Federal volunteers may head to Central Valley

WASHINGTON, D.C.
March 19, 2009 7:07am

As the recession deepens, the Central Valley may be able to receive assistance from national volunteers answering a call to serve in communities hit hardest by the economic crisis.

The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed 321 to 105 the “GIVE Act,” (H.R. 1388) the largest such volunteerism program since President John F. Kennedy called for a national community service corps in 1963.

The acronym stands for “Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education.” A similar bill now making its way through the Senate is entitled the “Serve America Act.”

The House bill includes language introduced by U.S. Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, to ensure that communities hardest hit by the recession would benefit through President Obama’s call for increased volunteers.

The bill creates new volunteer programs, and bolsters existing programs, to address such needs in communities as tutoring and mentoring disadvantaged youth, improving health services, rebuilding and weatherizing housing, cleaning parks and streams, operating after-school programs, improving infrastructure and disaster preparedness, and promoting environmental and energy conservation.

Mr. Cardoza’s amendments would ensure that economically distressed areas, such as those with severe declines in home prices and high unemployment rates, will be among the areas in demand for volunteer assistance. Further, the amendments waive a local matching-fund requirement for economically distressed areas such as the San Joaquin Valley, making it easier to establish volunteer programs in the Valley.

“In the aftermath of natural disasters such as floods and hurricanes, citizens across our great nation have always shown they are willing to rise to the occasion and support communities in need,” says Mr. Cardoza. “I am very pleased that my amendments were adopted so that communities such as mine that have been struck by an unprecedented economic disaster will also be able to call upon the volunteers and Good Samaritans we desperately need to help support our communities during these similarly trying times.”

The program would increase the numbers now in AmeriCorps from the current 75,000 to 250,000. In additin, it would raise the education stipend for volunteers to $5,350.

In all, the expansion of the volunteer program would cost about $6 billion over the next five years.