We are currently hiring individuals who are committed to social justice to serve as an AmeriCorps member with the We All Belong Program. You can help affect change locally. CEDO’s We All Belong AmeriCorps State program is your chance to put your ideas into action while learning new skills and making new connections. Plus, you can earn money to pay for college at the end of your service.
Our ideal AmeriCorps member is a dedicated social justice advocate and community organizer. We are seeking individuals with excellent personal awareness and communication skills who can cross cultures and work with organization staff that tends be dominated by western, white, middle-class culture. Applicants must be 17 years or older and a legal US resident.
AmeriCorps members serve in schools, city departments and Burlington-area organizations who are participating in the We All Belong program. The type of service includes directly helping people access services as well as capacity building within the organization such as:
- Coordinate English and Computer classes held at the Fletcher Free Library
- Recruit families to participate at VNA Family Room
- Helping families get involved in their children’s education through partnerships with local community organizations and schools
- Create a resource library and education events for staff at the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation to understand how equity affect their work and make changes to their systems
Position Descriptions (2013-2014):
Specific positions are not yet identified; check back in June for details.
How to Apply
We are now accepting applications to We All Belong AmeriCorps program. Send resume and cover letter to the We All Belong Program at 149 Church Street, Room 32, Burlington, VT 05401. All qualified applicants will have cultural competency screening and then be sent along to participating agencies for further review. For additional information or any questions, please contact Isra Kassim, AmeriCorps*State Team Leader, at ikassim@burlingtonvt.gov or Beth Truzansky, Program Director, at btruzansky@burlingtonvt.gov or 865-7178.
Member Benefits
Term of Service and Living Allowance
Full-time members serve 1,700 hours and part-time members serve 900 hours, spread out over 9-11 months. Members will serve beginning late September, 2012 completing service by August 31, 2013. The living allowance amount is paid bi-weekly and amount depends on the term of service established in the Member Service Agreement. Federal and State tax and FICA will be deducted from living allowance payments.
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Time Commitment
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Service Hours
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Living Allowance
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Education Award
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Full-time
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1,700
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$12,100
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$5,550
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Half-time
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900
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$6,254
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$2,941
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Education Award
Upon successful completion of service members receive an Education Award that may be used for qualified educational expenses or payment of qualifying student loans. The Education Award is taxable and members will be responsible for paying taxes on the Award in the year that it is used. This award is good for 7 years from the date you earn it. You must have a GED to use the award.
Loan Forbearance
Members may be eligible to place qualified student loans into a "Forbearance based on national service." A forbearance based on national service does not count against the 3-year postponement time limits, and most or all of the interest that accrues while you are in service will be paid by the National Service Trust.
Some examples of Qualified Loans include the following: Federal Family Education Loans, Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans, Supplemental Loans to Students (SLS), Federal Consolidated Loans, Guaranteed Student Loans (predecessor to Stafford Loans), Federally Insured Student Loans (FISL), and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans. If you are unsure about what type of loan you have, check with your lender.
Please note that Perkins Loans and loans issued by a state agency are not covered by the forbearance for national service requirement. If you have these types of loans, ask your lender whether it voluntarily will place the loans into a forbearance based on national service. If not, check out the other postponement options available (i.e., other types of forbearance or deferment).
If qualified loans are in default, then the lender is not required to place the loans into a forbearance based on national service. Contact your lender anyway to see if you can bring the loans out of default and make them eligible for a forbearance based on national service.
If you are thinking about consolidating loans, please note that only loans consolidated through a title IV federal consolidation loan (Federal Direct Consolidation Loan) will be eligible to be put into forbearance based on national service. Loans consolidated through private lender will not be eligible for a forbearance based on national service. You can find information about Federal Direct Consolidation Loans at http://www.loanconsolidation.ed.gov/.
Health Care Coverage
The program provides health care coverage to full-time members who do not have adequate health coverage at the time of enrollment or who lose coverage due to participation in the program. Basic health care coverage is currently offered to AmeriCorps members through NASCC. Minimum health care benefits under the NASCC policy include: physical services for illness or injury; prescription drugs; hospital room and board; mental or nervous conditions (may be limited); emergency room care; substance abuse (may be limited); and x-ray and laboratory costs.
Childcare
AmeriCorps CARE child care benefits are administered through the Office of National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA). Eligible full-time members may receive a child care subsidy while they are participating in national service. The child(ren)'s care giver must qualify under Vermont criteria established under the Child Care Development Block Grant Act (CCDBGA). Contact the Program Director for more information. For more information on AmeriCorps CARE, please go to: http://www.naccrra.org/americorps/.
Prohibited Activities
AmeriCorps is a federally funded, non partisan program. Members build community and are role models of civic engagement. As such, they must maintain neutrality to ensure that youth and adult community members have access to the activities they develop and therefore the following activities are prohibited during service hours: lobbying, protests, union activity, religious proselytizing, voter registration, and partisan political activity.
Eligibility
To qualify for an AmeriCorps*State position, you must be a United States citizen, United States national or lawful permanent resident of the United States.
Member Experience
AmeriCorps members will serve in area nonprofits, city departments and schools. Members work within organizations to make change. Each organization hosting an AmeriCorps member has committed to a journey to make change from the inside. The member will support the organization's Committee on Cultural Competence which is composed of staff and board members. Over the year, the member will conduct interviews and gather feedback from the community, support staff learning about issues of diversity and equity, do research on working models, and create and execute plans. This year is about learning, planning and evaluation for organizations to continue their journey to be more relevant to the community.
Member Training and Skill Building
Throughout the service year, members participate in training and skill building opportunities sponsored by the Center for Community & Neighborhoods (CCAN), their host site and also the Vermont Commission on National and Community Service. Training topics covered include: cultural competency, volunteer management, cultural awareness, career development, outreach, community development, fundraising, and more. Members develop skills in connecting residents with services and creating opportunities for the community to build relationships with each other through shared experiences.
What members are saying:
"I feel much more confident as a leader, a role model and teacher. This newfound confidence has taught me to be more assertive and creative."
"Over the last year I have developed and strengthened significant skills that will surely carry on into the future...I feel much more confident in undertaking strategic communications tasks and have developed professional insight on how an organization should communicate with members, newcomers, potential sponsors and others."