Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today announced that seven New Mexico organizations have been awarded over $1.6 million in AmeriCorps grants from the Corporation for National and Community Service.

"This funding will help New Mexico AmeriCorps members continue to provide essential services in various communities," Bingaman said.

AmeriCorps is a national service program that engages Americans of all ages and backgrounds in service to meet critical needs by working in non-profits and other community organizations across the country.   Activities include tutoring and mentoring youth, providing health services, building affordable housing, running after-school programs, supporting veterans, helping communities respond to disasters, and recruiting and training volunteers.

The following AmeriCorps members have been awarded grants:

• $405,869 – Rocky Mountain Youth Corps (Rancho de Taos): AmeriCorps members provide various types of community service in rural communities throughout northern New Mexico while receiving job training and developing related skills to prepare them for employment and/or post secondary education or GED completion after their service is complete.
• $403,350 - The Wellness Coalition (Silver City): AmeriCorps members are recruited from economically disadvantaged rural communities in southwestern New Mexico to receive financial literacy and job training as a means of increasing their employability in the health, social services, and forestry industries.
• $253,326 - Teach for America (Gallup): AmeriCorps members teach pre K-12 grade students in under-resourced schools in low income communities throughout northern New Mexico.
• $243,960 – Pueblo of Isleta: AmeriCorps members will support youth development programming in out of school time programs that target Native youth in the tribal communities of Bernalillo and Sandoval counties in New Mexico.
• $198,775 – Families and Youth (Las Cruces): AmeriCorps members provide in-school support services and out of school programming to high-risk K-5th and 9th - 12th grade students in Doña Ana County.
• $132,990 – Mescalero Apache Tribe: AmeriCorps members will explore academic options and develop pathways to a natural resource management career while serving the community; earning scholarship money to obtain advanced training, as well as establishing academic contacts, and building a positive relationship in the community, by protecting and enhancing the community's natural resource assets.
• $39,900 – National Indian Youth Leadership Project Inc. (Gallup): AmeriCorps members will assist in providing experiential and service-learning activities, in line with positive youth development principles, for at-risk Native American youth in McKinley and Cibola counties in New Mexico.