Teacher Appreciation Week: May 5-9 marks Teacher Appreciation Week! We are so grateful for your service in classrooms every day. You are changing the future! Did you know that 55K+ AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Senior volunteers serve in 10K+ schools nationwide? Talk about impact! AmeriCorps makes a difference in classrooms. Check out more stats here.

National AmeriCorps Funding: Recently we shared the heartbreaking news that Relay’s Illinois and New York 2024-25 state grants were terminated as a result of the federal government’s $400 million cuts to AmeriCorps programs across the country. All members can refer to AmeriCorps update emails our team delivered the week of April 28th for state-specific information. Relay believes deeply in national service, and that the act of teaching is one of the most profound and impactful acts of service one can undertake. We will continue to advocate on behalf of AmeriCorps across our program regions and will keep the community updated with relevant information as this situation develops.

State Impact Reports: AmeriCorps scours thousands of data points to compile National Service Reports each year. The results are a snapshot of national service programs and the total investment by AmeriCorps in communities across the country. See how members are getting things done in your community by selecting your state on this page of the AmeriCorps website. Eager to see those numbers? Click to view reports for a few Relay locations here: Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, New York.

Free Mental Health Trainings and Resources: May is Mental Health Awareness Month! Check out resources and upcoming free webinars:

• Click here to check out information about upcoming webinar topics including Fear and Anxiety: Moving Forward (May 14), and Psychological First Aid: Addressing the Human Aspect of Crisis (May 21). These webinars will also be recorded and available in the Resource Library.

• The Member Assistance Program is available to members in Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York and includes free, 24/7 unlimited telephonic counseling services. Check out the Benefits & Resources page to learn more about these great services. 

AmeriCorps 2025-26 Enrollment Preview: Current AmeriCorps members planning to return to Relay for the 2025-26 school year will be required to complete a new AmeriCorps application for a second year of service. However, you will not have to complete new background checks since we can use the Truescreen and Fieldprint checks you completed last summer. Have a wonderful summer and stay tuned for enrollment communications in August!

Alumni Resources: Calling all program completers!

• Be sure to log on to Relay Connect to know what’s going on around the Relay Nation and stay connected. 

• Also check out this AmeriCorps national webpage for AmeriCorps specific alumni resources and our internal Alumni resources.

• Service Year Alliance is committed to sharing relevant and helpful resources with a growing network of alums through their quarterly newsletter, The Alums Corner: The Scoop After Service. Be the first to receive the latest edition with news, resources, job opportunities, tips, and more by signing up here.

AmeriCorps Alumni Benefits: 

• Schools of National Service recognize that individuals who serve in AmeriCorps bring significant value to higher education. By partnering with AmeriCorps, these schools offer financial assistance opportunities to AmeriCorps alumni. Search the list here for schools that offer scholarships, application fee waivers, and other benefits for AmeriCorps alums. 

• Employers of National Service commit to actively considering and hiring individuals who have completed their term of national service through organizations like AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and other service programs. This partnership supports alumni and allows employers to tap into a highly skilled and motivated workforce. Search over 800 organizations in the network here!

Preparing for Summer Success: Summertime is just around the corner, and we know these months are critical to advance student learning and prevent summer slide. Here are a few resources to support your planning for summer 2025 and beyond.

• Scholastic offers resources and curricula to advance student learning for all ages. You can support students to participate in the free Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge between Saturday, April 26, and Wednesday, Sept. 5. Many local libraries also host no-cost summer reading challenges for both children and adults

• Reading Partners has teamed up with AT&T and the Achievery to build a robust set of free literacy resources to support grades K-4 learning. This includes individual lesson plans to supplement learning in the classroom and 50 companion videos for K-4 students to practice their literacy skills. Users can go to The Achievery’s website, answer a couple of questions to curate their content recommendations, then enter the partner code “READ” to go straight to content.