Celebrating national service milestone

Community service is a cornerstone of our way of life in The Evergreen State. As Washingtonians, we take pride in our communities, and volunteer programs like AmeriCorps have facilitated thousands of volunteers from Washington and beyond in making a positive difference in our state.

Oct. 21, Washington celebrated a huge milestone for AmeriCorps; 1 million members have volunteered in the organization’s 22-year history. Through 1.4 billion hours of community service, these AmeriCorps members have tutored and mentored students who are struggling academically, built homes for the homeless, restored parks and public recreational areas, helped communities recover from disasters, and done so much to make our communities stronger and safer.

AmeriCorps engages more than 75,000 Americans each year in community service initiatives that make a real impact on communities across the country. Since 1994, more than 37,000 Washington residents have served more than 55 million hours and earned $130 million in Segal Education Awards. We are proud that these 37,000 Washingtonians are among the one million members who have served our country.

On this significant milestone in national service history, I hope you’ll join me in thanking all AmeriCorps member – past and present – for working tirelessly to address the most pressing problems facing our communities. Through their service, they have demonstrated that with a spirit of common purpose, collective efforts can make real change.

(Debbie Schuffenhauer is executive director of Serve Washington)

This story was originally published November 1, 2016 at 8:41 AM with the headline "Celebrating national service milestone."