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Federally funded AmeriCorps, established in 1994, annually connects 75,000+ Americans with one-year service opportunities at nonprofits, schools, public agencies and faith-based groups nationwide. Our AmeriCorps members work directly with those we serve to make a significant positive impact in their lives and our community. Members’ experience raises awareness of the challenges those in poverty face, also fostering a service ethic to last a lifetime. Our Caring Corps members – among about 3,400 AmeriCorps members and alumni statewide – also become part of a national network of 1+ million who have given more than a billion hours of service since AmeriCorps began. The program grew from the federal Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) anti-poverty program started in 1965 to help agencies and nonprofits lift their communities out of poverty.
A federal mentoring program of the national Senior Corps Program, Foster Grandparent Program of Delaware (FGP) is operated by the Delaware State Office of Volunteerism for adults ages 55 and over who are dedicated to helping children. As a placement agency of FGP, the Ministry of Caring benefits from the contributions of these seniors who act in a supplemental capacity to staff in the Child Care Program.
This health and human services agency for families in Delaware offers counseling, case management, youth development and communal services. Since 1991, Jewish Family Services has provided social workers who conduct workshops on life skills for residents of women’s shelters, transitional residences and long-term housing at the Ministry of Caring.
Founded in 1979, Lutheran Volunteer Corps (LVC) is a one- or two-year national volunteer service program. The program is designed for individuals who want to explore their spirituality while working for social justice as they live in community with other volunteers and practice sustainability in all aspects of their lives.
For nearly three decades, the LVC has provided the Ministry of Caring with young adults to help support our mission. They bring specialized skills, insights and dedication to serving the poor. LVC members supplement rather than displace existing staff, enabling programs to offer additional activities, including community outreach to the homeless, tutoring and reading to children in our emergency shelters, working with students who have developmental delays in our child care program and grant writing and communications assistance within our administrative offices. They have become an invaluable resource in building program capacity.
The National Able Network provides staff for ministry programs through the Older Americans Act and U.S. Department of Labor. Low-income men and women, 55 or older, work 20 hours per week in ministry programs including shelters, child care, Emmanuel Dining Room and the Job Placement Center. This part-time training program often leads to participants’ full-time employment with the ministry of other agencies.
A national Senior Corps program, Senior Companions pairs volunteers ages 55 and over with adults who have difficulty with simple tasks of day-to-day living. The Delaware program, coordinated and funded by First State Community Action Agency, supplies staff who help seniors at the Francis X. Norton Center.
The Ministry of Caring is a partner with St. Francis Healthcare through the St. Clare Medical Outreach program. A mobile medical van serves the poor and uninsured at Ministry of Caring sites throughout underserved neighborhoods in Wilmington. St. Francis Healthcare supports House of Joseph II, a permanent residence for people with AIDS, with a Medical Director and the support of St. Francis Home Care.
Child care programs are supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts . The Division promotes Delaware arts events on www.DelawareScene.com.