225 E. 16th Ave, Suite B-52, Denver, CO 80203
PH: 303.866.6426   FAX: 303.866.2525
www.colorado.gov/ServeColorado

Serve Colorado – Governor’s Commission on Community Service strives to build a culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility in Colorado. Serve Colorado works under the leadership of a board of fifteen Commissioners to distribute and administer Colorado’s allocation of AmeriCorps*State funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). The current program portfolio consists of eighteen programs working to meet a variety of immediate and local needs throughout Colorado communities, including environmental stewardship, academic tutoring, youth mentoring, healthy futures, economic opportunity, and more! Additionally, Serve Colorado promotes volunteerism and service as a means to strengthen Colorado communities through days of service, special initiatives, and community partnerships.

AmeriCorps*State is one branch of national service programming supported by CNCS operating in the state. Other national service programs include AmeriCorps*National, AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), AmeriCorps*NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps), Seniors Corps, and Learn and Serve America.

Serve Colorado Program Goals
• To effectively distribute AmeriCorps*State resources to address the needs of Colorado communities,
• To advocate for service and volunteerism as essential components in sustaining healthy Colorado communities,
• To create mechanisms which facilitate greater cooperation, communication and partnerships around service,
• To promote service and volunteerism as an integral component of education at all levels,
• To increase public awareness, appreciation, support and participation in service and volunteerism, and
• To increase financial and in-kind support for volunteer initiatives from a broad range of public and private sources.

Service Days and Partnership Activities
In addition to administering the AmeriCorps*State program portfolio, Serve Colorado works to promote and expand volunteerism through a number of initiatives, including national and local days of service:

• Martin Luther King Day of Service – Serve Colorado honors the life and legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by promoting the King Holiday as a day of service and volunteerism to the community. Organizations and individuals statewide are encouraged to create and participate in activities that bring communities together to lead change.
• Cesar Chavez Day of Service and Learning – Serve Colorado honors the life and legacy of civil rights leader Cesar Chavez by promoting Chavez's birthday as a day of Service and Learning. Organizations and individuals are encouraged to create and participate in activities that improve communities, promote civic engagement, and focus on civil rights.
• AmeriCorps Week & The Governor’s Service Awards – AmeriCorps Week shines a spotlight on AmeriCorps' impact in communities across the country in order to motivate more Americans to join AmeriCorps or volunteer in their communities. Concurrently, the Governor’s Service Awards honors those local individuals and organizations that are having a positive impact on Colorado through service and volunteerism.
• Colorado Cares Day - Colorado Cares Day encourages volunteerism as a resource to meet local needs and improve communities. Colorado Cares was created in 1999 as a day of service in recognition of Colorado’s statehood. Since its inception, community, faith-based and governmental volunteer groups have organized thousands of service projects and engaged tens of thousands of volunteers statewide in a variety of activities.
• 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance - On April 21, 2009, President Barack Obama signed legislation that for the first time officially establishes September 11 as a federally recognized National Day of Service and Remembrance. Serve Colorado joins organizations in this historic observance by promoting service projects throughout Colorado.

Serve Colorado engages in partnerships with the local nonprofit community, private sector, educational, governmental and community-based organizations, to increase the number of volunteers serving in meaningful roles in their communities. Partnerships range from formal memorandums of understanding around joint promotions to participation in service projects to collaborative programming. Serve Colorado is also a partner with organizations that host the Colorado Conference on Volunteerism, National Philanthropy Day in Colorado, National Mentoring Month, Colorado Volunteer Center Network, as well as other national and statewide service and volunteerism activities. For more information on the Serve Colorado’s current initiatives and strategic goals, please reference the 2010-2012 Colorado Unified State Service Plan or contact Serve Colorado at 303-866.6426.

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