NEWS :: Red Cloud Indian School

AmeriCorps Program at Red Cloud Indian School receives grant of nearly $235,000
posted on June 09, 2009

Red Cloud Indian School has received a generous grant of nearly $235,000 for it’s AmeriCorps Program on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, ensuring that the valuable volunteer service work that occurs every day at the school will continue during the 2009/10 academic year. The federal grant, awarded by the Corporation for National and Community Service, will fund 22 AmeriCorps members.

Announced by Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) last week, the grant allows volunteers to continue to meet the needs of the Pine Ridge community. “AmeriCorps volunteers are a great example of those who make our communities better. These programs maintain hundreds of thousands of volunteers and generate millions of hours of service to communities and families throughout the nation,” Johnson says.

“We are thankful to Senator Johnson and all those who were instrumental in making this investment for the young Lakota students who attend Red Cloud Indian School,” says Amanda Sutton, director of the AmeriCorps Program at Red Cloud. “Our volunteers are part of the driving force behind the programs offered, and we’re thrilled to be able to have this integral program for another year.”

Red Cloud volunteers provide tutoring and mentoring to students in structured after-school and service learning programs. Activities include developing classroom curricula, tutoring at-risk students, assisting students with computer-based reading and math testing software, monitoring standardized test results, and supporting the expansion of after-school activities including cultural activities.

AmeriCorps supports community volunteer activities, mentors youth, builds affordable housing and helps communities respond to disasters. They serve in hundreds of nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and community and faith-based organizations in rural and urban communities across the nation. Along with a bi-weekly stipend and the completion of service hours, AmeriCorps volunteers are awarded up to $4,725 to help with college expenses.

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