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National Service Recognition Day was celebrated recently in Macomb.
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Macomb celebrates National Service Recognition Day

April 5, 2018

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MACOMB, IL - Macomb Mayor Mike Inman and Fifth Ward Alderwoman Gayle Carper recently joined AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers and AmeriCorps State members for a service project with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Warren and McDonough County and the West Central Illinois Arts Center.

The "Littles," with help from their "Bigs" and volunteers, created placemats that will be laminated and donated to the YMCA for use with their senior meals program.

In cooperation with Western Illinois University, the Macomb community has benefitted from National Service members for many years through the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs' (IIRA) Peace Corps Fellows/AmeriCorps Program in Community Development and MAPPING the Future of Your Community/AmeriCorps VISTA programs.

The AmeriCorps VISTA program places volunteers in rural communities across the state to work on poverty alleviation initiatives. Currently, the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs has 10 VISTA volunteers placed in rural Illinois communities, with two VISTAs in Macomb. The Macomb volunteers, Mallory White and Sarah Baca, are both working with Big Brothers Big Sisters to build capacity for the organization and expand services in Bushnell and other outlying areas. Macomb will also host 10-12 Summer Associate VISTA volunteers this summer in summer feeding programs hosted by the YMCA and Genesis Gardens.

In addition to the AmeriCorps VISTA program, the IIRA at WIU also manages an AmeriCorps State Program through the Peace Corps Fellows Program in Community Development. The program recruits returned Peace Corps volunteers into its two-year graduate fellowship program at WIU.

As part of the degree program, fellows serve part-time and full-time AmeriCorps assignments in rural communities, leading local development projects such as downtown revitalization, business retention and expansion, tourism development, health education, volunteer management and disaster preparedness. Fellows work to build local capacity, mobilize people and make sustainable progress in host communities and organizations.

Currently in Macomb, there are seven Peace Corps Fellows/AmeriCorps State members serving the following organizations: The City of Macomb, Wesley Village, Beu Health Center, Western Illinois Regional Council, Illinois Cooperative Development Center, Small Business Development Center and IIRA.

The sixth annual National Service Recognition Day was celebrated April 3. In 2017, more than 4,520 elected officials nationwide participated in the recognition day, including 128 officials from Illinois. The National Service Recognition Day is a chance for elected officials to recognize the work National Service volunteers are doing in their communities. The day is sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties and Cities of Service.

As the federal agency for service and volunteering, CNCS annually engages millions of Americans in service at more than 50,000 locations through AmeriCorps, VISTA, Senior Corps and other programs. National Service participants address the most pressing challenges facing U.S. counties and local communities, from educating students for the jobs of the 21st century and supporting veterans and military families to preserving the environment and helping communities recover from natural disasters.

To learn more about the WIU/IIRA Peace Corps Fellows Program in Community Development at www.wiu.edu/pcf and about the MAPPING the Future of Your Community program, visit mappingthefuture.iira.org. 

For additional information, contact Linda Lee Blaine at (309) 298-2647 or email ll-blaine@wiu.edu or Karen Mauldin-Curtis at (309) 298-2706 or email K-Mauldin-Curtis@wiu.edu.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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