Top 10 Reasons to Spend a Year of AmeriCorps Service with Reading Partners

AmeriCorps is a national service program supported by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) that provides opportunities for citizens to meet critical community needs in the following categories: veterans and military families, healthy futures, economic opportunity, environmental stewardship, disaster services, and education.

Reading Partners receives AmeriCorps funding which allows us to provide full-time service opportunities in our programs across the United States. Reading Partners AmeriCorps members dedicate 1700 hours of volunteer service from August to June, in exchange for leadership and career development, and a living stipend.

AmeriCorps is an exciting opportunity for service-minded individuals who are passionate about education and the nonprofit sector!

Top ten reasons to apply to be an AmeriCorps member at Reading Partners:

1. Make a difference in children’s lives—share the joy of reading with children by serving with a national literacy nonprofit organization (and you have an excuse to read your favorite children’s books again!).

2. Networking opportunities—Connect with thousands of current and former AmeriCorps members who have served with AmeriCorps since its inception in 1994. AmeriCorps Alums empower former members to continue spreading the spirit of service with over 60 chapters in the country.

3. Collaborate with passionate people—build strong relationships with community volunteers, school staff, community partners, and other AmeriCorps members.

4. Be a part of the National Service movement—AmeriCorps engages more than 80,000 service minded Americans each year. These individuals serve at nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and community and faith-based groups across the nation.

5. Eleven months of humbling and rewarding work—Make a difference in peoples lives by contributing to the more than one billion hours in service across America, all while tackling pressing within education and mobilizing community volunteers.

6. Gain a broad range of invaluable professional skills—As an AmeriCorps member with Reading Partners you will be actively engaged with working in a fast paced environment and experience the opportunity to engage in high quality training and on the job learning.

7. Marketable title and skill set for your resume—As a Site Coordinator you are given the opportunity to adopt managerial skills as the leader of a reading center. As a Volunteer Coordinator you will be given the opportunity to cultivate communication skills as the primary regional volunteer recruiter. Furthermore, AmeriCorps is a nationally recognized service opportunity that provides a leg up in the job market.

8. Engage in service at an innovative, rapidly growing non-profit—Move out of your comfort zone to serve in New York, Dallas, Baltimore, D.C, Tulsa, California, or Charleston.

9. Education Award—AmeriCorps members receive a $5,645 Segal Education Award upon successful completion of the service term to use towards future educational expenses or to paid off qualified student loans.

10. Witness first-hand progress in student’s reading skills and confidence—At Reading Partners you will play a vital role in helping students gain the support and skills they need to succeed in elementary school and beyond.

Have we convinced you yet?…

Here’s what Cody Howard, a current Site Coordinator in the Sacramento region, had to say about his experience:

“In addition to all of the great work that I have been seeing happen here in the reading center (the usual ‘light bulbs’ going off, high fives shared, etc.)…I experienced something which I used to think only veterans of the military might feel…I noticed a young man, probably my age or just a little younger, wearing a similar jacket to mine. It was black and had a different organizational logo, but you absolutely could not miss the AmeriCorps “A” on the sleeve. I waited for his glance and, when he noticed mine as well, we both tapped our jackets and gave each other the peace sign. How odd, I thought, that out of nothing, really, I would make such a connection with a person. Not to mention what he and I spoke of minutes later, the sense of community and purpose behind a common goal was felt because of a simple insignia.”

Reading Partners AmeriCorps recruitment for the 2014-15 program year is in full swing! To learn more about available AmeriCorps positions at Reading Partners for the 2014-15 service year please visit https://staging.readingpartners.org/who-we-are/join-our-team/americorps-application/.