Governor Patrick Kicks Off a Year of Service for 1,000 Massachusetts AmeriCorps Members
November 1, 2008
In honor of AmeriCorps Opening Day on Friday, Nov. 7, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick led over 1,000 members from Massachusetts AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps VISTA programs in the Pledge of Service, marking the start of a year of national service benefitting hundreds of communities across the Commonwealth.
Fifty Springfield College AmeriCorps members were among the attendants, as well as staff members Shannon Langone and Nicole Messmer. Matt Henry, a second-year member, spoke on behalf of the Corps, explaining what types of service the Springfield College members provide. These services include academic coaching and mentoring, capacity building, counseling and case management, and youth leadership.
Springfield College is one of seventy-six AmeriCorps programs in Massachusetts. In those programs, over 2,000 AmeriCorps members will perform countless hours of community service during the year. Those hours had a huge impact last year, when 11,000 children received tutoring, 4.360 families received legal assistance, seventy housing units were revitalized and made safer, and the environment was improved by 232 outdoor-service projects. Dedicating over 1,000,000 hours of service, AmeriCorps members engaged an additional 16,000 volunteers in service to the Commonwealth.
The Massachusetts Service Alliance hosted the Opening Day program at the Reggie Lewish Track & Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College.
Following the pledge, members had the opportunity to deepen their connection to the Massachusetts service movement by participating in tours of the Massachusetts State House and John Joseph Moakley Court House; getting to know fellow Corps members through networking activities; and lending a hand through an outdoor service project at the Chestnut Hill Reservation.
