Supporting the designation of the second Friday of June as National Service and Conservation Corps Day.

Supporting the designation of the second Friday of June as National Service and Conservation Corps Day.

Whereas there exists a network of National Service Programs (in this resolution referred to as “Service and Conservation Corps”) that receive funding pursuant to subtitle C of the National and Community Service Act (42 U.S.C. 12571 et seq.);

Whereas such network includes more than 150 Service and Conservation Corps across the county;

Whereas these Service and Conservation Corps annually provide education, workforce development, and support services to approximately 22,000 young adults and post-9/11 veterans;

Whereas today’s Service and Conservation Corps are locally based organizations that engage young adults (generally ages 16 to 25) and veterans (up to age 35) in service projects that address recreation, conservation, disaster response, and community needs;

Whereas these Service and Conservation Corps are direct descendants of the Civilian Conservation Corps, a Great Depression-era Federal work relief program that mobilized 3,000,000 young men to dramatically improve the Nation’s public lands;

Whereas Civilian Conservation Corps participants received food, shelter, education, and a $30-a-month stipend;

Whereas, from 1933 to 1942, the Civilian Conservation Corps planted 3,000,000,000 trees and helped build trails, roads, campgrounds, and other park infrastructure still in use today;

Whereas April 5, 2023, was the 90th anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt establishing the Civilian Conservation Corps with a Presidential Executive order;

Whereas, unlike the Civilian Conservation Corps, which was a large, Federal program that was only open to young men and Black and Native American participants faced discrimination, modern Service and Conservation Corps are equitable, diverse, and inclusive;

Whereas, also, most modern Service and Conservation Corps are nonprofits or are operated by units of State or local government;

Whereas, through public-private partnerships, Service and Conservation Corps work with a range of organizations, government agencies, and institutions to engage Corpsmembers in meaningful projects that address local and national issues;

Whereas, through a term of service that could last from a few months to a year, Corpsmembers experience the “Corps Model”, where they gain work experience and develop in-demand skills;

Whereas Corpsmembers are compensated with a stipend or living allowance and often receive an education award or scholarship upon completing their service;

Whereas, additionally, Corps provide participants with educational programming, mentoring, and access to career and personal counseling, and some Corps operate or partner with charter schools to help participants earn their high school diploma or GED;

Whereas Corpsmembers complete thousands of community improvement, resilience, and resource conservation projects every year;

Whereas Corpsmembers typically serve on crews alongside other young adults, or in “individual placement” or internship positions that provide additional capacity to Federal, State, and local resource management agencies;

Whereas Service and Conservation Corps have longstanding partnerships with Federal, State, and local community development and resource management agencies to engage Corpsmembers in meaningful and necessary projects across the country;

Whereas Service and Conservation Corps projects include—

(1) the enhancement of neighborhoods and community public spaces, including urban gardens;

(2) the preservation and protection of public lands, shorelines, waterways, habitat, and wildlife;

(3) the preservation of historic structures;

(4) providing access to and the enhancement of recreation on public lands and waters;

(5) enhancing resilience to climate change and natural disasters;

(6) mitigation, response to, and recovery from natural disasters, including hurricanes and wildfire;

(7) improving energy efficiency and resource conservation; and

(8) building and maintaining alternative transportation and sustainable infrastructure;

Whereas, during the COVID–19 pandemic, the fact that Service and Conservation Corps are part of their communities enabled them to quickly provide needed support to their communities;

Whereas the United States urgently needs to transition to more sustainable infrastructure, respond to decades of deferred maintenance on public lands and waters, restore critical ecosystems, and make its communities more resilient to climate change;

Whereas the United States also has millions of young people facing unemployment and barriers to opportunity, and these challenges are disproportionately affecting young people of color; and

Whereas the existing network of more than 150 Service and Conservation Corps are ready to meet the needs of these young Americans: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved,