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Macomb Mayor Mike Inman hosted a reception Tuesday morning to honor the work by those who serve through the AmeriCorps, VISTA and Senior Corp programs locally and nationwide.
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Mayor Inman proclaimed Tuesday as National Service Recognition Day in Macomb.
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Mayor Celebrates AmeriCorps and VISTA Programs at WIU

April 4, 2019

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MACOMB, IL – On Tuesday, April 2, Macomb Mayor Mike Inman hosted a reception to honor the work by those who serve through the AmeriCorps, AmeriCorps VISTA and Senior Corps programs locally and nationwide.

Inman kicked off the event by reading a city document proclaiming Tuesday as National Service Recognition Day in Macomb. He was joined at the reception by Karen Mauldin-Curtis, director of the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps State Programs at WIU/IIRA, and Gisele Hamm, director and Linda Lee Blaine, coordinator of the MAPPING the Future of Your Community program and local AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) at WIU/IIRA.

Given the many social challenges facing communities, county and city leaders are increasingly turning to national service as a cost-effective strategy to meet local needs. For more than 15 years, the Peace Corps Fellows/AmeriCorps State Program and the AmeriCorps VISTA Program have served Macomb and McDonough County, in partnership with local and regional agencies providing health education and outreach, youth mentorship, leadership development, community and economic development planning, transportation, housing and volunteer recruitment.

Inman also praised the work of students from the WIU programs who are currently working in
Macomb City Hall and throughout the community. Currently, the Peace Corps Fellows Program has AmeriCorps State members serving with the Downtown Development and Community Development offices, the Western Illinois Museum, the McDonough County Health Department and Wesley Village. VISTA volunteers are serving at Macomb City Hall and at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Warren and McDonough Counties.

More information about the National Service Recognition Day is available at nationalservice.gov/serve/Recognitionday.

The Peace Corps Fellows and AmeriCorps program is celebrating its 25th anniversary and the WIU program has placed more than 150 returned Peace Corps volunteers in AmeriCorps service assignments throughout the state, over the years.

For more information about the Peace Corps Fellows/AmeriCorps program contact Mauldin-Curtis at k-mauldin-curtis@wiu.edu, call (309) 298-2706 or visit wiu.edu/pcf. For more information about the AmeriCorps VISTA program contact Linda Lee Blaine at ll-blaine@wiu.edu or call (309) 298-2647.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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