Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) Friday announced a $375,000 federal grant to the Patrick and Marcelle Leahy Center for Rural Students at Lyndon State College to improve access to education for Vermont students. The grant helps to leverage more than $1 million to expand AmeriCorps service and to advance educational opportunities to first-generation, low-income students across the Green Mountain State.
Leahy, the senior-most member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, helped to establish the Patrick and Marcelle Leahy Center for Rural Students in 2009 in an effort to improve the factors that influence the education and occupational aspirations of rural, first-generation students. Since its founding, the Leahy Center has been instrumental in supporting the educational and economic aspirations of Northeast Kingdom residents.
The grant is being awarded by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), a federal agency supporting nonprofit organizations in communities across the country. Lyndon will use the award to implement the Lyndon Economic Opportunity Attainment Program (LEAP), a new initiative to support 38 AmeriCorps members to carry out service with organizations in the Northeast Kingdom. Members will serve at a diverse range of sites including the Cobleigh Library, UVM Extension and Green Mountain Farm to School.
Flanked by AmeriCorps members, Leahypraised the Lyndon community for its efforts on Friday, “Lyndon State College has long been instrumental in expanding opportunities for Vermonters. This federal grant to the Patrick and Marcelle Leahy Center for Rural Students helps fuel that commitment to expanding education access for rural Vermonters and to promote the economic vitality of the Northeast Kingdom.”
Lyndon State College President Joe Bertolino said: “We are thrilled to receive this funding. This AmeriCorps program is a great opportunity for Lyndon State College and, more importantly, for the Northeast Kingdom. Each of the AmeriCorps members will be working on a project that improves educational attainment or economic opportunity in some way. As the only public four year institution in the NEK, Lyndon is pleased to play such a strong in improving educational and career opportunities for our communities.”
The $375,000 grant is part of a CNCS investment of nearly $500,000 to support 88 AmeriCorps members to expand educational attainment and economic opportunity at three Vermont institutes of higher education, including Lyndon State College, the University of Vermont Center for Disability & Inclusion and the Vermont Higher Education Consortium. In addition to the Leahy Center grant, education scholarships, local cash and in-kind matching contributions brings the total investment in higher education to over $1,000,000.
“AmeriCorps members are an indispensable resource for nonprofits, communities, and the individuals they serve,” said Corporation for National and Community Service CEO Wendy Spencer. “Through AmeriCorps, individuals come together across the nation with the common goal to make a lasting impact on the toughest challenges facing our nation. We salute these AmeriCorps members and their commitment in serving our country.”
Representatives from SerVermont, the Vermont State Colleges, Vermont Student Assistance Corp., Vermont Higher Education Consortium, University of Vermont Center for Disability and Inclusion, Northwoods Stewardship Center and Northeast Kingdom community were also present for Friday’s event.
Leahy Speech
Remarks of Senator Patrick Leahy Announcement of $375,000 CNCS grant to the Patrick and Marcelle Leahy Center for Rural Students at Lyndon State College September 4, 2015
Good afternoon, and thank you President Bertolino, AmeriCorps members and the Lyndon community for inviting me here today. For years, Lyndon has been instrumental in expanding the economic vitality of the Kingdom and opportunities for Vermont’s first-generation students.
I am pleased to stand with you to announce the selection of the Patrick and Marcelle Leahy Center for Rural Students to receive $375,000 from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to implement the Lyndon Economic Opportunity Attainment Program (LEAP). I am proud of this partnership with Lyndon State College to broaden services in the Northeast Kingdom.
I am also proud that this grant represents part of a $1 million investment in educational opportunities for Vermont’s students. Today we also celebrate the University of Vermont Center for Disability and Inclusion, the Vermont Higher Education Consortium and Vermont State Colleges – all of whom make a commitment each day to support the next generation of Vermonters.
In 2009, I obtained funding for the Patrick and Marcelle Leahy Center for Rural Students to support first-in-family students. We recognized at that time, as we do today, that there is something special about growing up in rural Vermont and also, many special obstacles to overcome. The Leahy Center has since become a unique resource; offering advising, job training, and tools for improving paths forward for students in our rural communities. The LEAP initiative will not only provide Lyndon students with these crucial tools, but also spread support throughout the greater community.
For 20 years, AmeriCorps volunteers in the Northeast Kingdom have both inspired our youth and enhanced the economic livelihood of the region. The promise of this partnership with the Leahy Center is in promoting economic sustainability, and creating a brighter future for our children and grandchildren.
Community service encourages cross-neighborhood connection, while expanding health, nutrition, and educational services in underserved regions. Service also allows us to explore new interests and gain valuable skills for a successful career. For many of our students, we know that college is not enough to secure a job – it takes real life experience. I have heard from many Vermonters who have chosen to stay here as a result of their time in AmeriCorps.
Today’s announcement marks the commitment of Lyndon to continue leading the charge in building opportunities for our students. I look forward to welcoming our new volunteers, and I thank them for their tremendous contribution to the vibrancy of Vermont’s culture and economy.
Thank you again for inviting me to share in this tremendous win for Lyndon State College, the Patrick and Marcelle Leahy Center for Rural Students, and the Northeast Kingdom.
LYNDONVILLE, Vt. (FRIDAY, Sept. 4, 2015) – Senator Patrick Leahy