CalSERVES AmeriCorps Programs – About

CalSERVES is an AmeriCorps programs serving California communities and providing members an opportunity to support children, families, and the broader community.

Who We Are

AmeriCorps is a network of national service programs made up of three primary programs that each take a different approach to improving lives and fostering civic engagement. Members commit their time to address critical community needs like increasing academic achievement, mentoring youth, fighting poverty, sustaining national parks, preparing for disasters, and more. For more information visit California Volunteers.

The Community Programs AmeriCorps team at Napa County Office of Education works with schools, nonprofits and government agencies to provide needed academic and volunteer infrastructure building services. With support and training from Community Programs staff, partner sites host AmeriCorps Fellows to support the COOL School (LINK) and ACE (LINK) student programs, or develop a volunteer program for local non-profit organizations.

Napa County Office of Education provides AmeriCorps programming to schools in Napa and Sonoma (LINK) counties, and partners with Supervising Organizations (LINK) throughout the state through the Volunteer Infrastructure Project to strengthen nonprofit, government, and community organizations’ volunteer capacity to better achieve their mission.

2017-2018 Service Year Members Map

This map indicates members moved from the following states: Washington, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, New York, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, New Jersey, Washington DC, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Texas and South Carolina.

During the 2017-18 service year 78% of CalSERVES members moved from their home state to California.

Letter From Our Director

Welcome!

Thank you for visiting our site—whether you’re here to learn more about how the Napa County Office of Education connects to AmeriCorps, what our programs entail, or how we impact students and families in Napa and Sonoma and throughout the state. We’re glad you’re here.

CalSERVES began its work with AmeriCorps in 1998 in tutoring and after school programming. In 2009, we expanded our programs to include volunteer capacity-building. The majority of our incredible staff are former AmeriCorps members. All of us believe in the ability of ordinary people to make an extraordinary change.

I began my work with this organization back in 2001, as an AmeriCorps member, serving at a tutoring project. I moved here after college to begin service, and it set me on a new path. Like many of our members, I come from a family of educators who are community minded and believe in the strength and power of serving others. I believed then, as I do now, that making a difference in the world means having a hand in educating others and in supporting the community as a whole.

What I didn’t expect during my year of service was to find a calling. I didn’t expect I would have the opportunity to work with over a thousand talented young people who also believed in the power of serving others. I didn’t expect that my AmeriCorps service would launch a career of administering programs that have impacted children and families in Napa and Sonoma counties and throughout California.

My service year led me to want to continue to make a difference for students and families and to make sure we all have the opportunity to serve. What will yours do for you?