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AmeriCorps is a national program designed to engage
citizens in civic engagement and community service, so
there are organizations all across the country engaging their community members in service
activities to help improve and better their community, and
we are just one piece of that really large puzzle.
We're based out of Pace University and Pace is really right in heart of lower Manhattan.
Our neighbors are Chinatown, Lower East Side,
World Trade Center site, Wall Street,
South Street Seaport, and we work in all of those areas.
Something that I think is great about our program is that we provide
this point of intersection within the community, that is very diverse,
but also really closely located. I also think it's fantastic that we're located
at Pace because it's not only beneficial for students who
want to become a part of the program, but it fits in really well with the university's
mission of reaching out to the community and working with it.
Our program started in 2002, and Pace University applied for the original
AmeriCorps grant in response to the attacks on the World Trade
Center on September 11th. They were looking for a way to get involved
and help revitalize the community, and help the community recover
after the devastation that occurred down here.
From the beginning, one of its focus really was on Chinatown.
That community in particular was very isolated in the aftermath of the attacks,
and a lot of the small businesses there were really hurt quite a bit.
Our program has always worked in English language literacy
with adult immigrants, in computer literacy,
and also in public health and safety. When the program started there was a storefront
right down the street, right near the World Trade Center,
we worked in collaboration with the American Red Cross
to do disaster preparedness efforts down here, and disaster recovery efforts.
In the past few years or so, the program has expanded in a really nice way, I think,
to serve a larger cohort of the community, and so we work also in education advocacy
and nonprofity capacity building. We partner with a lot of community organizations,
nonprofits, and schools all throughout the area
to build community and improve community.