More than 75,000 people across the United States serve nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and community and faith-based groups annually through AmeriCorps, an intensive service work program often referred to as "the domestic Peace Corps." Locally, several organizations are now recruiting AmeriCorps members to help tackle a variety of needs in our community. Here are details on some:

AmeriCorps Project CHANGE Montgomery is recruiting a dozen individuals to serve as tutors and mentors at local partner agencies dedicated to helping county students from under-resourced communities. These full- and part-time opportunities run August 2018 to August 2019, working directly in MCPS schools, as well as at Gandhi Brigade, Community Bridges, ClancyWorks Dance Company, Montgomery Housing Partnership, YMCA, Lead4Life, Project Change Olney, and Hospice Caring. For more information or to apply, visit the Project Change website or email Paul Costello.  

CASA de Maryland seeks full- and part-time immigrant integration specialists to support eligible lawful permanent residents in applying for U.S. citizenship and to provide community members with financial education and tax preparation assistance. Preference for those bilingual in Spanish, French, Korean, or Mandarin. To apply, send a current resume by email to Pablo Blank. 

The Maryland Conservation Corps is looking for 35 young adults (age 17-25) to provide full-time environmental, educational, and operational assistance at Assateauge, Tuckahoe, Susquehanna, Patapsco, Merkle, and Deep Creek Lake state parks. Low-cost state park housing is available at some locations. Position descriptions and application are available online. Call Luke Terrell at 410-260-8153 to learn more. 

Junior Achievement of Greater Washington believes it's imperative to empower young people to take control of their economic success. In K-12 classrooms throughout the region, the organization provides a variety of hands-on, volunteer-delivered financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and workforce readiness programs.

Coming this fall, Junior Achievement will open its JA Finance Park®--the first of its kind in Montgomery County--inside the new Thomas Edison High School of Technology in Silver Spring, creating new learning opportunities for MCPS students and new volunteer opportunities for volunteers throughout the county. Beginning Oct. 2 and over the course of the school year, every 7th grade MCPS student will take a field trip to the JA Finance Park, a state-of-the-art, immersive facility where students become "adults" for the day and see the results of real-life economics. Through this engaging simulation, students explore ways to balance their career, salary, credit score, and financial obligations.

Once the Montgomery County program begins, JA will rely on a large group of volunteers to guide students through these activities. Volunteers will serve five-hour shifts, with the first hour devoted to a training session that will allow them to tour the facility, practice on the tablets during a mock simulation, and learn tips and tricks related to the roles they will adopt when working with the students. Volunteers will spend the remaining four hours working with a group of about eight students each, guiding them through budgeting decisions and injecting life into the program by sharing personal budgeting experiences.

JA has now begun the process of recruiting volunteers for its new Finance Park, though it will not be able to assign specific volunteer dates until the fall. To learn more or sign on, email Matt Roller.

Are you an animal lover looking for volunteer opportunities this summer and beyond? Check out the many pet-related volunteer activities posted on the Volunteer Center website by searching for keywords like dog, animal, or pet.

There are a variety of ways to help, including

While many of these opportunities are geared toward adults, several welcome student volunteers, (especially if they serve alongside a parent or other adult), so be sure to read the details for each volunteer need you're interested in filling.

If you're like many volunteers, you probably have a few organizations whose missions and volunteer needs are so compelling that you'd like to know whenever they post new opportunities to help. If so, be sure to "Fan" those organizations when you visit their listings on the Volunteer Center website. 

Simply click the blue "Become a Fan" button on any organization page or at the bottom of the organization box on any volunteer opportunity page, and you'll automatically be notified by email whenever that agency adds a new volunteer need to the website.

If you ever decide to, you can "un-fan" an organization by clicking the green "Fanned" button.

Are you part of a group interested in working together to help the community in the fall? Now's the time to start planning projects for Maryland's Day to Serve (actually a month to serve--Sept. 11-Oct. 10) and Montgomery County's own Community Service Week (running Oct. 21-28). Schools, community groups, businesses, nonprofits, and other groups are all encouraged to organize volunteer activities, and may even be eligible to receive funding for project materials for Community Service Week.

For more information on planning a Community Service Week project, email Melissa Jackson or call 703-215-4201 x106.

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