About

The AmeriCorps VIP project is designed to address the significant challenges faced by California communities due to the recent economic downturn. Through the program, teams of AmeriCorps members will be placed in communities to develop volunteer programs, harnessing the desire to serve to directly impact communities in need.  Specifically, these non-profits will focus on providing services to children and their families.
 
Of the 8 supervising communities, all have seen a decline in donations and revenues coming into community non-profits. These decreases range from 10-25% depending on the community. All participating sites have reported a steeply increasing demand for the services traditionally provided to children and families by non-profits, from 20% in community action partnership organizations to upwards of 200% at local food banks. Concurrent with this declining revenue and increasing need is a greater number of volunteers willing and able to serve. Reported increases in the number of volunteer inquiries range from 16-25%. The Volunteer Infrastructure Project seeks to inject volunteer support to enable local non-profit organizations to channel the additional volunteers they have to meet the growing needs of the community.
 
This program will begin July 1, 2009 and will engage 70 full time AmeriCorps members who in turn will generate 3,500 volunteers and build infrastructure resulting in an additional 7,000 clients served.
 

Distributed throughout California, participating Hubs include: Hands On Inland Empire, HandsOn Central California, Volunteer Center of Riverside County, Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County, Volunteer Center of the East Bay, Volunteer Center Orange County, Volunteer San Diego, and Northern Santa Barbara County United Way.  

Resources for AmeriCorps VIP