NEW ORLEANS – As part of the annual Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service, Mayor Mitch Landrieu highlighted the value of national service and the positive impact of local AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members in the New Orleans community yesterday.
Mayor Landrieu specifically recognized three national service participants for their dedication and sacrifice as members of local AmeriCorps and Senior Corps programs. Each recipient was presented with the third-annual Joseph Massenburg Memorial Award for Excellence in National Service. The award is for participants of AmeriCorps, AmeriCorps VISTA and Senior Corps who demonstrate an exemplary commitment to service in the New Orleans community. The memorial award is in honor of Joseph Massenburg, the 18-year old AmeriCorps NCCC member who was slain while serving in New Orleans in 2013.
“Today, we recognize three distinguished people in his honor and the thousands of other AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members who have volunteered their time and energy to help make New Orleans stronger, safer and healthier," said Mayor Landrieu. "Together, they have all shown the world what is possible through service."
Joseph Massenburg Memorial Award for Excellence in National Service recipients:
•Mara Abramson is an AmeriCorps member serving with the Promise of Justice Initiative where she works as the Client Welfare Coordinator and operates the initiative’s Client and Family Assistance Program. She works closely with prisoners and their families to create and maintain meaningful family relationships, and provide prisoners with basic hygiene materials, educational materials and medical needs. Mara also spends her evenings and weekends coordinating and executing trips for many New Orleans-based families to the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola to visit their loved ones.
• Bobbie Bridges has been serving as a Senior Corps member with Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans for 11 years. Currently, she is a volunteer at Kingsley House Head Start where she works with young children to assist with developmental activities, language development, social and emotional issues, and Kindergarten readiness. Bobbie also serves on the Foster Grandparent Program Advisory Council and is the president of the Foster Grandparent Club.
• Peter Davis is an AmeriCorps Vista member serving with Jericho Episcopal Housing Initiative as the Program Development Coordinator. Peter also contributes to projects focused on environmental justice, affordable housing, blight and food justice.
Mayor Landrieu is among more than 3,500 mayors and local leaders across the country participating in this bipartisan day of recognition, an initiative led by the National League of Cities, National Association of Counties, Cities of Service and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).
“I am proud to be working with New Orleans as we continue to strengthen communities through national service,” said Wendy Spencer, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. “Mayors are leaders who get things done. They know first-hand the value of national service in tackling local problems. I commend Mayor Landrieu for working with us to improve lives and strengthen communities through national service.”
CNCS is a federal agency that engages millions of Americans in service through AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, the Social Innovation Fund, and the Volunteer Generation Fund, and leads the President’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. There are currently more than 1,200 AmeriCorps members serving in New Orleans.
