Our City Forest
AmeriCorps Partnership
An Our City Forest AmeriCorps Service Member teaching the community how to properly plant a tree.
Our City Forest is now in its 17th year with AmeriCorps Service Members
Serving as an AmeriCorps member with Our City Forest is a great way to get involved in promoting a healthy environment. It’s not just about trees, it’s about improving the quality of life for the communities in the Silicon Valley.
Grow your career with Our City Forest AmeriCorps!
Our City Forest AmeriCorps service members get things done in the community and they are critical to our success as an organization. Members are trained to be urban forestry & outreach specialists. They build capacity in the community by engaging volunteers and residents in cultivating plants at the community nursery, planting and caring for trees in neighborhoods, schools and parks, and fighting the drought through water conservation efforts. AmeriCorps members educate the community on Our City Forest’s best practices and help train local environmental stewards. Our AmeriCorps members make a positive impact on the people and communities we serve.
Our City Forest AmeriCorps Members: Ambassadors for the Urban Forest.
Becoming an Our City Forest AmeriCorps member offers an amazing chance to give back in a big way. As an AmeriCorps member, you will receive valuable knowledge, ongoing professional development, and a chance to springboard your career through hands-on experience. You will also receive a Living Stipend during the term and an Education Award upon completion, which can be applied to student loans or for furthering your education. Our AmeriCorps members are ambassadors for the urban forest, demonstrate a passion for environmental education, and strongly believe in our green vision and values.
Our City Forest AmeriCorps service members serve directly in the greater San José area through full-time positions.
What is AmeriCorps?
AmeriCorps is an initiative of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), which also oversees the Senior Corps and the formerly-funded Learn and Serve America. It was created by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993, and provides grants to hundreds of local community organizations throughout the United States.
AmeriCorps engages more than 75,000 Americans in intensive service each year at nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and community and faith-based groups across the country.
Since the program’s founding in 1994, almost 1 million AmeriCorps members have contributed more than 1.4 billion hours in service across America while tackling pressing problems and mobilizing millions of volunteers for the organizations they serve.
The Our City Forest 2016-2017 AmeriCorps Team!
AmeriCorps programs do more than move communities forward; they serve their members by creating jobs and pathways to opportunities for people of all ages to enter the workforce. AmeriCorps places thousands of people into intensive service positions where they learn valuable job skills, earn money for education, and develop an appreciation for citizenship.
How is Our City Forest involved with AmeriCorps?
Our City Forest has been the leading urban forestry and environmental stewardship nonprofit in the Silicon Valley since 1994. We believe in the power of trees to turn our neighborhoods and cities from gray to green, and we believe in the power of people to help achieve this transformation. Our City Forest began with a handful of volunteers and staff members who did a great job getting things started; however, to fully achieve our mission, we needed a way to involve more dedicated people in a bigger way. To do this, Our City Forest joined forces with AmeriCorps, which helped us grow tree-mendously.
Since 2007, more than 500 AmeriCorps members have graduated from our program with over ½ million hours served!
Now recruiting! Dare to do something extraordinary!
Join our award winning program
In September, 2016, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS, Washington, D.C.), which is the federal agency that administers AmeriCorps, awarded the Tom Harkin Excellence in AmeriCorps Awards to only five AmeriCorps members and programs from around the nation. Our City Forest was one of the recipients! Read more from our blog entry here.