Red Paper Heart

Corps are comprehensive youth development programs that provide their participants with job training, academic programming, leadership skills, and additional support through a strategy of service that improves communities and the environment. They are a direct descendant of the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps, which mobilized about three million young men who dramatically improved the nation’s public lands while receiving food, shelter, education, and a precious $30-a-month stipend. Our Mission: The Corps Network provides critical leadership to the Corps movement and to our nation’s Service and Conservation Corps as they harness the power of youth and young adults to tackle some of America’s greatest challenges and transform their own lives. The Corps Network’s 100+ members operate in all states and the District of Columbia. Each year they collectively enroll approximately 23,000 Corpsmembers from ages 16-25. Corps provide a wealth of conservation, infrastructure improvement, and human service projects identified by communities as important. More specifically, some Corps improve and preserve our public lands and national parks. Others provide critical energy conservation services, including weatherization. Some Corps restore natural habitats and create urban parks and gardens. Still others provide disaster preparation and recovery to under-resourced communities. Corps also raise the quality of life in low-income communities by renovating deteriorating housing and providing support to in-school and after school education programs.