FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ranit Schmelzer, ranit@schmelzerstrategies.com
Washington, DC (April 24, 2025) – Voices for National Service announced today that it will honor 10 distinguished Congressional leaders at the 22nd Annual Friends of National Service Awards on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 in Washington, DC.
The Friends of National Service Awards recognizes leaders who have elevated AmeriCorps and service as a solution to some of the nation’s most pressing problems. Every year, the widely attended event has a powerful bipartisan tone and demonstrates that national service has the power to bring people together.
“Our 2025 honorees are outstanding leaders in Congress who recognize the essential role AmeriCorps plays as a powerful strategy for addressing local challenges, preparing young adults for the workforce, and bringing communities together across the nation,” said AnnMaura Connolly, President of Voices for National Service. “Each award winner has helped to ensure robust support for AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors, raised public awareness of national service, and elevated it as a national priority. We’re tremendously grateful for their continued efforts to ensure that AmeriCorps will be a vital resource for America for decades to come.”
The 2025 Awards and Honorees
- Edward M. Kennedy National Service Lifetime Leadership Award, for life-long dedication to citizen service and for outstanding leadership in advancing national service as a civic commitment and legislative priority: Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- Voices for National Service Hall of Fame, for extraordinary commitment to national service: Senator John Cornyn (R-TX)
- John S. McCain Service to Country Award, for life-long devotion to country through citizen and public service and for exceptional leadership in advancing national service to solve community problems: Representative Jack Bergman (R-MI)
- John Lewis Bridge to Service Award, for unwavering commitment to expanding opportunities for Americans to serve and volunteer in their community: Representative John Larson (D-CT)
- Franklin D. Roosevelt Service & Conservation Corps Leadership Award, for championing the important role of Service and Conservation Corps in modern day America, reflective of the legendary ideals and work accomplished by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Depression-Era Civilian Conservation Corps: Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
- National Service Champion Award, for steadfast leadership in promoting the expansion of opportunities for citizens to serve, and unwavering support for building a stronger future for national service: Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA)
- Distinguished Service Award, for prioritizing national service funding and legislation to expand high-quality opportunities for citizens to serve their communities and our country: Representative Jahana Hayes (D-CT)
- Congressional Service Award, for remarkable commitment to national service as a strategy to solve local and national challenges: Representative Lucy McBath (D-GA)
- Outstanding New Member Award, for first-term members of Congress who have worked to elevate national service as a legislative priority: Representative Gabe Amo (D-RI)
- AmeriCorps Alumni Legacy Award, for AmeriCorps alumni who advance AmeriCorps through public service at the national, state, or local level: Representative Kevin Kiley (R-CA)
Event Details
WHAT: 22nd Annual Friends of National Service Awards
WHEN: Wednesday, April 30 from 6:30 – 8:30 PM
WHERE: Hilton Washington, DC Capitol Hill, 525 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC
RSVP: Media interested in attending must RSVP to ranit@schmelzerstrategies.com
Videos highlighting the awardees’ support for AmeriCorps programming across the country will be available here following the event. You are welcome to embed these videos in any coverage.
For more than three decades, AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors have responded to our country’s most immediate and critical needs. They are the “people power” that local nonprofit, faith-based and community organizations rely on to deliver services and make a difference in local communities. While helping others, AmeriCorps members develop in-demand job skills, preparing a cohort of Americans to succeed in the workforce, and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers experience a decrease in isolation and loneliness. From natural disaster response to providing services for veterans, AmeriCorps grants and service members power organizations like the American Red Cross, Boys and Girls Clubs, and Habitat for Humanity.
AmeriCorps has demonstrated exceptional efficiency, strong private-sector collaboration, and high-impact results. With strong bipartisan support in Congress and a governance model rooted in state and local decision making, balance and accountability, AmeriCorps delivers measurable results while providing critical services to veterans, disaster victims and communities across the nation.
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Voices for National Service empowers citizens to solve pressing community problems with unique local solutions by elevating AmeriCorps. Founded in 2003, Voices for National Service has built strong bipartisan support for national service programs, which generate $17 in benefits to the United States for every tax dollar invested. AmeriCorps annually enables 200,000 Americans to serve their country and community in public-private partnerships with local nonprofit, faith-based, and community organizations.