The Corps Network Announces Three Projects of the Year at Annual Forum

Washington, DC, February 13, 2007—This morning The Corps Network will honor three Service and Conservation Corps with a Project of the Year Award at an award ceremony on Capitol Hill. The Projects of the Year exemplify Corps projects in three areas: disaster relief, quality service project and strategic partnerships. Winning Corps include Tulare County Youth Corps (CA), Coconino Rural Environment Corps (AZ) and Urban Corps of San Diego (CA).

For disaster relief, Tulare County Youth Corps assisted county personnel in pumping water from flooded areas, replenishing supplies, and repairing levies and bridges to mitigate further flooding. The Tulare County Youth Corps’ invaluable assistance led to an agreement with Tulare County to be a secondary emergency responder in 2006.

For service project, Coconino Rural Environment Corps contributed 2,961 hours of service to the restoration of the Island Trail. Members built 25 retaining walls and other erosion control structures, manually transported more than 10 tons of concrete, and formed and poured more than 90 steps in 4 separate flights of stairs.

For strategic partnership, Urban Corps of San Diego collaborated with University of San Diego-UCSC Assessment and Counseling Clinic to receive both personal and career counseling services from Graduates Students in USD’s Leadership Program for Corpsmembers. The collaboration will also result in staff training seminars for supervisors, managers, and directors at the Urban Corps of San Diego.

According to Sally Prouty, President of The Corps Network, “Each of the Project of the Year awardees represent the best Corps have to offer. These Corps were innovative, creating winwin situations for Corpsmembers and their communities. We applaud the excellent work of Tulare County Youth Corps, Coconino Rural Environment Corps and Urban Corps of San Diego.”

About The Corps Network
The Corps Network is the voice of the nation’s 113 Service and Conservation Corps. Currently operating in 42 states and the District of Columbia, Corps annually enroll more than 23,000 young men and women who contribute about 13 million hours of service per year. In 2004, Corps mobilized 124,000 community volunteers who contributed over 2.4 million additional hours of service.

Established in 1985 as the National Association of Service and Conservation Corps (NASCC), The Corps Network was at the forefront of the national service movement and remains so today. Corps are state and local programs engaging primarily young adults (ages 16-25) in service. The majority of Corpsmembers come to Corps looking for a second chance to succeed in life. In return for their efforts, Corpsmembers receive guidance by adult leaders who serve as mentors and role models, a modest stipend and a wide range of member development services
including significant educational opportunities, employment and training, life skill
development, and the opportunity to invest in their communities.

For more information, visit www.corpsnetwork.org or contact: Patrick Fitzgerald, The Corps Network at pfitzgerald@corpsnetwork.org or at (202) 737-6272.

Contact:

Patrick Fitzgerald
The Corps Network, Communications Director
(202) 737-6272
pfitzgerald@corpsnetwork.org

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