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(Washington, DC) – U.S. Congressman Ed Case (HI-01) today announced that $1.8 million in grants have been awarded to service organizations in Hawaiʻi to empower people of all backgrounds to give of their time and talents to address some of the most pressing challenges in their communities.  

“The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that Congress enacted and the President signed into law in March has made these funds available to stabilize and expand national service programs that have been responding to communities hit hard by COVID-19. The release of these funds will give more people the chance to serve their country and help make our Hawaiʻi a better place to live, work and raise our families,” said Case.

Case said that one grant of $1,076,963 was awarded to the Hawaiʻi Commission on National and Community Service to provide the program with the flexibility and resources needed to increase living allowances, build capacity and expand volunteering opportunities.

AmeriCorps is a network of local, state and national service programs whose mission is to improve lives, strengthen communities and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020, AmeriCorps programs have acted to meet the emerging public health, education, food security and economic needs of communities across the country.

Case said a second grant of $800,831 will go to the Kupu Environmental Stewardship Program. Kupu - which means to “sprout” or “grow” in Hawaiian - works to preserve Hawaii’s natural resources while empowering youth through service-learning programs in conservation and sustainability.

One of Kupu’s initiatives is its culinary program housed at the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Hoʻokupu Center in Kewalo Basin, which has been used to prepare thousands of meals for needy families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, Case has been a strong supporter of annual funding increases for the Corporation for National and Community Services (CNCS), a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through national service initiatives. In July, the House passed, and Case voted in favor of, appropriations legislation for Fiscal Year 2022, which allocated $1.3 billion for CNCS, including $601 million for AmeriCorps State and National Grants, a $146 million increase from last year.

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