Flint Mayor Dayne Walling joined County Commissioners Jamie Curtis and Bryant Nolden yesterday for a nationwide bipartisan effort to recognize the positive impact of national service in cities. The officials joined together by combining the 3rd Annual Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service and the County Day of Recognition for National Service. A joint proclamation for Flint and Genesee County and awards for outstanding national service members, alums and neighborhood volunteers, were presented at an event yesterday afternoon at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Flint.
In addition to the Mayor and County Commissioners, other attendees included representatives from the Corporation for National and Community Service, Michigan Community Service Commission, and key leaders in Genesee County’s nonprofit, foundation, and community impact sectors.
2015 award winners were: Nicole Hall, Outstanding National Service Member, Maude White, Outstanding Senior Corps Member, Emily Leonard, Outstanding National Service Alum, and Ronnie Russell, Outstanding Neighborhood Volunteer. Every day in communities all across America, and right here in Flint and Genesee, AmeriCorps members and Senior Corps volunteers take on the toughest challenges such as strengthening education, fighting poverty, providing health services, preserving the environment, and supporting veterans and military families,” said Mayor Walling. Mayor Walling also acknowledge the 50th Anniversaries of the AmeriCorps VISTA Program and the Foster Grandparents Program.
The annual Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service gives mayors and their citizens around the country a chance to thank those who serve and to encourage citizens to give back to their communities through volunteerism. For the first time this year, county governments also used the occasion to celebrate national service accomplishments in an initiative led by the National Association of Counties (NAC) and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).
In 2014, 1,760 mayors in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico participated in the Mayors Day of Recognition. Mayor Walling has participated in Mayors Day of Recognition each year since the event began in 2013.
In Greater Flint, there are more than 500 Senior Corps volunteers serving daily to improve the lives of youth at area hospitals, schools, juvenile centers and daycare, assisting other seniors in need and sharing their hard earned experience and expertise. In addition, 34 full-time and half-time national service members serve in Flint and Genesee County at area nonprofits, local government, schools and community-service organizations to meet pressing needs.
Mayor Walling announced yesterday that an AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) Team will be coming to Flint at the end of April to help flight blight on Flint’s east side, and on May 15, through the Russ Mawby Signature Service Project supported by the Michigan Community Service Commission, national service members from around the region will join alongside Flint volunteers to engage in neighborhood revitalization efforts through the Asbury United Methodist Church Community Development Corporation.
About the Corporation for National and Community Service:
CNCS is the federal agency for national service and volunteering, and it engages five million citizens in service each year in national service programs including AmeriCorps, AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America), AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) and Senior Corps, including Foster Grandparents, RSVP, and Senior Companions. Every day in communities across America, these national service members provide direct service and capacity building activities to address community needs in education, economic opportunity, disaster services, healthy futures, environmental stewardship, and veterans and military families.
