Employment Security awards funds for volunteer projects in King County schools and communities - September 27, 2007
07-070
Media contacts:
Caitlin Cormier,
360-902-9215
Terri Barbee,
360-438-4145
Audio: http://fortress.wa.gov/esd/portal/info/newsroom/audiofiles/audio/
OLYMPIA – The state Employment Security Department has awarded grants worth nearly a half-million dollars to King County public-service programs.
The Federal Way School District received $115,000 for in-school and after-school tutoring programs and to develop two neighborhood emergency teams for disaster preparedness.
Solid Ground received 188,000 to support Washington Reading Corps efforts to tutor students in public schools.
Habitat for Humanity of East King County was awarded $52,000 to provide training, supervision and support for volunteers who help build homes for families earning less than 50 percent of the median income for King County.
The King County Housing Authority received $57,000 to provide educational, health, nutrition and community garden assistance to families who reside in Housing Authority homes and other low-income members of the local community.
Seeds of Change was awarded $54,000 to teach youths how to grow produce on an urban farm and earn a profit by selling the produce. The money also will support a shelter for homeless young adults and a program called Journeys, which helps individuals successfully navigate major changes in life.
Also, a grant of $60,000 was given to Earth Corps, which serves Island, King, Pierce and Snohomish counties with environmental-restoration projects in partnership with community groups, government agencies, businesses and nonprofit organizations.
The funding comes from the federal AmeriCorps and Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) programs. Employment Security distributes the money to local communities to cover operating costs and provide stipends to Washington Service Corps members, who will spend 10½ months working on public-service projects, such as tutoring students, building affordable housing, improving emergency readiness, and rehabilitating streams and trails.
Nearly $2 million is being distributed to school districts, counties, learning centers, housing authorities and non-profit groups in 23 of Washington’s 39 counties across the state to provide an array of educational, human and public-improvement services from September 2007 through August 2008.
The grants make it possible for our Service Corps members and the groups they work with to do a lot of good in schools and neighborhoods around the state,” said Karen Lee, commissioner of the Employment Security Department. “These programs have a lasting and enriching effect on the people who participate.”
Created by the state legislature in 1983 and administered by the Employment Security Department, the Washington Service Corps engages the talents, energy and enthusiasm of civically minded adults, aged 17 and up, in serving their communities.
For more information about Washington Service Corps programs and the teams that received the grants, visit http://www.wa.gov/esd/wsc/ and look on the left side of the page.
