgrounds helped advance Dr. King’s vision of equality and opportunity for all by making the holiday a “day on, not a day off”—and the beginning of an ongoing commitment to serve throughout the year.

Developing Programs for Youth in Allied Health Careers

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) at the Department of Labor (DOL) is making considerable investments in projects that focus on preparing participants for employment in the health care sector. The release of the Allied Health Access (AHA) Guidebook: How to Develop Programs for Youth in Allied Health Careers is one such example. The AHA Guidebook offers strategies and resources to create or expand programs and services leading to allied health opportunities for youth and young adults.

Planning for the 2011 Continuums of Care Point-in-Time Count on Homelessness

Continuums of Care (CoCs) across the country undertake community-wide efforts to collect information on the number and characteristics of individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

Dating Matters: Understanding Teen Dating Violence Prevention

Early efforts to promote healthy, respectful dating relationships are more likely to prevent dating violence before the problem begins.

Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Program

For the first time since the early 1990s, the overall rates of pregnancy and birth among teenagers and young women increased from 2005 to 2006 and continued to increase in 2007.

National Youth Listening Tour

Through the American Graduation Initiative, President Obama has set a goal for America to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.

Girls Mentoring and Education Service

Andrea, a runaway youth and victim of sexual exploitation, battled isolation and feelings of worthlessness, faced physical and mental abuse, and bounced in and out of jail, unable to lessen the hold that her exploiter had on her. She eventually escaped the exploitation with the help of GEMS, or Girls Mentoring and Education Service, an organization in New York that enables girls like Andrea to exit “the life.”

The Voices of Young People Highlight the SSRHY Annual Meeting

Ten youth, from the six states participating in the Support Systems for Rural Homeless Youth 5-year demonstration, taught valuable lessons at the Demonstration's Annual Meeting in Chicago last August.

National Summit on Youth Preparedness

At the end of the 20th century, an estimated 66.5 million children each year were affected by a natural disaster, and this number will most likely increase, owing to shifts within society and large climate changes.

The CITY Project

Using a broad-based community collaboration approach, the CITY Project is working in Broome County and New York City to empower at-risk youth to become community change agents.

The Youth Career Café - Empowering Youth to Succeed in the Real World

The Department of Labor funds youth training and employment programs under the Workforce Investment Act; funds are provided to states and then to local areas to deliver services. The Youth Career Café is one approach a local workforce area has taken to help young people connect with the world of work.

Safe Youth, Safe Schools

More than 55 million young people will return to school in the United States this fall. While schools remain relatively safe, any amount of violence is unacceptable. Students, parents, teachers, and administrators expect schools to be safe havens of learning. Acts of violence disrupt the learning process. Violence has a negative effect on students, the school itself, and even the broader community.

Stopping the Summer Slide with Energy Express

Under the leadership of the West Virginia University Extension 4-H Youth Development, Energy Express is a research based summer reading and nutrition program for children living in rural and low-income West Virginia.

Traffic Safety: Keeping Teens Safe behind the Wheel

Motor vehicle crashes continue to be the leading cause of death among youth. Per miles driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash.

U.S. Government sets goal to end youth homelessness in 10 years

The U.S. Department of Education reported that 53,000 homeless youth were supported through school-based programs last year, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development counted more than 22,000 young people in emergency or transitional housing in 2009.  Another 110,000 youth are believed to be living on the streets. It is likely this is a serious underestimate of the total number of homeless youth, but the actual number of youth experiencing homelessness is unknown.

Data from 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System Released

The 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report (MMWR) Surveillance Summary and the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data are available.

New Teen Pregnancy Prevention Funding Opportunities

New funding opportunities released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) offer the opportunity to replicate evidence-based programs and support innovative strategies and community-wide initiatives.

May is National Foster Care Month

National Foster Care Month is a time to acknowledge the 463,000 American children and youth in foster care and the family members, foster parents, volunteers, mentors, child welfare professionals, and policymakers who help them find permanent homes and connections.

Celebrate AmeriCorps Week

The fourth annual AmeriCorps Week, taking place May 8-15, 2010, provides the perfect opportunity for AmeriCorps members, alums, grantees, program partners, and friends to shine a spotlight on AmeriCorps and to motivate more Americans to serve.

National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day

National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day (Awareness Day) is a day for everyone to promote positive youth development, resilience, recovery, and the transformation of mental health services delivery for children and youth with serious mental health needs and their families.

Engineering students mentor at middle school with STARBASE

This spring through the STARBASE Nebraska program, six University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engineering students have dedicated an hour each week to go back to sixth grade and help the next generation of engineers.

Washington State Youth Take Civic Activism To New Level

Non-academic barriers to learning, such as those facing Sierra, were the focus of a Civic Engagement Forum in February of 2009. This two-day event brought young people from dropout prevention and school health programs to advise the Washington State Legislative Youth Advisory Council (LYAC).

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month

The Justice Department worked with the Senate to designate the entire month of February as National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month.

Collaborative Efforts to Address Youth Violence

In response to the recent killing of a 16 year old Chicago honor student, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)/CDC, the Department of Education (ED), and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) started work to address youth violence.

Identifying Effective Interventions: A Report from GAO

In November 2009, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released the report, "Program Evaluation: A Variety of Vigorous Methods Can Help Identify Effective Interventions.

Federal Collaboration

The Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs (IWGYP) is composed of representatives from 12 federal agencies that support programs and services focusing on youth. The IWGYP seeks to promote achievement of positive results for at-risk youth.

Youth Speakers Share Their Hopes for the Future

Seven youth speakers at the recent Innovative Collaborations to Promote Positive Youth Outcomes: A Federal, State, and Local Dialogue conference shared their experiences as youth at risk – as well as how they were able to get their lives on track.

4-H Members Raise Awareness of Meningitis

In Louisiana, 4-H youth took their civic engagement skills and put them towards something life changing—advocating and lobbying for meningitis prevention.

AdoptUsKids Project Helps 10,000 Foster Children

Find Permanent Families Thanks to a project known as AdoptUsKids, more than 10,000 children have been placed into adoptive families.

GEAR UP Program Succeeds In Helping Latinos Enter College

In the fall of 1999, Art Castanon and Ana Coria were part of the seventh grade class at Sycamore High School in Anaheim that began GEAR UP—Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program.

Strengthening Families to Prevent Teen Drug Use

Experts say one way to prevent young people from using drugs is to strengthen family relationships, so that youth develop an open and trusting relationship with parents.

How much do you know about…4-H and Positive Youth Development?

4-H provides opportunities for youth development and for youth to develop skills, practical knowledge, and wisdom through observing, doing, and living through experiences.

4-H Expands To New Audiences

4-H provides predictable programming and a safe and nurturing environment for military youth, whose families may move frequently and experience difficulties surrounding lengthy and frequent deployments.

New Website Helps Federal Staff Support Comprehensive Community Initiatives

The Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has established a new Web site, cciToolsforFeds.org offering a wealth of tools and resources to help Federal staff plan, support, and help sustain Comprehensive Community Initiatives (CCIs), local community interventions that seek to improve outcomes for youth and families through systems change.

Portland Kids Learn about Life and Basketball at the Hoopin' It Up Camp

Each year, 50 youth participate in Hoopin' it Up, a basketball camp open to youth living in the Hillsdale Terrace and Slavin Court public housing communities in southwest Portland.

AmeriCorps NCCC: Strengthening Communities and Developing Leaders

The National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) is one of the three programs that form AmeriCorps, a network of national service programs that engage Americans in service to address critical community needs within the United States. AmeriCorps NCCC is a full-time, team-based residential program for men and women ages 18-25.

A Hand and Paw Partnership Benefits Homeless Youth

Dogs, and people, learn new tricks at the Virginia Woof Dog Daycare Center in Portland, OR. Owned and operated by Outside In, a social service agency that serves homeless youth and low-income adults, the doggie daycare provides job training for 25 formerly homeless young people every year.

A Mentoring Charity Blooms in Baltimore

The biggest challenge for a small, growing mentoring program can be convincing caring adults to take the first step and volunteer to help a child. To that end, Baltimore's Liberty Learning Center, an after-school facility founded in 2005 for inner-city youth, will use this year's National Mentoring Month as a springboard to gain greater exposure and enlist more adults in its cause.

A Match Made in Pittsburgh Cultivates a Young Girl's Strengths

Eleven-year-old Summer needed a positive environment where she could be a child and not grow up too fast. Gwyneth Gaul, a 28-year-old fundraiser, provides that positivity as Summer's mentor. The two were "matched" by Amachi Pittsburgh, which pairs children of incarcerated parents with caring adults.

"A Day On, Not a Day Off!"

On January 18, 2010, people of all ages and backgrounds will come together to improve lives, bridge social barriers, and move our nation closer to the "Beloved Community"; that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. envisioned.

General Colin L. Powell to Headline National Mentoring Month 2010

National Mentoring Month (January) is the month each year when our nation officially shines a spotlight on the importance of mentors and the need for every child to have a caring adult in their life.

 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•