Our mission is to create a just and equitable society and the diverse leadership to sustain it.  We're proud to share this collection of stories featuring passionate leaders transforming their communities.
'PUBLIC ALLIES AND AMERICORPS HAVE GIVEN ME PURPOSE AND A PLACE TO BELONG'
"When I initially heard about AmeriCorps and the Public Allies program, I was extremely hesitant," writes Yancy Singleton, currently an AmeriCorps Ally in Connecticut. "I thought there was no way I would be given a fair chance." In this  powerful personal essay, Yancy talks about how being accepted into the program -- after struggling to get a job following 10 years in prison -- has literally changed his life and given him new possibilities to make a positive impact.
WASHINGTON, D.C. ALUM AWARDED GEORGETOWN'S LEGACY OF A DREAM AWARD FOR WORK WITH IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY
Abel Núñez was the first person in his family to speak English, and as a result, from a very early age he was often asked to translate for his family. Fast-forward decades later, and Abel -- who arrived in the U.S. with his family from El Salvador in 1979 -- continues to be a vital bridge between recent immigrants and the larger community. For his work, including rising up to become executive director of CARECEN, an immigrant rights group in Washington, D.C., Abel was recently awarded Georgetown University's John Thompson Jr. Legacy of a Dream Award at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Watch a video on Abel here, and read more about the work that earned him this distinction here.
PUBLIC ALLIES ALUM SPEAK UP TO SAVE NATIONAL SERVICE
When Ben Darby, an alum of our AmeriCorps program in Cincinnati and now a schoolteacher, learned that President Trump was planning to cut funding for AmeriCorps, he sprang into action. He wrote, filmed, and uploaded a personal testimonial to his Youtube page asking elected officials to save AmeriCorps. "AmeriCorps is a program of vision," says Ben, "and if we want to remain a nation of vision, we need to support programs like it." Ben isn't alone. Many AmeriCorps and Public Allies alumni have gone to social media and called their Congressional representatives -- who will have the final word on the federal budget -- to make their case. Read some of their posts here, and you can join the mobilization to save AmeriCorps here. 
INDIANAPOLIS ALUM RECEIVES $200,000 FROM ARTPLACE AMERICA TO TACKLE UNSAFE CONDITIONS IN URBAN AREAS
LaShawnda Crowe Storm, a community artist and Public Allies Indianapolis alum, was recently awarded a $200,000 grant from ArtPlace America to assist her beautification work in northwest Indianapolis. "Our intention is to collaborate," says LaShawnda, describing her approach to working with community members. "Because everyone in the community is an expert and has important insights." With deep connections to the community they serve, LaShawnda and her partner and fellow artist Phyllis Viola Boyd have long been advocates for public safety and beautification in northwest Indianapolis. RECLAIM, the name of their project, is simply the latest iteration of their efforts. Read more
EDUCATION PATHWAY PROGRAM SUPPORTS ALLIES' COLLEGE ACCESS, SUCCESS 
Darrin Madison, a 20-year-old AmeriCorps Ally and an aspiring environmental lawyer in Milwaukee, is determined to get a college degree. But he already knows firsthand that obtaining it won't come without challenges. While recently attending a private university, the first-generation college student had a difficult time maneuvering the bureaucracy and quickly fell into debt, causing him to step away from school. While with Public Allies Milwaukee, Darrin has joined the "Education Pathway" program, which is designed to aid the efforts of young people like Darrin who have the will to graduate, but need extra support along the way. Read more
YALE STUDY, CONCEIVED AND CO-EDITED BY CONNECTICUT ALUM, CALLS FOR END TO CRIMINALIZATION OF HOMELESSNESS
When he began his service with Public Allies Connecticut in 2009, Nathan "Nate" Fox really appreciated one of the program's core values above the rest: "Focus on Assets." Nate became more passionate in his conviction that all people and communities are full of promise and potential, including those experiencing homelessness. Since graduating, he has gone on to become of Connecticut's most committed homeless-rights advocates. In 2013, he played a central role in the creation of a "Homeless Bill of Rights" in his state, and this year, he helped conceive, author, and edit a new Yale University study that advocates for the end of the criminalization of homelessness. Read more
FORMER FOSTER CHILD, CENTRAL FLORIDA ALUM, FEATURED BY LOCAL NEWS FOR HER COMPASSIONATE WORK HELPING HAITIAN ORPHANS
Eveline Joachim says when she was just 7 years old, her mother moved back to Haiti and left her and her siblings to fend for themselves.  "It was definitely a sense of loneliness and feeling abandoned," says Joachim, a recent graduate of Public Allies Central Florida's AmeriCorps program. Today, she leads her own organization providing counseling and assistance to orphaned children, as she once was . Read more  here and here.