Members of a national volunteer program that has a strong presence in Orlando met in the city on Thursday, July 18 to highlight the work the group does and call for more support.
Florida is in the top five states that receive the most funding for its AmeriCorps program, with 10% of that statewide funding supporting the program in Orlando.
In the city alone, 651 members volunteer at 117 sites including schools, parks and other community-based nonprofits aimed at supporting low-socioeconomic communities.
Democratic Congressman Maxwell Frost said he supports more funding for the program, as it helps people of all ages get involved in public service.
“AmeriCorps, of course, helps us plug-in people with serving our community here locally, but is really a vehicle for folks to be able to find out how, where and when to get involved in public service,” Frost said.
One of those AmeriCorps volunteers is Kareem Zahran. Originally from Egypt, he works with the Orlando Fire Department getting communities ready for disasters like hurricanes.
He said the program has opened his eyes to future career opportunities in the field.
“I would like to gain the experience related to my field in emergency management. And after my year of service, I would like to be an emergency manager. I'm keeping my options open for anything and everything in the public, private or nonprofit sector nationwide,” Zahran said.
Orlando receives about $5.4 million dollars of funding for AmeriCorps.
AmeriCorps volunteer opportunities include Public Health AmeriCorps, AmeriCorps Senior Foster Grandparents, and MLK Day of Service, along with many others.
Read more about Florida's AmeriCorps program here:
