By Staff
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced New York State will receive $5.4 million in AmeriCorps funding for 19 municipalities and non-profit organizations to help at-risk children, homebound seniors, low-income families, and struggling veterans throughout the state.
“This is about putting people and resources on the ground in high-needs communities,”Gov. Cuomo stated. “By supporting these programs, we are guiding children to academic success, preparing the unemployed to re-enter the workforce, and taking care of those who have served our country.”
The grants will be awarded through a competitive request for proposals process, and the governor said the funds will enable the cities and non-profits to recruit approximately 700 AmeriCorps members across the state. Each member will receive a scholarship upon completion of his or her service.
In addition, according to Cuomo, nearly $600,000 of the funds will go toward the Anti-Poverty Task Force in Rochester, in an effort to support programs designed to improve academic achievement, adolescent health, and violence prevention in the city’s most impoverished neighborhoods.
The New York State Commission on National and Community Service – New Yorkers Volunteer, will administer the grants. The commission uses the power of AmeriCorps to address some of the state’s most challenging issues, and encourages citizens to make a difference in the lives of others, the governor’s office said.
The full list of awards is as follows:
| Organization Name | Program Summary | Approved Funding | Population Served |
| City of Rochester | Promote adolescent health, childhood literacy, and violence prevention in poverty-stricken areas | $431,600 | Rochester |
| Community Health Care Association of NYS | Prepare AmeriCorps members for a successful career in community-based primary health care | $244,412 | Buffalo, Glens Falls, Newburgh, New York City |
| Cradle Beach Camp | Improve academic achievement and attendance rates in Buffalo Public Schools | $406,544 | Buffalo |
| Grand Street Settlement | Improve academic achievement and economic opportunities in Brooklyn and the Lower East Side | $231,133 | New York City |
| Great Oaks Foundation | Improve academic achievement at a charter school serving the Lower East Side and Two Bridges | $717,162 | New York City |
| Legal Assistance of Western New York | Expand legal services to the poor in Bath, Elmira, Geneva, Ithaca, Jamestown, Olean, and Rochester | $265,280 | Finger Lakes, Southern Tier, Western New York |
| Mental Health Association of Columbia-Greene Counties | Mentor students to improve academic achievement and literacy in the Hudson City School District | $331,294 | Hudson |
| New York Restoration Project | Restore and maintain green spaces in economically and environmentally challenged neighborhoods | $275,642 | New York City |
| Oswego City-County Youth Bureau | Mentor disadvantaged youth; promote nutrition education and physical education to reduce childhood obesity | $225,375 | Oswego County |
| Provide financial literacy and housing assistance at the Department of Social Services and other agencies | $125,702 | ||
| Relay Graduate School of Education | Improve educational outcomes by training and certifying teachers to work in low-income communities | $42,000 | New York City |
| Rural Health Network | Assist elderly and home-bound individuals; improve access to health care; increase food security | $313,806 | Counties of Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Tioga, and Tompkins |
| SCO Family of Services | Facilitate academic, arts, and recreation activities for low-income students in Sunset Park, Brooklyn | $193,695 | Brooklyn |
| Student Conservation Association | Protect at-risk ecosystems on public lands; provide environmental education in rural and urban communities | $475,000 | Adirondack Park, Hudson Valley, New York City |
| Sunset Park Health Council / Lutheran Family Health Centers | Improve academic achievement, job readiness, and health care access in southwest Brooklyn | $179,618 | Brooklyn |
| The Institute for Human Services | Develop occupational skills; promote employment readiness; provide housing assistance | $183,615 | Counties of Chemung, Schuyler, and Steuben |
| The Service Collaborative of WNY | Provide financial literacy services to 1,800 economically disadvantaged adults in Western New York | $245,011 | Counties of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, and Niagara |
| Urban League of Rochester | Improve academic achievement and college readiness in five northeast Rochester neighborhoods | $135,000 | Rochester |
| Utica Municipal Housing Authority | Connect low-income residents to job opportunities; help veterans achieve financial and housing stability | $136,252 | Counties of Herkimer, Madison, and Oneida |
| Yeshiva Kehilath Yaakov | Train low-income and unemployed residents to mentor students and work on health education projects | $228,753 | New York City |
