United Way of Greater New Bedford receives $276,525 to fund 19 AmeriCorps

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The Massachusetts Service Alliance today announced that United Way of Greater New Bedford received $276,525 in AmeriCorps funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency responsible for AmeriCorps and other national service programs. The AmeriCorps grant is administered by the Massachusetts Service Alliance.

United Way will lead the New Bedford Strengthening Families (NBSF) AmeriCorps Program with the funding that will allow 19 AmeriCorps members to implement evidence-based interventions that strengthen families and focus on preventing child abuse and neglect at 8 host sites, including United Way. Using the Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework, AmeriCorps members will work to engage at least 80 parents/caregivers in parent education and 360 parents/caregivers in direct service support in the first program year.

“This is an amazing opportunity to increase the capacity of families in the community and to unify well-known and respected community partners under one umbrella and evidence-based framework,” said Stan Brajer, Director of the New Bedford Community Connections Coalition at UWGNB. “We are incredibly excited and fortunate to have this program in our community.”

This funding is provided by the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency for volunteering, civic engagement, and national service programs like AmeriCorps. For more than 25 years, more than 1 million dedicated Americans have joined AmeriCorps and pledged to ‘get things done.’ This year, the 75,000 AmeriCorps members serving in schools, nonprofits, community and faith-based organizations, will do the same as they rebuild communities, support veterans, fight the opioid epidemic, prepare students for success, foster economic opportunity, and more. Those interested in serving can learn more at AmeriCorps.gov/join.

The Massachusetts Service Alliance (MSA) administers funding from CNCS to United Way of Greater New Bedford and 24 other AmeriCorps State programs in Massachusetts. MSA is dedicated to broadening the capacity of the volunteer and service movement across the Commonwealth by providing individuals and organizations with the funding, training and support they need to strengthen communities. MSA develops and supports programs like AmeriCorps that incorporate service and volunteerism as effective strategies to address the most pressing needs in the Commonwealth. To learn more about MSA’s role across the state, visit www.mass-service.org.

“Now more than ever, National service is an essential part of the solution to many of the day-to-day challenges facing Massachusetts as well as in response to and recovery from COVID-19,” said Emily Haber, CEO of MSA. “These AmeriCorps members will meet pressing local needs in and strengthen communities as they develop civic and leadership skills to last a lifetime. I congratulate these outstanding organizations and thank all those who serve their communities through AmeriCorps.”

This year, over 1,500 AmeriCorps members will serve and respond to our Commonwealth’s most pressing needs. They will tutor and mentor at-risk youth ages pre-K through high school, prepare communities for natural disasters, teach young people how to grow and cook healthy foods, provide support services to refugees and immigrants, preserve and rehabilitate our forests and waters, and more.

To learn more about United Way of Greater New Bedford’s work, visit unitedwayofgnb.org.

About Michael Silvia

Served 20 years in the United States Air Force. Owner of New Bedford Guide.

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