Public Allies is one of the newer programs in Pittsburgh. It’s only been around for three years. But it is a growing program. They are getting about 100 applicants for 25 slots. So it becomes a very competitive program.  

One of the things that Cynthia James mentioned was how she would be interested in teaming up with Serve Next on their next Washington Week. Washington Week takes place in February. It is when Public Allies site directors and some Public Allies alums go to Washington to meet with Congress members to remind them about National Service and to discuss their experiences during their year in Public Allies.   That way Congress knows how national service really  affects people in the program and think about that right before the AmeriCorps bill goes to a vote.

Plus the meeting really started to make me think about how AmeriCorps programs could be improved in the future. That has to do with how the web reporting. One of the things that really determine how many slots exist is the retention numbers from the previous years.  But numbers can only tell people so much.   The web reporting system would be better served if they looked at why people were leaving the program. Was it because the person was unsuitable to the goals of an AmeriCorps program? Did the people leave a service year because they couldn’t afford to live on the living stipend? Was the program too intensive with not enough rewards to the people? These are questions that tend to describe a program a whole lot more then how many people exited the program early.

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Youth, Education & National Service

Road Trip With a Mission: Expanding National Service. AmeriCorps alumni and ServeNext.org members, are traveling the country by bus for the National Service Express Tour, hitting 30 cities in 60 days.

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