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More than 400 Kentuckians pledge service to Americorps

Nationally 75,000 Americans take the pledge

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Sept. 12, 2014) — As part of a nationwide, simultaneous swearing-in of 75,000 AmeriCorps members and alumni, 450 Kentuckians gathered in Louisville today to pledge service to their communities.

americorpsPresident Barack Obama led the pledge via simulcast for the first- and second-year program members as part of the 20th anniversary of AmeriCorps.

“The Kentucky AmeriCorps programs have gotten stronger each year, as more Kentuckians choose to serve the commonwealth and their country,” Gov. Beshear said. “For 20 years, Kentucky AmeriCorps members have been making a difference.”

Beshear also proclaimed the day “AmeriCorps Day” in Kentucky.

AmeriCorps is a national service program administered by the bipartisan, governor-appointed Kentucky Commission on Community Volunteerism and Service (KCCVS), part of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and the federal Corporation for National and Community Service. AmeriCorps members serve faith-based and nonprofit organizations with critical educational, environmental and safety needs. Kentucky organizations receiving grants are dedicated to efforts such as teaching and tutoring children, combatting homelessness, providing drug resistance education, empowering victims of domestic violence, educating the community on disaster preparedness, promoting post-secondary opportunities, offering financial literacy resources and assisting low-income elderly.

AmeriCorps provides service opportunities to members on a full-time (1,700 hours of service per year) or on a less than full-time basis. Members ranging in age from 18 to 80 have signed on for a year of service to their communities and received training to equip them to fulfill their service assignments.

Since its inception in 1994, more than 900,000 men and women have served in AmeriCorps nationally, providing more than 1.2 billion hours of service addressing critical challenges from poverty and hunger to disasters and the dropout crisis. To date, more than 9,400 Kentucky residents have served more than 14 million hours and have received qualified education scholarships totaling more than $32.5 million.