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AmeriCorps Montgomery

"locals serving locals for over 20 years."

Posts by Paul Costello1

MLK Call to service 1968

April 11, 2025 Paul Costello1 Uncategorized
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The Harkin Institute on X: "At The Harkin Institute, we are spending time on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day to read and reflect. In particular, we are reading the last sermon that

“If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful.

But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. (Amen) That’s a new definition of greatness. And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, (Everybody) because everybody can serve. (Amen)

You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. (All right) You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. (Amen)

You only need a heart full of grace, (Yes, sir, Amen) a soul generated by love. (Yes) And you can be that servant. “


https://youtu.be/WkRdj9L3wyE?si=ROuIFXmN-7zYZTjv

Sparking Our Civic Imagination

April 11, 2025 Paul Costello1 Uncategorized
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Our greatest responsibility is to be good ancestors - Tom McCallum

Avoid the oppositional trap, and move beyond reaction to imagination
Image a better life for yourself, your family and your community


Source: Future’s Happening Toolkit 

AmeriCorps- “Light up the World”

April 3, 2025 Paul Costello1 Uncategorized
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US Pres John F. Kennedy JFK Inauguration Speech color photo 1961 - I10087



“In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility—I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it—and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. “

Vaclav Havel on ‘Hope’

April 2, 2025 Paul Costello1 Uncategorized
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Five helpful tips for a first time mum - Sophie Bowdler Photography




“Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously headed for early success, but, rather, an ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed…It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.” 

Mental Health Plummets for Young Women- from Gallup

April 1, 2025 Paul Costello1 Uncategorized
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Abigail Shrier breaks down America's teenage mental health crisis - NAMI Queens / Nassau

The Data:

Overall, fewer Americans now rate their mental health positively, but the largest decline is seen among young women. Just 15% of women aged 18 to 29 polled from 2020 to 2024 said they have “excellent” mental health, down 33 percentage points from the 48% of women this age saying the same from 2010 to 2014.

Gender Differences: While both younger age groups have seen their ratings decrease, young women’s 33-point drop significantly exceeds the 20-point decline for men aged 18 to 29, whose “excellent” mental health rating fell from 53% in 2010-2014 to 33% in 2020-2024.

Mental and Physical Health Ratings

https://app.e.gallup.com/e/es?s=831949997&e=3823454&elqTrackId=efd74c1a1b7a40299e524d6e5aa03bea&elq=6f9f8525b7354ddd98f886b8946b36df&elqaid=15117&elqat=1&elqak=8AF55A88C6AFB91C57212ABA4C8618BB01DDF4BF53935CB9177334B11AE29FB418BF

MCPS combats mental health crisis

March 26, 2025 Paul Costello1 Uncategorized
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MCPS combats mental health crisis – The MoCo Student

By The MoCo Student / January 2, 2025

With an ever present mental health crisis, schools have an undeniable responsibility to provide resources to students.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adolescent mental health is deteriorating. In 2023, 40% of students had repeated feelings of sadness or hopelessness and 20% considered suicide. These statistics convey the dire need for more resources.

Students at some schools, such as Sherwood High School (SHS), have tackled this pressing issue head on. The Warrior Wellness Committee aims to meet the growing demand and ameliorate the welfare of all students overall. 

Health teacher and Warrior Wellness Committee Sponsor Heather Giovenco commented on the club’s goals and accomplishments.

“The committee typically organizes programs, workshops, and activities that focus on mental well-being, stress management, and healthy coping strategies. By fostering open dialogue about mental health and providing resources, the wellness committee helps reduce stigma and encourages students to seek support when needed,” Giovenco said. “Its efforts contribute to a more positive school culture, improve academic performance, and enhance students’ overall well-being, ensuring they have the tools to thrive both in and out of the classroom.”

The club brings in guest speakers and hosts events such as Wellness Carnivals. The team also remains active on social media with “Thankful Thursdays” and “Positive Affirmations” where members of the committee interview teachers and peers to spread positivity and foster a welcoming atmosphere. 

“Whether you’re a student, staff, or administrator. If they aren’t well mentally then daily things in life can become difficult. That’s why we try to plan fun activities in school to motivate people and to spread awareness [about mental health],” Warrior Wellness Committee president Maryam Habib said.

As a member of the committee, I have seen firsthand the vast difference it makes to the community. Each member of the club works to support each other and augments the atmosphere at SHS.

While resources vary from school to school, MCPS provides mental health and crisis support through the form of hotlines and informational resources. MCPS also hosted an in-person Mental Health Fair in late Oct. and posted the livestream on their YouTube account. 

Even though a plethora of resources are evidently provided to MCPS students and staff, more needs to be done. Additional schools should create wellness committees and offer more resources.

“A wellness committee in high schools plays a crucial role in promoting student mental health by creating a supportive and inclusive environment,” Giovenco said.

Written by Nisha Khatri

MCPS combats mental health crisis

Meeting Needs in Maryland

March 18, 2025 Paul Costello1 Uncategorized
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National Service in Maryland

Last year more than 4,900 Americans of all ages and backgrounds united to meet local needs, strengthen communities, and expand opportunity through national service in Maryland. AmeriCorps invested more than $21.2 million in federal funding to support cost-effective community solutions, working hand in hand with local partners to empower individuals to help communities tackle their toughest challenges.

AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers are preparing today’s students for tomorrow’s jobs, connecting veterans to services, fighting the opioid epidemic, helping older adults age with dignity, rebuilding communities after disasters, and improving the physical and mental well-being of Americans nationwide.

AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers served at more than 500 locations across Maryland, including schools, food banks, homeless shelters, health clinics, youth centers, veterans facilities, and other nonprofit and faith-based organizations. Through a unique public-private partnership, AmeriCorps and its partners generated more than $10.1 million in outside resources from businesses, foundations, public agencies, and other sources in Maryland last year. This local support strengthened community impact and increased the return on taxpayer dollars.

Our Programs and Initiatives

AmeriCorps State and National awards grants to organizations to engage individuals in sustained service to address local, regional, and national challenges. Thousands of opportunities exist in locations across the country to serve with nonprofits, schools, public agencies, tribes, and community and faith-based groups. Most AmeriCorps grant funding goes to Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism, the Governor-appointed State Service Commission, which in turn awards grants to organizations to respond to local needs.

AmeriCorps VISTA places individuals with nonprofit organizations, public agencies, and tribal governments to expand reach and deepen impact in making sustainable change that alleviates the impact of poverty. Through fundraising, volunteer recruitment, program development, and more, AmeriCorps members gain experience and leadership skills that put them on track for a life of service in the public, private, or nonprofit sector.

AmeriCorps NCCC is a full-time service program that covers all costs of program participation, to include lodging and travel expenses, allowing young adults to serve on a team and make an impact in communities across the country while gaining valuable leadership skills. AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps serves communities, in coordination with FEMA, through disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.

AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent Program provides grants to organizations to engage low-income Americans aged 55 and older in providing one-on-one mentoring and academic support to children with special or exceptional needs. In 2023, Foster Grandparents in Maryland served more than 2,480 young people with special needs.

AmeriCorps Seniors Senior Companion Program provides grants to organizations to engage low-income Americans aged 55 and older in providing supportive, individualized services to help homebound seniors and other adults maintain their dignity and independence. In 2023, Seniors Companions in Maryland provided independent living support to more than 50 individuals.

AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP provides grants to organizations to engage Americans aged 55 and older in tutoring and mentoring youth, responding to natural disasters, supporting veterans and their families, and meeting other critical needs.

Volunteer Generation Fund supports voluntary organizations and state service commissions in boosting the impact of volunteers in addressing critical community needs.

MLK Day of Service observed each year on the third Monday in January, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday designated as a National Day of Service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to honor the life and legacy of Dr. King and improve their communities.

9/11 Day of Service calls Americans across the country to volunteer in their local communities in tribute to the individuals lost and injured in the attacks, first responders, and the many who have risen in service to defend freedom since Sept. 11, 2001.

Learn More

To see other reports about national service in Maryland, email MD@AmeriCorps.gov.

Cassidy, Coons, Colleagues Celebrate AmeriCorps Week

March 11, 2025 Paul Costello1 Uncategorized
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AmeriCorps Week is here! Let's celebrate the dedication and service of its members. Thank you for your dedication each day to serving your community. Whether you serve for 6 months, 1 year,

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Chris Coons (D-DE), and colleagues introduced a resolution in celebration of AmeriCorps Week, which runs March 9-15, 2025. Founded 30 years ago to increase national service opportunities while providing a pathway to education, AmeriCorps members come from all backgrounds and walks of life to engage in meaningful service for others.

“AmeriCorps members dedicate their lives to others. They empower students, support veterans, and build stronger communities,” said Dr. Cassidy. “This can’t go unnoticed.” 

“More than one million AmeriCorps members have committed themselves to making a positive impact on our nation for over three decades,” said Senator Coons. “This week, we celebrate their efforts to mentor students, address food insecurity, improve public health, respond to disasters, protect our planet, and support local communities across the country. As Co-Chair of the National Service Caucus, I will continue to work with my colleagues to strengthen national service, and I encourage all those contemplating service to consider AmeriCorps as a way to make impactful change.”

“AmeriCorps works for America every day of the year,” said Jennifer Bastress Tahmasebi, Interim Agency Head, AmeriCorps. “Every single day, Americans of all ages dedicate their time to strengthening their communities and our nation as a whole. Whether they are building homes, feeding their neighbors, responding to disasters, or tutoring and mentoring students, AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers work alongside people from all walks of life to get the job done. We are thankful for those who serve and go on to be tomorrow’s leaders and public servants get their start.” 

Cassidy and Coons were joined by U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).

AmeriCorps by the numbers, nationally:

  • 200,000 members and volunteers in more than 2,000 organizations dedicated to strengthening their communities in 2024.
  • 245,000 veterans and military families connected to education opportunities, jobs, and benefits they have earned annually.
  • 310,000 elderly Americans provided with independent living services annually.
  • More than $4.5 billion earned in education awards since 1994.

AmeriCorps by the numbers in Louisiana:

  • 3,580 members and volunteers.
  • 454 service locations, including schools, food banks, homeless shelters, health clinics, youth centers, veterans’ facilities, and other nonprofit and faith-based organizations.
  • $22.2 million total investment, including the generation of $5.9 million in outside resources from businesses, foundations, public agencies, and other sources in Louisiana.
  • Since 1994, more than 19,000 Louisiana residents have served approximately 24 million hours and earned education awards totaling more than $56.3 million. 
  • Since 1994, higher education institutions and other organizations in Louisiana have received more than $25.2 million in education award payments.
Cassidy, Coons, Colleagues Celebrate AmeriCorps Week

AmeriCorps Week-2025: Kids Matter

March 11, 2025 Paul Costello1 Uncategorized
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Profile for I See You- Short Horror Film

Do you remember the time, or a time when someone saw you? I mean someone gave you real visibility, called you by name, made sure you were included? Someone who said in the scramble to get on the bus, don’t forget Michaela or Mary. Like the time Patrick, my best friend at school, who was so used to calling me “Cossie,” their usual nickname for any of us Costellos, turned to me at Manly railway station one Thursday afternoon and said,” See you tomorrow. Paul.” I never forgot the way he said “Paul,” as if a different person was being called into being.




I Hear You. I See You. -

Do you remember the time, or a time when someone really heard you? I mean, relayed back to you the fact that they had taken your words seriously, or when someone even quoted your words back to you in awe. “I was thinking a lot about what you said yesterday, Paul.” Hearing that, you know someone valued your voice. Like the time a kid I was teaching in Grade 9 called Roberto, when asked about what life was teaching him, said, “You just don’t grow up. You grow yourself up.” I had to stop and repeat it to him, to make sure I heard it right, and then affirm its foundational truth,”You can say that again.” I wanted to relay to him that I had never heard such wisdom before… or since for that matter. Here I am 50 years later, still telling Roberto’s story, and still growing myself up.

As children growing up in a traditional Irish Catholic family, the adage was “Children should be seen and not heard.” Any sunny afternoon after school, we were not even to be seen. Mum told us boys to scram- get out of here, Go play cricket. Don’t come back till dinner time. The world of kids was not the world of adults, and there was something to be said for that.


A Mother's Gaze - Her View From Home

But growing up involves important stages of recognition that we cannot do for ourselves. It has to be someone else’s gift. As the baby sees her face for the first time in the radiant eyes of her mother, so too children and teenagers requires someone to mirror them back to themselves, to realize what they are becoming, and- Oh how they shine!
Project CHANGE trains its members to practice the art of making sure kids know they matter-making sure that they are seen, called by their name, listened to with respect, and grace and curiosity.

In the course of a busy school day, or in an after-school program, there is usually a subject to be taught, or an activity to be completed. In a class of 30 kids, the job of the teacher or program facilitator is to complete the task. The teacher teaches. The student is taught. The visibility or the voice of each kid is fashioned around their being on task. The teacher will call me out if I am not paying attention. The director will urge me to finish the poster on time. That is all necessary, but somewhere, floating around the room is going to be an AmeriCorps member who is there, not as the task master, but the one to catch people being themselves, see them, acknowledge them, inquire, laugh, appreciate, encourage. Wow- look at you!

I BELIEVE IN MYSELF | Positive Affirmations 🤩

While education aims to teach students about the world, Project CHANGE wants to be sure that they do not miss out on the joy of learning about themselves. That means in the brief interactions around a room, or in the corridor, or as students leave for home, the AmeriCorps member knows she is there to see them, to hear them, to recognize them, to celebrate them. “Don’t forget your hat, Jake.” “Well done in soccer today, Jameka.” ” Happy birthday for Sunday, Miguel.”


When we call it SEL-Social Emotional Learning, or Wellness, or a host of other impressive names, it sounds very new. But it has always been how humans grow each other up. You can write it into a logic model and call it ED27C, with dosage and outputs and intensities, but that only belies just how simple it is, and sadly, how rare.

It is very simple, but how profound! You can say that again, Roberto.

Happy AmeriCorps Week.

AmeriCorps Week 2025

March 10, 2025 Paul Costello1 Uncategorized
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AmeriCorps - AmeriCorps Week 2025: America's greatness comes from the extraordinary acts of ordinary citizens. From a pioneering group of 20,000 Americans who first raised their hands to serve, AmeriCorps has grown

So much is happening on the political front. So many taken for granted issues are now featuring in our conversations about the future. Let us add another key topic to the conversation, service, and its role in prospering the nation.

Fighting for the Forest: How FDR's Civilian Conservation Corps Helped Save America | School Library Journal

History might mislead if one traces the official account that says that the idea of national service arose in the years of FDR battling the depression and “putting the nation back to work” with the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Workers Progress Association. That is true but that is not where it began. Not by a long shot.

One only has to think about a young, ambitious and restless nation, moving ever westwards, into indigenous territories and terrains, trying to survive. Their only resources were themselves and their ingenuity. There are rightfully many controversies over their sometimes violent means, but service was the only way they survived.


Go West Young Man (Volume) - Comic Vine

Unless citizens learned to band together to support each other in churches and clubs, unions and fraternities, they knew they could not eat or meet, farm or harvest, educate their kids, or populate a future. The more spectacular projects of railways, factories and telephones, or the mythical wild wild west tend to soak up the dramatic energy that Hollywood so loves.

But firefighters were voluntary. The abolitionist movement was voluntary and nursing was voluntary. Anyone who cared about a local issue and wanted change didn’t have a lobby group or a professional association. They just posted a notice on a post calling for a public meeting- the original post office. Service was not a commitment of your leisure time so much as dedicating part of your own work time to the communal work that benefitted everyone. Service was not volunteering. It was the local conscription demanded by the common good.

When the French writer De Tocqueville travelled across the young republic in 1831, this tendency of Americans to join associations stood out for him. He wrote:

“Americans of all ages constantly unite. Not only do they have commercial and industrial associations, in which all take part, but they also have a thousand other kinds: religious, moral, grave, futile, very general and very particular, immense and very small.”

In our turbulent times, it would be sad if “Service” was called into question, or came to be just another political controversy. When President Clinton passed the National and Community Trust Act in 1993, he knew he was not inventing something new. He saw an opportunity to build a win-win, public-private partnership that could expand service, so that more people could serve more people. In a time of war, the nation calls its fittest and finest to fight. In peace, it calls its fittest and finest to serve the community.

Governor's Office on Service and Volunteerism

Perhaps the military overtones start to sound a little off or antiquated, but the idea remains as relevant as ever. The community that learns to help itself is the community that empowers itself. It develops its own leaders. It knows that it does not have to wait for some outside government expert to tell them what to do. It is Emerson’s gospel of “self-reliance” at the local level.

Local needs are usually best met at local levels, or what is known as the Principle of Subsidiarity. Project CHANGE exemplifies that principle, being a program started by Montgomery County MD, staffed and funded by local partners, recruiting local members educated in the county to serve the neediest students of the county. It is a win-win for everyone, with many graduating members being hired by the schools and non profits in which they served. It ensures that the local talent is retained and every member of Montgomery County has a path to service.

In AmeriCorps week, we celebrate Project CHANGE and its 18 members. We celebrate the 500 or more alumni who have served Montgomery County MD since 2001 with almost half a million hours. We salute the members, past, present and emerging, who will remind us again and again, that no nation can thrive without calling forth the talents of all. That is not controversial.

We know we can measure the health of the economy with S&P figures and Dow Jones, but the service economy is about people, not dollars. It creates resources and delivers results that are beyond measure.

Service created this great nation. It is high time that service created it again.