Peace Through Action AmeriCorps Program Summary

Peace Through Action AmeriCorps is a prospective national service program for Americans to implement democracy strengthening, social cohesion, and peacebuilding interventions in socially stressed communities which seek to ensure safety, facilitate bridging, cultivate belonging, and increase increase peace among their people and their places.

Peace Through Action has received an award from AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism, to plan a national service program focused on U.S. peace. The planning grant provides us time and resources to build a program that will be excellent, compliant, enduring, and ready to compete for a program grant in FY 2024. The AmeriCorps investment of $76,717 is being matched with $52,428 in private funding.

The Challenge–Social Discord

We are a nation with too many hurting people. Our country is in the throes of toxic polarization, social strife, and violence. Americans widely agree that social discord is a major challenge of our time.

A Solution–Peace Through Action AmeriCorps

Communities experiencing social discord can be transformed into safe, harmonious, and just places when their people acquire new knowledge, assume fresh attitudes, and adopt positive behaviors. These improvements are achievable through individual, group, and collective learning, intention, and action. Who better than AmeriCorps members to serve as the teachers, leaders, and agents of the human enrichment that socially stressed communities urgently need!

Peace Through Action AmeriCorps will place AmeriCorps members in socially stressed rural, suburban, and urban communities in which social discord is present – such as incidents of hate crimes against members of marginalized identity groups, high rates of interpersonal violence, and toxic polarization among neighbors. AmeriCorps members will serve through a variety of grassroots, community- and faith-based, and municipal locations. They will support community members in learning and applying evidence-based and promising interventions such as group dialogues, compassionate communication techniques, peer mediation engagements, and restorative practices.

Engage in Our AmeriCorps Planning Activities

We welcome and need other people and organizations to help us plan our AmeriCorps program.  Complete this Interest Form (https://bit.ly/ACPInterest) and let us know how you will help.

• Community organizations that may want an AmeriCorps member to help increase peace in their communities—apply to be a Peace Through Action AmeriCorps service site. Learn more here.
• Intermediary organizations representing grassroots, community-based and faith-based organizations, and municipal agencies—help us present our forthcoming AmeriCorps program to your constituents. Learn more here.
• Donors with an interest in increasing civic engagement and social cohesion in the United States—help us finance our forthcoming AmeriCorps program.
• Individuals wanting to start a peace project in your community—we might be able to help!

About AmeriCorps

AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism, provides opportunities for Americans to serve their country domestically, address the nation’s most pressing challenges, improve lives and communities, and strengthen civic engagement. Each year, the agency places more than 200,000 AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers in intensive service roles; and empowers millions more to serve as long-term, short-term, or one-time volunteers. Learn more at AmeriCorps.gov.

AmeriCorps offers opportunities for individuals of all backgrounds to be a part of the national service community, grow personally and professionally, and receive benefits for their service. Learn how to get involved at AmeriCorps.gov/serve.

Peace Through Action AmeriCorps Resources

• Peace Through Action AmeriCorps homepage
• Planning Grant Award Announcement
• Planning Grant Information Page
• Planning Grant Information Sheet
• Peace Through Action AmeriCorps Interest Form
• Peace Through Action AmeriCorps Program Information Sheet
• Peace Through Action AmeriCorps Presentation
• Peace Through Action AmeriCorps Service Site Application
• Peace Through Action AmeriCorps Service Site Application Instructions
• Peace Through Action AmeriCorps FAQ for Prospective Service Sites
• Peace Through Action AmeriCorps Service Term and Site Participation Fee Table