Media Advisory: Modern Civilian Conservation Corps Programs Traveling to Washington to Highlight Power of Environmental Service
Diversity of Corpsmembers represents effort to engage youth from communities of color and all economic and educational levels in conservation activities.
WASHINGTON — On Friday, June 19th, Corpsmembers and alumni from over fifteen Service and Conservation Corps programs will participate in The Corps Network’s 2nd Annual Day of Service in the Nation’s Capital. As part of an effort to highlight the value of environmental service during national Great Outdoors Month, over 80 Corpsmembers will travel from nearby states as well as New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Illinois, and Washington to take part. They will complete service projects at four National Park Service sites including the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, Rock Creek Park, Theodore Roosevelt Island, and Daingerfield Island.
Based on the Great Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps program launched by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, modern Corps now participate in the public-private 21st Century Conservation Service Corps Initiative (21CSC). Referred to by Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell as the “CCC 2.0,” the 21CSC activates public and private funding to support the expansion of Corps programs that engage young people and veterans in service on America’s public lands. Projects range from building new trails, to maintaining national park facilities, to restoring river habitat. The 21CSC and Corps programs also actively recruit local youth and veterans from communities that have not been traditionally engaged in the conservation movement. This includes Day of Service participants like LaJuan Tucker and Philan Tree. LaJuan is an African American woman who served as an AmeriCorps Member with the Texas Conservation Corps and who now works on wildlife habitat restoration as a Park Ranger with the City of Austin. Philan is a Navajo woman who joined the Coconino Rural Environment Corps and helped create new partnerships with chapters of the Navajo Nation so that Corpsmembers could help save families money in underserved Native American communities by making their homes more energy efficient.
During the Day of Service, The Corps Network will also introduce a new social media campaign featuring “Eli the Elk:” a character that will highlight the importance of conservation funding as a means to protect and restore public lands. Like the well-known Flat Stanley, Eli will travel to places where Corps undertake environmental service projects as a means to promote public lands.
When
The Corps Network’s Day of Service will take place on Friday, June 19th , starting at 9:00 AM.
Where
A kick-off event with inspirational speakers will take place at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial at 1850 West Basin Dr SW, followed by service projects at the FDR Memorial, Rock Creek Park, Theodore Roosevelt Island, and Daingerfield Island.
Who
150 participants including Corpsmembers from America’s modern Service and Conservation Corps programs, as well as federal, nonprofit, and private partners of The Corps Network.
Speakers will include:
- Jonathan Jarvis, Director of the U.S. National Park Service
- Bill Basl, Director of AmeriCorps
- Joe Meade, U.S. Forest Service National Recreation Director (* will accept a Youth Conservation Corps Alumni Award on behalf of U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell)
- Tina Terell, U.S. Forest Service National Director of Job Corps
- Mary Ellen Sprenkel, President & CEO of The Corps Network
- Gerard Gabrys, Chief Executive Officer of Guest Services Inc.
- Curt Cornelssen, Managing Director of CBRE
- Graciela Billingsley, 2015 Corpsmember of the Year serving with Rocky Mountain Youth Corps and AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps
- Philan Tree, Representative from The Corps Network to the National Council of Young Leaders, Alumna of Coconino Rural Environment Corps / Arizona Conservation Corps
- LaJuan Tucker, Texas Conservation Corps Alumna and City of Austin Park Ranger
Media
Members of the media are invited to join us for the Day of Service and to film and interview Corpsmembers and participants. Service projects will get underway from 10-11am and will go until 1:30 pm or until completed. Volunteers will help paint posts at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, remove invasive, non-native plants at Rock Creek Park and Theodore Roosevelt Island, and help with tasks at a plant nursery on Daingerfield Island.
For more information and to receive a selection of short bios for Corpsmembers who will participate, please contact Levi Novey, Director of Communications & Marketing at The Corps Network, at [email protected] or (202) 737-6272.
About The Corps Network
The Corps Network provides critical leadership to the Corps movement and our nation’s Service and Conservation Corps as they harness the power of youth and young adults to tackle some of America’s greatest challenges and transform their own lives.
Our 100+ members operate in all states and the District of Columbia. Each year they collectively enroll approximately 23,000 Corpsmembers from ages 16-25. Corps are comprehensive youth development programs that provide their participants with job training, academic programming, leadership skills, and additional support through a strategy of service that improves communities and the environment. Learn more at www.corpsnetwork.org
Media Contact:
Levi Novey
202.737.6272
[email protected]