FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 13, 2010

The Administration Official Set to Visit AmeriCorps Homelessness Project in Skid Row

Washington, DC – Patrick Corvington, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, will deliver the keynote address at City Year and the Entertainment Industry Foundation's In School & On Track: A National Leadership Summit on Service and Education in Los Angeles on May 18. Corvington will also meet with California's Secretary of Service and Volunteering Karen Baker and Los Angeles' Chief Service Office Rafael Gonzalez to discuss strategies to address local unmet needs in the face of severe budget cuts by engaging local residents in service.

Corvington's address will cover how service is an effective tool to closing the achievement gap, combating dropout rates and improving prospects for success among our nation's youth. AmeriCorps City Year members have demonstrated progress in solving the dropout crisis in two of Los Angeles' toughest middle schools: John H. Leicthy and Hollenbeck Middle Schools. The students have shown a 34 percent decrease in off-track behavior such as truancy and violence, and a 62 percent decline early warning signs of dropping out as a result of the AmeriCorps members' work.

One of Corvington's top priorities as head of the nation's service programs – AmeriCorps, Senior Corps and Learn and Serve America – and President Obama's United We Serve initiative is to expand opportunities to serve. During his trip, Corvington will meet with community leaders at the Midnight Mission to discuss ways to involve new communities in service. Based in the Skid Row area of downtown LA, the Midnight Mission is one of the oldest operating human services organizations in the region.

Corvington will also visit the AmeriCorps Hope for the Homeless program at the Weingart Center. The innovative program leverages the experiences and struggles of AmeriCorps members, 90 percent of whom are graduates of local shelters and treatment programs, to help deliver services to Skid Row's homeless. The AmeriCorps members do street outreach, distribute hygiene kits and provide clinical service referrals.

Monday, May 17

 

WHAT: Patrick Corvington meets with key community leaders

  • WHERE: Midnight Mission
  • Board Room
  • 601 South San Pedro Street
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • CLOSED PRESS

 

WHAT: Patrick Corvington and Gregory Scott, President & CEO of the Weingart Center meet with AmeriCorps members and tour project site

  • WHERE: Hope for the Homeless
  • Weingart Center
  • 2406 Kent Street
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • WHEN: 12:30 pm
  • OPEN PRESS

 

Tuesday, May 18

 

WHAT: Patrick Corvington delivers keynote address at City Year and the Entertainment Industry Foundation's Education Summit

  • WHERE: Hyatt Regency Century Plaza
  • Ballroom
  • 2025 Avenue of the Stars
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • WHEN: 1:30 pm
  • OPEN PRESS

 

WHAT: Patrick Corvington meets with Rafael Gozales, Chief Service Officer of the City of Los Angeles and Karen Baker, Secretary of Service and Volunteering of the State of California

  • WHERE: Hyatt Regency Century Plaza
  • 2025 Avenue of the Stars
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • WHEN: 5 pm
  • PRESS AVAILABILITY

AmeriCorps, a federal agency, brings people together to tackle the country's most pressing challenges through national service and volunteering. AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serve with organizations dedicated to the improvement of communities. AmeriCorps helps make service to others a cornerstone of our national culture. Learn more at AmeriCorps.gov.