MuseumCorps at Providence Children’s Museum
The mission of MuseumCorps, the AmeriCorps program at Providence Children’s Museum, is to instill a lifetime love of learning in children – especially those whose exposure to rich educational experiences is limited. Since its inception in 1997, MuseumCorps has served nearly 20,000 children.
Currently, MuseumCorps is a group of dynamic and diverse individuals who, in conjunction with Museum staff, develop and lead after-school Learning Clubs at inner-city community centers; design and implement programs with Head Start preschools; and recruit and mentor volunteers who facilitate play and learning in the Museum’s hands-on exhibits.
The 2011-14 grant includes a new initiative to implement a complimentary learning partnership that integrates learning supports for children and fosters academic improvement in math by providing a year-round Learning Club at Boys & Girls Club of Providence-South Side Clubhouse while focusing on 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders at the neighboring Mary E. Fogarty Elementary School.
Scholarships for Service: Student Civic Fellows at Rhode Island Campus Compact
Rhode Island Campus Compact is a coalition of colleges and universities dedicated to promoting community service, civic engagement, and service-learning in higher education. Scholarships for Service is an AmeriCorps Education Award Only program that engages college students committed to service. Members serve a minimum of 300 hours in their communities at a variety of organizations, earning a $1,175 Education Award for their commitment to service and active participation in civic life. For the 2011-2012 year, 100 SFS members serve across 7 campuses: Johnson & Wales University, Providence College, Rhode Island College, Rhode Island School of Design, Roger Williams University, Salve Regina University, and University of Rhode Island.
AmeriCorps*VISTA at Rhode Island Campus Compact
Rhode Island Campus Compact is a coalition of colleges and universities dedicated to promoting community service, civic engagement, and service-learning in higher education. RICC AmeriCorps*VISTAs work to help higher education institutions align resources and build effective community partnerships in order to better respond to pressing issues facing low-income communities. For the 2011-2012 year, RICC has placed AmeriCorps*VISTA members with the following institutions/partnerships: Bryant University/Blackstone Academy Charter School, Brown University/RI Urban Debate League, Community College of Rhode Island/CAN-RI, Johnson & Wales University, Providence College, Roger Williams University, Rhode Island School of Design|Project Open Door, Rhode Island School of Design|Public Engagement, Salve Regina University, and Social Venture Partners RI.
AmeriCorps*VISTA at AS220
AS220 is a non-profit community arts space in downtown Providence. Our mission is to provide an unjuried and uncensored forum for the arts. In addition to VISTAS serving at AS220 Youth Studio and AS220 Labs, we provide umbrella sponsorship for five other local non-profit sites: The Capital Good Fund, Providence ¡City Arts!, RiverzEdge, Community Music Works, and The Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence. VISTA supports community efforts to overcome poverty, community empowerment, capacity building, and sustainable solutions.
Charter Corps
The Charter Corps is a collaboration between the Highlander Charter School and Times Squared Academy which places AmeriCorps members in classrooms from kindergarten to eighth grade. Members are assigned to a specific class or grade, and serve as in classroom assistants during the day. Their roles include anything from homework grading to leading small group discussions or reteaching sessions. The Corps has a focus on improving the math abilities and literacy of the students it serves. During the afternoon, the Corps members become the afterschool providers at the two sites. The afterschool day is split between an Expanded Learning Time homeroom and a rotating set of different activities, ranging from sports and music to science and arts. Members from both sites unite every Friday at Highlander to run the Freedom Friday program afterschool.
City Year
City Year unites young people of all backgrounds for a year of full-time service, giving them the skills and opportunities to change the world. In communities across the United States and through two international affiliates, these diverse young leaders help turn around high-need schools and get at-risk students back on track to graduation by working to improve their attendance, behavior and course performance. We are celebrating our 19th year of service to the state of Rhode Island, where we serve in Del Sesto Middle School, Esek Hopkins Middle School, Gilbert Stuart Middle School, and Roger Williams Middle School.
National College Advising Corps
Increasing higher education opportunities for Rhode Island’s low- to moderate-income and first generation students in 11 local high schools and CCRI
The College Advising Corps at Brown seeks to increase the number of low- to moderate-income high school students who enter college and earn bachelor’s degrees, by providing college application and financial aid guidance to those students and their families while fostering a culture of college attendance and higher education in Rhode Island’s urban communities.
College Advisors: Twelve recent college graduates work full-time in urban public high schools across Rhode Island to increase college awareness, preparation and enrollment of disadvantaged students. College Advisorsare full-time AmeriCorps members.
The College Advising Corps is funded by Serve Rhode Island, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, Rhode Island Foundation, van Beuren Charitable Foundation, and Bank of America.
Ocean State Environmental Education Collaborative
The Ocean State Environmental Education Collaborative (OSEEC) is a strategic effort by Rhode Island’s leading environmental organizations to improve science proficiency and environmental literacy among students in the state’s urban core cities. AmeriCorps members with science and education degrees teach environmental-based science in school, after school and in the field. Members introduce children to the natural environment and help cultivate environmentally-literate, active citizens.
This past service year, members taught 1,232 programs reaching approximately 22,136 urban core city students since October 2010. The total program number represents the amount of programs that partner sites are able to offer because of the AmeriCorps program. Almost all urban school and afterschool programming has an AmeriCorps member teaching or co-teaching the program.
East Bay Community Action Program (EBCAP) East Bay Community Action Program serves the East Bay area of Rhode Island, from East Providence to Newport. The mission of EBCAP is to provide high quality, comprehensive and accessible health and human services to help the citizens of the East Bay achieve their fullest potential. Medical and dental services are provided in Newport and Riverside, along with food pantries, WIC (Women, Infants, and Children Supplemental Feeding and Nutrition Progam), Heating and Energy Assistance. Through EBCAP community members can be connected to programs like Head Start, Child Opportunity Zones, and RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program).
The AmeriCorps Program at EBCAP places Corps members in a variety of departments based upon the interests and strengths of the individual. Corps members are charged with a variety of responsibilities, from managing food pantry clients to intake for WIC, from tutoring high school students to facilitating after school programs in the elementary schools. EBCAP strives to meet the human service needs of the East Bay community and to provide health, wellness, and education opportunities for its clients.
AmeriCorps Service 2010-11
AmeriCorps at the Providence Children’s Museum
The mission of the AmeriCorps program at the Museum is to instill a lifetime love of learning in children – especially those whose exposure to rich educational experiences is limited.
The Museum AmeriCorps team is a group of dynamic and diverse individuals who, in conjunction with Museum staff, design and implement programs with Greater Providence Head Starts; create and conduct educational programs for Learning Clubs at community centers in Providence and Pawtucket; and recruit and coordinate Museum volunteers.
Members have a strong commitment to hands-on learning and experience and/or training in child development. Contact the member coordinator with any questions.
AmeriCorps at the Mt. Hope Learning Center
In 1998, the Mt. Hope Learning Center was founded in the hopes of providing a safe and supportive environment for children and adults of the Mt. Hope community. Located on the East Side of Providence, the Center is a place where community members are able to learn the skills that enable them to enhance their quality of life and lead to more productive futures.
As members of the Mt. Hope Corps, we have the opportunity to combine community outreach with hands-on leadership experience in the classroom. As Corps members, the majority of our service is spent planning for and running our 21st Century After School Program, which is held at the Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School. We cater to students in grades K-5, and offer enrichment-based after school programming with clubs such as Photography, Fencing, Step and Chorus offered on Fridays.
By offering a variety of different enrichments, we hope to expand and diversify the experiences of the children we serve. The rest of our service time is spent out in the community, where we partner with other local organizations such as the Mt, Hope Neighborhood Association and Camp Street Ministries. Together, we plan programming and events such as a Life Skills Program, Health Fair, Women’s Group, and a spin off of America’s Got Talent, Mt. Hope’s Got Talent!
AmeriCorps at Ready to Learn Providence
The vision of Ready to Learn Providence, a program of The Providence Plan, is that all children in Providence will enter school healthy and ready to learn.
Since 2002, R2LP has built a collaboration with partners in the community who share this vision. These partners include early-care and public-school educators, city librarians, health-care professionals, family-care providers, and, above all, parents. Indeed, with over 100 local representatives involved in its planning and governance, R2LP has built the largest constituency in the city devoted to school readiness.
Funded with public and private money, R2LP supports programs that improve the quality of early-care education in the city, such as professional development for providers and literacy activities for parents. Parents and providers also play a key role on R2LP committees and teams, helping to shape policies that affect their daily lives and the well-being of their children.
Current priorities of the R2LP community include:
- Offering high-quality training opportunities to early-care providers and parents;
- Enlisting parents as neighborhood leaders and ambassadors; and
- Creating a new era of collaboration between early-care educators and the Providence Public School Department so that all children enjoy a smooth transition into kindergarten.
AmeriCorp Team at the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence
The Institute was founded by members of St. Michael’s Church team ministry in 2001 as a long-term solution to violence.
Basic Function: AmeriCorps Team Members will be assigned to one of three teams training different audiences and locations. Each team will serve the Institute’s nonviolence mission by training nonviolence principles and practices in schools, in communities, and in the Institute’s headquarters in Providence, RI. Through advocacy for clients and students, programs for high-risk youth, and community organizing in neighborhoods affected by violence, AmeriCorps members will ensure that many stakeholders are engaged in the study and practice of nonviolence. Members will gain experience working in the violence reduction, community development and youth development fields and through these experiences, will help to further the Institute’s mission and serve more constituents than ever before.
