The winners of the 2021 Virginia National Service Awards were announced on Thursday, May 13th, at the Virginia Volunteerism and Service Conference! The winners of this year's awards were recognized by Kathy Spangler, Director of the Virginia Office on Volunteerism and Community Services, Julie Strandlie, Chair of the Virginia Governor's Advisory Board on Service and Volunteerism; and Elizabeth Childress-Burneson, Chair of the Virginia Service Foundation. Winners received a trophy prior to the virtual ceremony. Congratulations to this year's winners! Read their stories on VirginiaService.virginia.gov.

New AmeriCorps Staff & Subgrantee Staff Transition Resources - Please see the checklist for items related to NSCHC, new staff training, member management, and communications with the Virginia Service Commission.  See the checklist.

National Criminal History Check - The AmeriCorps website has been updated as of May 6, 2021. Please use the following link to access guidance about NSCHC, the new rule, and training on specific topics.  https://americorps.gov/grantees-sponsors/history-check

We strongly encourage everyone to take the new (and improved) Litmos training on NSCHC. If you need help accessing Litmos, please see instructions here from the VSC Resource Portal. If you do take the training, please send your certificate of completion to christina.dumas@dss.virginia.gov.

Updated Member Enrollment Form - eGrants - Please be aware that as of April 29, 2021 and in addition to the NSCHC New Rule implementation, the enrollment form in eGrants for members has changed. Below are new resources provided by AmeriCorps for your review. 

AmeriCorps Member Survey: The annual AmeriCorps Member Survey will close Friday, May 15. Members enrolled after March 15 will receive a survey in July. Encourage your members to get their surveys completed!

VSC Survey Results - Thank you for providing input through the latest commission survey (available from 3/4-3/23). We received very helpful feedback, and look forward to integrating this information in our future planning processes. Below is a summary of what we learned from the process. If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know.

2021 Virginia Life After AmeriCorps Event (June 4, June 11, & June 17) - Time is running out to register for VSC's Life After AmeriCorps training event! Please remind your members to register asap to take advantage of this free 3-day event chocked full of informative and engaging workshops! Questions? Refer to the FAQs below. Don't forget! VSC will be offering fun prizes to the programs for things like those with the highest percentage of members registered and for attendance!

SAVE THE DATE! Virginia AmeriCorps Program Staff Orientation (July 26-30, 9am-12:30 each day) - The 2021 Program Staff Orientation will be virtual this year. We have some exciting content planned this year that has been specially-designed for you and your program needs. Mark your calendars now!

Virginia Volunteerism Conference - That's a Wrap! - We had an awesome attendance at the 2021 Virginia Volunteerism Conference! We hope you, your staff, and members were able to attend! To view the recordings of the sessions, visit the Virtual Event Site anytime over the next year (even for the sessions you didn't attend live!) Stay tuned for information on next year's conference!

ASC National Service Training Virtual Conference Wrap-Up - The National Service Training Conference, hosted by ASC, offered commission and program staff opportunities to attend four days of workshops and presentations on key issues and topics for AmeriCorps programs. Highlights included sessions on understanding governing documents, integrating principles of universal national service, and many more. Attendees can reference their emails from ASC about the conference for the link to the attendee resources (subject line: Friendly Reminders - 2021 National Service Training Virtual Conference). The presentations are available now, and recordings should be available later this week. The conference also exceeded their fundraising goal for the Virtual Service Project! Check it out!

AmeriCorps Has a New Website - AmeriCorps has released it's redesigned AmeriCorps.gov website! This is part of an initiative to make national service more accessible to people and organizations who may not be familiar with national service. The new website introduces a simplified menu that is oriented around core audiences, including: the general public; those who are interested in serving or partnering with AmeriCorps; and the people and organizations who already serve or partner with AmeriCorps. Check it out!!