Help Hands On Charlotte Save Service

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 1, a budget resolution that completely eliminates funding for the programs of the Corporation for National and Community Service, including AmeriCorps and the Volunteer Generation Fund. The bill will now be considered by the Senate.

If passed, this cut would immediately eliminate Hands On Charlotte's AmeriCorps and VISTA positions, cutting our staff by MORE than half and deeply affecting our ability to mobilize 15,000 volunteers to support more than 150 organizations and schools on the front lines of improving the lives of Charlotteans.

In 2010, Hands On Charlotte increased our projects by 62%, total volunteer hours by 42% and volunteer slots filled by 57%. Much of this growth is directly related to the work of our AmeriCorps/VISTA team. They have developed projects that tutor children, renovate schools, clean streams and parks, and help struggling families feed, clothe and house their children. In exchange for their valuable work, AmeriCorps members receive a very small living stipend and an education award to pay for college loans.

Hundreds of other organizations utilize AmeriCorps members, including Habitat for Humanity, American Red Cross, Boys and Girls Clubs and Teach for America. The elimination of AmeriCorps will severely impact our country's ability to serve our own citizens in need! Presidents of both parties have supported AmeriCorps as a model of public/private partnerships. AmeriCorps leverages private funds to match the federal funds at a tune of almost $800 million per year.

Hands On Charlotte and the HandsOn Network are part of a group of service organizations called Save Service, who's informative web site provides suggestions on how you -- and anyone who cares about the work of HOC -- can help.

Thank you for letting your Senator know that you support volunteerism and the vital work of AmeriCorps members. Please stay tuned to our Facebook page and our Twitter page for updates, and spread the word about this issue through your email and social media networks.

Project gives kids chance to earn bikes

When the thermometer outside hits 65 degrees, I take my bike off the rack and pump up the tires. On a sunny day, nothing is better than a bike ride around the neighborhood or to the park. I’m 26 years old now, but I’ve felt this way since I captained that first tricycle.

Thanks to Santa and my family, I always had a bike growing up. Unfortunately, not everyone who wants a bike has one as a kid. But that’s what makes one of our projects this week special.

On Tuesday, volunteers from Goodrich’s Environmental, Health and Safety Department purchased and assembled 10 new mountain bikes. Through Trips For Kids Charlotte, kids in at-risk neighborhoods will have the opportunity to earn a free bike in exchange for completing lessons in bike mechanics and safety.

From that first tricycle to the hybrid hanging on my wall, bikes have always fed a sense of freedom and independence in me. Thank you to Goodrich and Trips For Kids Charlotte for giving some kids the chance to earn that feeling.

Protests in Egypt spark push toward community service

Despite the uncertainty of Egypt’s current situation, Egyptians are claiming and investing in their country and community through service. Take a look at this video from The Daily News – Egypt.

While some of us are still grappling to understand the forces behind the Egyptian protests, there is a lesson in this clip about empowerment. Hands On Charlotte offers service opportunities in Charlotte similar to what you saw in the video. We offer Charlotte volunteers the opportunity to shape and to invest in their community. We hope to see you at a project soon.

Nationwide volunteer initiative launched at MLK Service Forum

I had the pleasure of speaking with David Ray, the Chief Strategy and Public Policy Officer at HandsOn Network, at the MLK Service Forum on Saturday. Here is a summary of our conversation:

Q: What brought you here today?
A: I am here to join Hands On Charlotte in honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the MLK Service Forum and to announce the nationwide launch of a HandsOn Network program called Road to the Gulf.

Q: Why did HandsOn Network decide to put on Road to the Gulf?
A: During the 2010 HandsOn Network conference in New York, while discussing the plans for the 2011 conference in New Orleans, we began to reflect on how much the Gulf region still needs help rebuilding. At the time of the 2010 conference, the Gulf region was facing the oil spill while still attempting to recover from Hurricane Katrina. The HandsOn Network decided to create a program to build momentum and to increase volunteer capacity nationwide in 2011 by holding a ten city tour culminating with a week of service in New Orleans.

Q: What are the goals of Road to the Gulf?
A: There are ten cities along three different paths leading to New Orleans in June. At strategic stops along the Road to the Gulf, HandsOn Network will be conducting boot camps to train service leaders to organize and manage others. They will also be working to develop projects that address community-specific needs. HandsOn Network hopes to log over 25,000 volunteer hours on the Road to the Gulf tour and train more than 10,000 new project leaders.

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According to Lisa Quisenberry, Executive Director of Hands on Charlotte, HandsOn Network thought our MLK Week of Service would be a great place to launch the Road to the Gulf. How exciting! Charlotte is the first city on the tour! In line with the HandsOn Network initiative of training 10,000 new project leaders, a Project Leader training session was conducted during the MLK Service Forum.

For more information on Road to the Gulf, click here.


Interview by Lynne Warholic, a volunteer at Hands On Charlotte.

Edited and posted by Tanner Kroeger.

Jennifer Roberts, David Ray head speaker list at MLK Service Forum

We just wrapped up the speaker session with County Commissioner Jennifer Roberts and David Ray, Chief Strategy and Public Policy Officer for the HandsOn Network. Commissioner Roberts spoke about the resiliency of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s message of non-violence. David Ray spoke about the HandsOn Network's Road to the Gulf campaign, which Hands On Charlotte helped to launch today.

Check back on the blog next week for complete interviews with David Ray and Lisa Quisenberry, Hands On Charlotte's Executive Director.