On Tuesday, September 4, 2018, YWCA Central Alabama’s “Building Communities, Bettering Lives” (BCBL) AmeriCorps program welcomed its 10th program year of new AmeriCorps members. Forty women and men from around the country have committed to take part in a year of full-time, direct service benefiting the YWCA and its 16 non-profit partner agencies throughout the community.
The YWCA’s BCBL AmeriCorps program began in 2009 with only five members. Since then, it has grown tremendously with an average of 40 members serving each year since 2015. AmeriCorps members are a vital resource for YWCA Central Alabama and its partner agencies. Annually, members serve more than 60,000 hours and to date 63 of the 271 total BCBL AmeriCorps members have been offered jobs at either the YWCA or one of its partner agencies.
Partnering nonprofits hosting a YWCA BCBL AmeriCorps member include: AlaQuest Collaborative for Education, Birmingham Education Foundation, College Admissions Made Possible, Freshwater Land Trust, Girls Inc., Heart Gallery of Alabama, Junior Achievement, Mothers’ Milk Bank, One Roof, Safehouse of Shelby County, The Literacy Council, Urban Ministry, Volunteer Lawyers Birmingham, Woodlawn Foundation, YMCA Northeast Branch and YouthServe
Members will serve in areas such as volunteer engagement, domestic violence services, homelessness prevention, civic and environmental engagement, education and empowerment. They will also receive training related to social justice, communication and conflict, financial literacy, volunteer recruitment, professionalism, self-care, and more.
AmeriCorps is a national service initiative that is comparable to the Peace Corps, except it is for persons desiring to commit to at least one year of service nationally, rather than internationally. AmeriCorps engages more than 80,000 members to serve each year. Since its inception in 1994, more than one million AmeriCorps members have contributed over one-billion hours in service to their country while leveraging millions of community volunteers.
For more information on the program visit our page here https://ywcabham.org/americorps
