 What is the Georgia Recovery Corps?
The Georgia Recovery Corps is a one-year, $1.5 million special initiative of AmeriCorps programming designed to assist Georgians by providing:
- employment readiness skills and volunteer opportunities for people seeking work
- experience in “green” construction techniques and energy audits
- home foreclosure counseling and referral information
The Georgia Recovery Corps consists of 65 full time members serving in eight AmeriCorps programs. Their common goal is to serve 110,500 hours for their communities by June 14, 2010, when the programs will end.
The Georgia Recovery Corps has already created 68 new jobs (AmeriCorps members plus staff) at an average cost of $22,270 per job.
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Albany Georgia Recovery Corps Members in Action!
February 16, 2010
The Albany Police Cadets Georgia Recovery Corps (GRC) program targets youth ages 18-24 with services to help them become "job ready”. By providing employment and skills training/counseling, the AmeriCorps cadets offer services to a low income and high crime area known as "C.M.E.". In Albany, this area is known to have some gang activity and to have very little participation in community activities. The cadets formed a partnership with the Albany Housing Authority and obtained a listing of area residents. To notify the local residents of GRC’s services, cadets passed out fliers and then reached out to specific homes with people in the young adults.
At first, the GRC members found it a challenge to get the young adult clients to commit to the fact of needing and wanting help with job skills. Their clients wanted help finding short term jobs, not the skills that would enable them to seek long term employment on their own. The AmeriCorps members identified this challenge and solved it by modifying their program. GRC members formed a "job book" and "job board" that listed local jobs in the area. This information is kept current and used as a tool to help draw clients into the office and then provide the clients additional skills to empower them. To date, about 116 clients have been served by this Recovery program.
As the year of service less than a few months away, Recovery Corps members continue to maintain contact and assistance to previous clients by using the e-mail system to send out information on employment events, resource lists, and other helpful employment tips. Also, the members continue to build local/regional partnerships with various companies and government agencies in the Mitchell County Area. These partnerships include the Albany Homeless Coalition, County Sheriff Departments, and four local high schools to sponsor additional training and recruiting events. ________________________________________________________________
Georgia Recovery Corps: AmeriCorps "Green Collar" Program
August 31, 2009
Cobb Housing Incorporated (CHI) was awarded $476,950 as a competitive grant from the Corporation of National and Community Service. The funds are being used to provide training in “green” building techniques and full time construction jobs for skilled workers. As a direct result of this program, foreclosed properties are being rehabilitated using green building techniques and certified through the SouthFace or LEED for Homes Program and Energy Star.
Members are also involved in resource audits of foreclosed homes in Cobb County and the North Georgia Coosa Valley Region ensuring that homes are energy-efficient and have proper landscape erosion control. The program currently has created twenty jobs for Georgia Recovery Corps members. The program’s performance measures revolve around (1) employment and skill training (2) home foreclosures and housing assistance (3) housing rehabilitation and access. CHI provides a one year opportunity for targeted YouthBuild AmeriCorps program alumni to meet a specific economic need to rehabilitate homes, address erosion control, and teach skills in Green Careers.
Check out the AmeriCorps "Green Collar" members in action!
 
 
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Georgia Recovery Corps Program Up and Running
July 21, 2009
Members of the Georgia Commission for Service and Volunteerism staff attended pre-service orientation for Hands On Network\Hands On Georgia's Georgia Recovery Corps program at the Lodge at Simpsonwood in Norcross on Monday, July 20, 2009. Traymone Deadwyler and his Georgia Recovery Corps members are excited about kicking off a meaningful year of service providing re-employment services and instituting a volunteer placement program to help Georgia citizens in a time of economic recession. Traymone and his team are spreading their impact across the state with members in Athens-Clarke, Bibb, Bullock, Chatham, Columbia, Effingham, Forsyth, Jackson, Madison and Richmond Counties and one member serving the Atlanta metro-area.
The Hands On Network/Hands on Georgia Georgia Recovery Corps program is one of the eight recovery programs kicking off in Georgia this month others include: City of Albany Police Cadets, City of Macon Police Cadets, Cobb Housing, Inc.,Georgia State University/ T.E.A.M., Inner Harbour, Atlanta Outward Bound,and Refugee Resettlement and Immigration Service of Atlanta.
Please join the Georgia Commission for Service and Volunteerism in wishing all of our Georgia Recovery Corps programs a year of success!
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Georgia Commission for Service and Volunteerism
www.AmeriCorpsGa.org
For Immediate Release CONTACT: Kimberly King, DCA Communications
Monday, June 1, 2009 (404) 679-0615 or (404) 272-5604 Mobile
Georgia AmeriCorps Nets $1.5 Million In “Stimulus Bucks” To Support Volunteerism, Add Volunteers In Distressed Communities
Funds To Support Rollout of “Georgia Recovery Corps”
Atlanta, GA – Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Mike Beatty and Georgia’s Commission For Service & Volunteerism (GCSV) Executive Director John Turner recently announced the award of $1,514,416 in additional funding for the state’s AmeriCorps programs.
The award was funded through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Funds will support the launch of the Georgia Recovery Corps, a one-year AmeriCorps programmatic effort to assist Georgians in the areas of employment readiness skills, housing energy efficiency and home foreclosure counseling.
 “Tough economic times shine an even brighter light on family and community needs,” said DCA Commissioner Mike Beatty. “Volunteerism and community service are critical as we help families face tough times and prepare to move forward.”
“AmeriCorps programs have always been on the frontlines of addressing social needs in communities. The ARRA funds provide a new way of providing community service as President Obama and Congress have tasked AmeriCorps members with a new mission of addressing economic issues as well as social issues,” said Turner. “We welcome this new challenge. These funds will support front-line programs that seek to meet critical needs of our communities and citizens.”
Nationally, the Corporation for National and Community Service (Corporation) announced $85 million in ARRA grants. These funds are expected to fund stipends for 10,000 AmeriCorps members in distressed communities. Through the state’s Georgia Recovery Corps, funds are projected to support approximately 70 AmeriCorps members.
Funds To Support Program Expansion, More AmeriCorps Members
Georgia will allocate its $1,037,383 of its award funds to support some of the AmeriCorps existing programs. Programs will use funds to cover stipends for AmeriCorps members and/ or program operating costs. Summary award information is highlighted below.
Program Name/ Community |
Program Overview |
ARRA
Award |
Estimated # of AmeriCorps Members |
Hands On Network /
Hands on Georgia |
Re-employment service/ volunteer placement program |
$325,949 |
15 |
Cobb Housing, Inc./ Home Rescue |
Home foreclosure and housing assistance program working with HUD-certified housing counselors |
174,761 |
7 |
Georgia State University/ T.E.A.M. |
“Green” jobs training program focused on recycling & energy audits programs and building weatherization |
139,819 |
7 |
Inner Harbour |
A volunteer generation program |
101,746 |
4 |
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Page 2
Program Name/ Community |
Program Overview |
ARRA
Award |
Estimated # of AmeriCorps Members |
Refugee Resettlement & Immigration Service of Atlanta |
Employment skills/ financial planning/ housing assistance/ healthcare access program targeted to refugee communities of Fulton & DeKalb counties |
90,629 |
6 |
City of Albany/ Albany Police Cadets |
Law enforcement initiative focused on reducing gang activity and enhancing job skills for young adults |
85,332 |
6 |
City of Macon/ Macon Police Cadets |
Police cadet program targeted on two high poverty, high unemployment rate neighborhoods with focus on volunteer recruitment, community partnerships |
78,600 |
6 |
Atlanta Outward Bound |
Supplement to current program |
40,547 |
0 |
TOTAL |
$1,037,383 |
51 |
Cobb Non-Profit Merits Second Grant
Separately, the Corporation for National and Community Service awarded an additional $476,960 in ARRA funds to Cobb Housing, Inc. These funds will support stipends for 20 AmeriCorps members. Members will work “hands on” in Cobb Housing’s housing rehabilitation program. Plans are in place to rehabilitate 20 foreclosed homes and construct six new units. Both the “rehab” and new construction will use energy efficient construction techniques.
Fast Start For Georgia Recovery Corps
Added Turner: “We are eager to place our AmeriCorps members in the communities where they are needed most. With funding announced for specific programs, we expect to have AmeriCorps members serving Georgia citizens by mid-June. Our service is needed now and we are ready.” Funds will support programmatic efforts from June 15, 2009 through June 14, 2010.
Individuals interested in being considered for AmeriCorps programs should contact the individual programs. Additional information about becoming an AmeriCorps member is available at www.AmeriCorpsGa.org .
About AmeriCorps. In 1993, the National and Community Service Trust Act created AmeriCorps as a partnership between the federal government and state commissions to meet educational, environmental, public safety and health care needs, to reward service with expanded educational opportunity and to build the ethic of citizenship among participants and the people they serve. Each year, more than 65,000 AmeriCorps members serve with hundreds of nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and faith-based organizations nationwide — from small community groups to nationally-known organizations.
AmeriCorps In Georgia. The Georgia AmeriCorps*State programs are administered and monitored by the Georgia Commission for Service and Volunteerism (GCSV), a part of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA). Currently, Georgia has approximately 450 members serving in AmeriCorps programs statewide. Through their community involvement, Georgia’s AmeriCorps members seek to instill values of responsibility and a service ethic while preparing for the future by improving their job-readiness, communication, interpersonal and problem-solving skills. Through May 2008, Georgia AmeriCorps members have provided nearly 268,300 hours of service tutoring and mentoring youth, responding to natural disasters, helping make our streets safer, building affordable housing, assisting underserved citizens, cleaning parks and streams, and recruiting, training and managing community volunteers. For more information on Georgia’s AmeriCorps programs, please visit www.AmeriCorpsGA.org .
The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) was created in 1977 to serve as an advocate for local governments. As outlined in its mission statement, DCA seeks opportunities that support "partnering with communities to help create a climate of success for Georgia's families and businesses.” DCA operates a host of state and federal grant programs; serves as the state's lead agency in housing finance and development; promulgates building codes to be adopted by local governments; provides comprehensive planning, technical and research assistance to local governments; and serves as the lead agency for the state's solid waste reduction efforts. For more information about DCA, please visit http://www.dca.state.ga.us .
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May 28, 2009
It Pays to be Georgia Work Ready!
Georgia Work Ready was created to ensure that Georgia's workers have the best skills, easy access to training and world-class job opportunities. The backbone of the initiative is the Work Ready Certificate, which assesses the real world skills of Georgia's workers. Georgians can use their Work Ready Certificate to prove their work readiness to potential employers. Georgia also offers gap training aimed at helping to improve Certificate scores, enabling career growth and continued on-the-job success. This, combined with an innovative job profiling process that accurately identifies the exact skills required for specific jobs is helping create the perfect match between Georgia workers and jobs.
Governor Sonny Perdue today announced the launch of Be Work Ready, a program designed to help unemployed Georgians jump start their job search, develop confidence and gain a competitive advantage in the job market.
Be Work Ready is a one-of-a-kind initiative providing unemployed Georgians a monetary incentive for either earning a Work Ready Certificate or improving their skills through free, online Work Ready skills gap training. Funding for the initiative is provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
When an individual earns a bronze, silver or gold level Work Ready Certificate, they are eligible for a $50 incentive; those who earn platinum are eligible for $100. When an individual improves their Work Ready Certificate level in any way, they are eligible for a $100 incentive. The incentive, in the form of a gift card, can be used to offset job search expenses.
To find out more about the Georgia Work Ready and Be Work Ready programs please visit www.gaworkready.org.
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GCSV Hosts ARRA Workshop for Grant Recipients
April 29, 2009
The Georgia Commission for Service and Volunteerism hosted staff from the eight Georgia AmeriCorps programs chosen to participate in the new one-year-only program of national service designed to use funds from the economic stimulus legislation passed by Congress in February to assist Georgians and Georgia communities. Program staff gathered at the Georgia Department of Community Affairs headquarters in Atlanta today to organize and prepare for the mid-June launch of the Georgia Recovery Corps.
The AmeriCorps programs chosen to participate in the formula Georgia Recovery Corps are Hands On Georgia, Albany Police Cadets, Refugee Resettlement and Immigration Service of Atlanta, Georgia State University, Macon Police Cadets, Cobb Housing, Inc., and Inner Harbour.
The Georgia Recovery Corps will deploy AmeriCorps members in service programs focused on improving employment conditions, assisting persons facing home foreclosure or rehabilitating housing.
To learn more about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act CLICK HERE.
Resources from the April 2009 Workshop:
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