FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, April 1, 1999

Peace Corps and AmeriCorps Join Forces in Lansing; Both Peace Corps and AmeriCorps Directors to Participate

East Lansing, Mich., April 1, 1999—Responding to President Clinton\'s recent call to service, AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps will join forces for a community service event in East Lansing and a fair on the Michigan State University campus on Tuesday, April 6. What:Service Event to Plant Trees Press Interviews National Call to Service Recruitment Drive and Volunteer Fair
When:Tuesday, April 6
Time:9:00 A.M.—Service Event, Sleepy Hollow State Park 4-5 P.M.—Press Interviews, Kellogg Center 6:00 P.M.—Volunteer Fair, MSU Union Ballroom
Special Guests:Mark Gearan, Director, Peace Corps Harris Wofford, CEO of Corporation for National Service
Background: Peace Corps: Michigan State University ranks eighth on the national list of top Peace Corps volunteer-producing universities with 62 alumni currently serving as volunteers. Since the Peace Corps was founded in 1961, 1,796 Michigan State University graduates have served as Peace Corps volunteers. In the Peace Corps\' 38 year history, more than 6,249 Michigan residents have joined the Peace Corps. Currently, 203 Michigan residents are serving as Peace Corps volunteers.
AmeriCorps: Four years after the program\'s launch, more than 100,000 AmeriCorps members have served more than 33 million people in 4,000 communities. Together, these Americans help tackle our nation\'s most critical problems, including illiteracy, crime, poverty, and preserving our environment. In February, AmeriCorps launched a "Call to Service," the program\'s biggest recruitment drive to date which seeks to enroll more than 50,000 AmeriCorps members over the next year.

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