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Hands on Clarksville Awarded National September 11th Day of Service Grant to continue Serve to Remember Program

Success of first-year effort receives National Recognition

Hands On ClarksvilleClarksville, TN – The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) announced today that Hands On Nashville’s Hands On Clarksville program has been awarded a $25,000 September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance 10th Anniversary Challenge grant. With these funds, Hands On Clarksville’s 9/11 program, called Serve to Remember, will be supported through 2014.

Hands On Clarksville’s service effort was selected because it connected 890 volunteers with diverse community-enhancing projects between September 1st and 11th, 2011. That’s 48 percent more volunteers than organizers initially anticipated.

Serve to Remember volunteers completed dozens of projects. From cleaning up Ajax Turner Senior Center, Mt. Olive Historic Cemetery and Loaves Fishes Soup Kitchen to hosting Hometown Hero drives that collected items to send to service man and women, Clarksville united through volunteerism.

Watch Hands On Clarksville video summary of Serve to Remember here.

“We are so honored to bring this prestigious national recognition to Clarksville, “said Hands On Clarksville Program Manager Rita Arancibia. “Serve to Remember not only engaged volunteers in meaningful activities, it provided an opportunity for our community to salute its hometown heroes and show appreciation for troops deployed from Fort Campbell.”

Rita Arancibia from Hands on Clarksville
Rita Arancibia from Hands on Clarksville

“Hands On Nashville is proud of the accomplishments made by Hands On Clarksville and its volunteers,” said Hands On Nashville Executive Director Brian Williams. “We are inspired by Clarksville-Montgomery County residents’ actions, which preserved the memory of 9/11 victims and the heroes who responded to the attacks that changed our country.”

Beginning in 2002, family members who lost loved ones in the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks and support groups began to seek a forward-looking tribute to honor the sacrifice of those lost and pay tribute to those who rose in service in response to the tragedy. By encouraging Americans to participate in service and remembrance activities on the 9/11 anniversary, family members wanted to provide a productive and respectful way to honor those who perished and rekindle the spirit of unity and compassion that swept our nation after 9/11 to help meet the challenges we face today.

“I congratulate Hands On Nashville and Hands On Clarksville for their commitment to community service and their dedication that led to this award,” said Robert Velasco, II, Acting CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. “They set a great example for their community, proving that the drive of a few can make a big difference for many.”

The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act established September 11th as a National Day of Service and Remembrance and authorized CNCS with supporting service and remembrance activities to honor this day. To promote broad participation in the day of service, CNCS launched the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance 10th Anniversary Challenge. Through this initiative, organizations were challenged to bring Americans together in service projects on and around September 11th.

Nearly 140 organizations participated in the Challenge, competing for grants that can be used over three years to implement future September 11th projects on a larger scale to benefit their communities. Engaging more than 150,000 total volunteers, grants were awarded to the organizations that were determined to have the largest numbers of volunteers in each of their
respective categories.

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About The Corporation for National and Community Service

Corporation for National and Community ServiceThe Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs, and leads President Obama’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit www.NationalService.gov.

About Hands On Clarksville

Hands On ClarksvilleHands On Clarksville is a program of Hands On Nashville that enables nonprofit organizations, government agencies and others to post their service needs and seek volunteers in Clarksville-Montgomery County.

To learn more, visit  www.handsonclarksville.org.

About Hands On Nashville

Hands on Nashville LogoCelebrating its 20th year as Middle Tennessee’s volunteer resource center, Hands On Nashville connects volunteers to critical community needs. In 2010, HON connected nearly 200,000 volunteers to service, making it the largest mobilizer of volunteers among all HandsOn Network affiliates worldwide. Facilitating volunteer work for 400-plus Middle Tennessee nonprofits, schools and government agencies, HON supports 25 critical community needs ranging from hunger and homelessness to at-risk youth and animal welfare. HON challenges everyone to find a way to give back and to … Be the Change. Volunteer.

To find out how, check out www.hon.org or call 615.298.1108.

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