Caller: Hello. I’m making some calls for my aunt, and we are looking for something for my cousin in Chattanooga. He’s 19 and has a high school diploma, but all he does is sit around and play video games. He has a great heart for helping, and he has volunteered for school and church projects before. We are thinking volunteer work might be a good fit and help him to gain some experience. He has developmental disability, and might want to go to college, but he hasn’t been able to decide what he wants to study.
PATHFINDER: That’s a great question!
Access AmeriCorps might be an option of great interest for your cousin. AmeriCorps is a national program which utilizes volunteers for community projects all over the country, and Access AmeriCorps is geared specifically towards persons with all types of disabilities. https://www.tnpathfinder.org/view/provider/19/access-americorps
Formally founded in 1993, AmeriCorps members commit their time to address critical community needs like increasing academic achievement, mentoring youth, fighting poverty, sustaining national parks, preparing for disasters, and more.
Persons age 17 and up, with their high school diploma or GED certificate, can work full or part-time. (There is no upper age limit and there are AmeriCorps Seniors projects.) A fulltime AmeriCorps volunteer receives valuable training, a living allowance, health insurance, and childcare if they qualify. At the end of a 10-12-month commitment of at least 1,700 hours, fulltime volunteers receive a stipend — assistance for higher education or help paying off their student loans – which is good for seven years.
Part-time volunteers do 300-1,200 hours of service work in an approved AmeriCorps program over one year. Those AmeriCorps members may receive a living allowance if the local program offers one, and will, upon the completion of their service, receive an award for education based on the number of hours served.
In East Tennessee, there are projects in a number of communities including Chattanooga, Morristown, Greeneville, Johnson City, and Knoxville. You can also check out the projects in Middle and West Tennessee here:
https://www.tn.gov/volunteer-tennessee/vt-programs/vt-americorps/tennessee-americorps-programs.html
There are 18 state programs across Tennessee. And there are other national AmeriCorps programs which have a Tennessee project. They are listed here:
To learn more, you can contact a program directly or contact Volunteer Tennessee at 615-253-6313.