State Links
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Your Government |
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 Through volunteerism
and community service, you can help strengthen your neighborhoods and communities and help make them a
better place to live. To find a traditional volunteer opportunity suitable for you, contact the Volunteer
Center nearest to your home or community in which you would like to volunteer. Below is information about
national service programs with contact information and/or web links for those programs in Illinois, along
with other related programs throughout the state. The links below should serve as a starting point
for connecting you with volunteer opportunities across Illinois. |
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 Volunteerism
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 AmeriCorps (www.americorps.org)
AmeriCorps is a network of national service programs that engage more than 50,000
Americans each year in intensive service to meet critical needs in education,
public safety, health, and the environment. AmeriCorps members serve through more
than 2,100 nonprofits, public agencies, and faith-based organizations. Through
its three programs: AmeriCorps*State and National, AmeriCorps*VISTA, and AmeriCorps*National
Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) – members tutor and mentor youth, build
affordable housing, teach computer skills, clean parks and streams, run after-school
programs, and help communities respond to disasters.
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Senior Corps ( www.seniorcorps.org)
Senior Corps is a network of programs that tap the experience, skills, and talents
of older citizens to meet community challenges. Through its three programs –
Foster Grandparents, Senior Companions, and RSVP (the Retired and Senior Volunteer
Program) – more than half a million Americans age 55 and over assist local
nonprofits, public agencies, and faith-based organizations in carrying out their
missions.
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Learn and Serve ( www.learnandserve.org)
Learn and Serve America supports service-learning programs in schools and community organizations that help nearly one million students from kindergarten through college meet community needs, while improving their academic skills and learning the habits of good citizenship. Learn and Serve grants are used to create new programs or replicate existing programs, as well as to provide training and development to staff, faculty, and volunteers.
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USA Freedom Corps (www.USAFREEDOMCORPS.GOV)
Americans of all ages are already serving others in countless ways, by mentoring a child, caring for an elderly neighbor, teaching someone to read, or donating food and clothing to those who need them. USA Freedom Corps is an initiative to encourage every American to get involved in strengthening America's communities and sharing America's compassion around the world. Under this initiative, each of us are challenged to commit at least two years of our lives—the equivalent of 4,000 hours—to the service of others.
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Citizen Corps (www.CITIZENCORPS.GOV)
Americans are working together to strengthen their communities to support community-based
efforts through the newly-proposed Citizen Corps. This broad network of volunteer
efforts will harness the power of the American people by relying on their individual
skills and interests to prepare local communities to effectively prevent and
respond to the threats of terrorism, crime, or any kind of disaster.
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 Illinois State Board of Education, Learn and Serve
Service learning is a method by which students improve academic learning and
develop personal skills through structured service projects that meet community
needs. Service learning builds upon students'''''''' service activities by providing
them with opportunities to learn by preparing, leading, and reflecting upon
their service experiences.
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Illinois Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program (VLMP)
The VLMP serves as an educational program for citizens to learn about lake ecosystems,
as well as a cost-effective method of gathering fundamental information on Illinois
inland lakes.
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Illinois EcoWatch Network
Want to help keep an eye on the environment? Become a Citizen Scientist with
the Illinois EcoWatchNetwork. Through programs such as RiverWatch, ForestWatch,
PrairieWatch, WetlandWatch, and UrbanWatch, adult volunteers, high school science
teachers, and students monitor rivers, forests, prairies and more.
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R.S.V.P. & The Foster Grandparent Program
Retired Senior Volunteer Program members include skilled carpenters, data entry
workers, counselors, nutrition site aides, friendly visitors, income tax aides,
newsletter editors and others. The Foster Grandparent Program allows senior
volunteers to link up with disadvantaged youngsters who need love, care and
attention. Volunteers may assist in physical or speech therapy; they may help
with homework, or they may simply "be there" as a grandparent. The
volunteers, the children and their families benefit through the program.
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Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission
The Human Rights Authority is the division of the Illinois Guardianship and
Advocacy Commission statutorily empowered to investigate alleged violations
of the rights of persons with disabilities including persons with mental illness,
cognitive disabilities, physical disabilities, and the aged disabled. The Authority
is unique in its use of citizen volunteers to conduct these investigations and
make corrective recommendations. As such, Regional Authorities are always seeking
to fill vacancies as they occur as well as maintain a pool of potential volunteer
members.
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Department of Natural Resources
Thousands of volunteers are used at all the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
(IDNR) Park sites every year and are a major asset in maintaining the parks
natural and recreational resources.
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Illinois Medical Emergency Response Team (IMERT:www.imert.org)
The Mission of the Illinois Medical Emergency Response Team (IMERT) is to respond
to and assist with emergency medical treatment at mass casualty incidents; including,
but not limited to chemical, biological, and radiological incidents whenever
a need is identified. The IMERT team will respond to these incidents when dispatched
by the Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health or designee. In
addition, it is the responsibility of IMERT members to coordinate and participate
in educational programs involving EMS participants throughout Illinois.
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Volunteer Centers in Illinois