Applications Open: Harris Wofford Joint Service Award – June 30

Posted by AmeriCorps on April 6, 2021

AmeriCorps has announced the Harris Wofford Joint Service Award, a new award for individuals who have served in both Peace Corps and AmeriCorps. Honoring the legacy of the late Senator Harris Wofford, who helped establish both the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps, the award will recognize more than 10,000 individuals who have already chosen to serve their country at home and abroad through both programs, as well as the thousands more who make that same commitment in the future.

The Harris Wofford Joint Service Award will be available to individuals who have successfully completed both a full year of service in AmeriCorps, as well as service in Peace Corps or Peace Corps Response. A complete list of criteria, along with a link to the application, can be found here.

A key player in the formation of both the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps, Wofford served as the Special Representative to Africa, Director of Operations in Ethiopia, and later, as a Peace Corps Associate Director. As a Senator from Pennsylvania, Wofford helped pass the 1993 National and Community Service Trust Act which created AmeriCorps and the Corporation for National and Community Service, where he later served as agency CEO for five years. Working with the late Rep. John Lewis, he also helped pass legislation to make the Martin Luther King federal holiday a national day of service.

After seven decades of public service – in the Army Air Corps during World War II, and as a civil rights advocate, U.S. Senator, college president – Harris Wofford was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal in 2013.

To be considered for this year’s award, you must apply by June 30.