GRAFTON – TerraCorps, an environmental nonprofit that runs an AmeriCorps national service program, has received multi-year grant funding from a private foundation to increase the stipend its service members receive by 44% beginning in August.
The anonymous foundation hopes that the conservation career pathway established by the organization will become more accessible to a diversity of people who are underrepresented in the environmental workforce.
“The TerraCorps service model has proven to be an effective pathway for the next generation of leaders to launch environmental careers,” said TerraCorps President and CEO David Graham Wolf.
According to Wolf, over 80 organizations have hired alumni, and 75% of the alumni are working in a career related to their service through TerraCorps.
“This funding will make TerraCorps opportunities more accessible to some people who otherwise might not be able to make the economics of national service work,” he said.
TerraCorps partners with a network of 40-plus nonprofits throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Community Harvest Project has been selected as a TerraCorps service site for the 2023-24 service year, which runs from Aug. 28, 2023, through July 26, 2024.
Service members are paired with a site supervisor who provides guidance and mentorship while they learn to manage community programs and projects over an 11-month, 1,700-hour service term.
Members serving at Community Harvest Project will focus on community engagement and sustainable agriculture. CHP’s community engagement coordinator and the sustainable agriculture coordinator will support CHP’s mission to educate and engage volunteers to grow fresh fruits and vegetables for hunger relief in eastern and central Massachusetts.
TerraCorps members receive a $26,667 stipend (pre-tax), health-care coverage and may qualify for child care assistance, federal student loan forbearance, and a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award for satisfactory completion.
TerraCorps is currently accepting service member applications. If you are interested in learning more about TerraCorps, visit terracorps.org/available-member-positions.
For additional information about opportunities to serve with the Community Harvest Project, please contact Wayne McAuliffe at [email protected] or 774-551-6544.
