The Corporation for National Service (you know, those AmeriCorps folk), have published their annual 2021 National Service Year in Review report for each state. What you are looking at above is the visual highlight on the first page of Alaska's state report. 

There were a few things that jumped out at me: initially, service is up around the state from the 2020 report by almost 27% - from 338 members to 429. This is, of course, still below the service participation rate from the full year prior to the pandemic, 2018-2019; nevertheless, a healthy service increase is still a healthy service increase, and I will take the wins wherever and whenever they present themselves. To sweeten that statistic, the 2021 $6.1 million total investment number is slightly less than in 2020 ($6.2 million). We like that taxpayer dollar maximization!

The second fact that surprised me: of the 9 AmeriCorps VISTA programs running in Alaska, the City of Fairbanks program is one of the two largest, alongside Anchorage's Rural CAP program. We have more service sites here in the interior - we flat out have a lot of ground to cover! As someone who had my eye on this program for a while, it fills me with service joy to see so much community good emanating from the Golden Heart City. 

​Mike Sanders is the Crisis Now Coordinator for the City of Fairbanks and has overseen the local AmeriCorps VISTA program since January 2019. Mike is a certified Project Management Professional with a PhD in Public Policy Administration. Mike is married and the father of two sons.