2020 -- H 7993

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LC005267

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2020

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

PROCLAIMING THE WEEK OF MARCH 8TH – 14TH, 2020, TO BE "AMERICORPS

WEEK" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

     Introduced By: Representatives Cassar, Filippi, Shekarchi, Williams, and Serpa

     Date Introduced: March 11, 2020

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “The best way to find yourself is to lose

yourself in the service of others”; and

     WHEREAS, AmeriCorps is the "domestic Peace Corps." Across the country, the program

has one million plus alumni, and currently, 75,000 members are serving in 21,000 locations; and

     WHEREAS, AmeriCorps has proven to be an effective way to engage Americans in

meeting a wide range of local needs with full and part-time volunteers engaging in intensive,

results-driven community service; and

     WHEREAS, AmeriCorps members provide invaluable public service to local

communities by tutoring and mentoring children, facilitating afterschool programs and

educational enrichment activities, conducting and supporting early childhood education, and

working with health, safety and affordable housing programs; and

     WHEREAS, Through ServeRI, Rhode Island’s Commission for National and Community

Service, AmeriCorps Rhode Island provides members with the opportunity to participate in state-

wide events, and to serve in the state or elsewhere in the country in a multitude of programs; and

     WHEREAS, Since its inception in 1994, the service commission has led 7,500

AmeriCorps members of all ages and backgrounds to complete more than 11 million volunteer

hours, providing environmental education, increasing access to affordable housing, and

supporting children's success in schools throughout the State; and

     WHEREAS, AmeriCorps initiatives foster an ethic of service and civic responsibility that

continues to enrich community life in Rhode Island; and

     WHEREAS, Rhode Island's AmeriCorps alums are well positioned to utilize their energy

and talents to address the most pressing problems facing our communities, and to continue to

inspire others to do so as well; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby proclaims March 8th-14th, 2020, as "AmeriCorps Week" in the

State of Rhode Island. In so doing, we urge all citizens to thank AmeriCorps members and

alumni for their service and to find their own ways to give back to their communities; and be it

further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to ServeRI, C/O Angélica Infante-Green,

Commissioner, Rhode Island Department of Education.

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LC005267

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