FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 23, 2022

Michael D. Smith joined Association of State Commissions regional training and visited AmeriCorps projects 

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Michael D. Smith, AmeriCorps CEO, traveled to Burlington, Vt. last week to see national service programs in action, deliver remarks to national service leaders at an Association of State Commissions regional training and hear from AmeriCorps members and alumni.

On Thursday, May 19, Smith attended the Association of State Commissions' regional National Service Training hosted by SerVermont. In the morning, Smith met with State Service Commission executive directors from 12 states and delivered remarks about equity and the barriers to national service at the closing plenary.

In the afternoon, Smith and SerVermont Commission executive director Phil Kolling joined AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers for an RSVP Bone Builders class, an evidence-based free weight training and balance exercise program for older adults that protects against fractures caused by osteoporosis. Then, Smith and Kolling discussed housing equity with AmeriCorps members serving at the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board and Champlain Housing Trust. Both organizations work to ensure Vermonters' access to affordable housing, farmland, jobs and recreational assets. Smith and Kolling also toured the ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, where an AmeriCorps member from the Vermont Youth Development Corps teaches young Vermonters about science and STEM. The two concluded their day at Spectrum Youth & Family Services where AmeriCorps members lead the teen drop-in center.

On Friday, May 20, Smith and Kolling toured the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps' Food and Farm Program, a dynamic youth development, diversified agriculture and food security initiative. The program engages young people in organic farming and culinary education on a historic 400-acre campus in Richmond, Vt., where food is grown and distributed to more than 400 families through the nationally recognized Health Care Share project.

Smith concluded his trip at ReSource VT's Everybody Works, an AmeriCorps program that offers service-based learning experiences, to prepare Vermonters to enter the workforce successfully.

Follow AmeriCorps on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn for additional highlights from Smith's trip. 

AmeriCorps CEO joins RSVP Bone Builders
AmeriCorps CEO attends ASC regional National Service Training.
AmeriCorps CEO tours SerVermont project sites

AmeriCorps, the federal agency for volunteerism and national service, provides opportunities for Americans to serve their country domestically, address the nation’s most pressing challenges, improve lives and communities, and strengthen civic engagement. Each year, the agency invests in grants for local nonprofit, community, tribal, and state organizations; places more than 250,000 AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers in intensive service roles; and empowers millions more to serve as long-term, short-term, or one-time volunteers. Learn more at AmeriCorps.gov.