| R 179 |
| 2020 -- H 7993 Enacted 03/11/2020 |
| H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N |
| PROCLAIMING THE WEEK OF MARCH 8TH – 14TH, 2020, TO BE "AMERICORPS WEEK" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND |
| Introduced By: Representatives Cassar, Filippi, Shekarchi, Williams, and Serpa |
| Date Introduced: March 11, 2020 |
| WHEREAS, In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “The best way to find yourself is to lose |
| yourself in the service of others”; and |
| WHEREAS, AmeriCorps is the "domestic Peace Corps." Across the country, the program |
| has one million plus alumni, and currently, 75,000 members are serving in 21,000 locations; and |
| WHEREAS, AmeriCorps has proven to be an effective way to engage Americans in |
| meeting a wide range of local needs with full and part-time volunteers engaging in intensive, |
| results-driven community service; and |
| WHEREAS, AmeriCorps members provide invaluable public service to local |
| communities by tutoring and mentoring children, facilitating afterschool programs and |
| educational enrichment activities, conducting and supporting early childhood education, and |
| working with health, safety and affordable housing programs; and |
| WHEREAS, Through ServeRI, Rhode Island’s Commission for National and Community |
| Service, AmeriCorps Rhode Island provides members with the opportunity to participate in state- |
| wide events, and to serve in the state or elsewhere in the country in a multitude of programs; and |
| WHEREAS, Since its inception in 1994, the service commission has led 7,500 |
| AmeriCorps members of all ages and backgrounds to complete more than 11 million volunteer |
| hours, providing environmental education, increasing access to affordable housing, and |
| supporting children's success in schools throughout the State; and |
| WHEREAS, AmeriCorps initiatives foster an ethic of service and civic responsibility that |
| continues to enrich community life in Rhode Island; and |
| WHEREAS, Rhode Island's AmeriCorps alums are well positioned to utilize their energy |
| and talents to address the most pressing problems facing our communities, and to continue to |
| inspire others to do so as well; now, therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and |
| Providence Plantations hereby proclaims March 8th-14th, 2020, as "AmeriCorps Week" in the |
| State of Rhode Island. In so doing, we urge all citizens to thank AmeriCorps members and |
| alumni for their service and to find their own ways to give back to their communities; and be it |
| further |
| RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
| transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to ServeRI, C/O Angélica Infante-Green, |
| Commissioner, Rhode Island Department of Education. |
| ======== |
| LC005267 |
| ======== |