top national award for service and volunteerism
New Orleans, La.—An extensive after-school program the Cesar Chavez Foundation operates in most of its 30 affordable housing communities in four states was one of nine programs honored by the Corporation for National and Community Service on June 8 at a national conference in New Orleans. There, the Keene, Calif.-based Chavez foundation’s Si Se Puede Learning Centers were presented with one of the nine Service Impact Awards during CNCS’s National Conference on Volunteering and Service.
The conference, sponsored by CNCS and Points of Light Institute, brought 4,000 service leaders to New Orleans so they could connect and develop strategies to solve pressing issues across the nation through service and volunteering. Accepting the award was Chavez foundation National Director of Community Services Gina Rodriguez, who created the Si Se Puede Learning Centers.
The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency engaging more than five million Americans in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America programs. The Chavez foundation runs its signature Si Se Puede Learning Centers in partnership with AmeriCorps and full-time AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers staff them.
They and other locally recruited volunteers work with K-6 students who reside within Chavez foundation housing developments in California, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico during high-risk hours after school lets out. The housing projects, which total more than 4,300 units of high quality affordable housing, were all built or renovated and are managed by the Chavez foundation. Every day, children attend classes and participate in group activities focusing on building academic skills through homework assistance, literacy, math, science, creative learning models and access to technology. Kids also partake in other enrichment activities that build leadership and self-esteem, and encourage community involvement through service learning with their own Cesar Chavez curriculum entitled “Educating the Heart.”
The national Service Impact Awards recognize the outstanding impact made by everyday citizens who serve their communities. Awards were judged upon the impact made in the one of the six focus areas outlined in the agency’s five year Strategic Plan: disaster services, economic opportunity, education, environmental stewardship, healthy futures, and veterans and military families. The Chavez foundation was one of two programs winning the award for education.
“This is national service at its best,” said Robert Velasco, II, acting CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. “The work being done every day by these remarkable individuals shows how the power of service can transform communities and be the solution to pressing local challenges across the nation.”
“This national Service Impact Award validates how Si Se Puede Learning Centers transform the lives of the children and their families residing in Chavez foundation housing communities,” the Chavez foundation’s Gina Rodriguez said. “It is testimony to the Chavez foundation’s continuing commitment to serving the people for whom Cesar Chavez and so many others dedicated themselves.”
Honorees received the award at the closing ceremony of the conference, which featured the Daily Show’s John Oliver, R&B legend Percy Sledge, CNBC’s Nicole Lapin, First Lady of New Orleans Cheryl Landrieu and other entertainers and leaders.
The Chavez foundation runs its Si Se Puede Learning Centers Mondays through Fridays during the school year and summer months. They seek to boost students’ confidence in learning, increase school attendance and provide and coordinate a team environment, including a working relationship with local teachers and schools. It is aimed at supporting each child’s success in learning and improving their grades in literacy, math and behavior. Overall, 78 percent of students improve in reading and literature, 83 percent improve in math, 72 percent in behavior and conduct, and 75 percent in school attendance. More than 800 children are served annually.
For more on the Corporation for National and Community Service visit:
http://www.nationalservice.gov/
For more on the National Conference on Volunteering and Service, see:
http://www.volunteeringandservice.org/