"It's been a hard year," Rosie Mauk said. While those listening to her speech Tuesday night laughed at her understatement, Mauk wasn't kidding. Co-sponsored by the Women and Politics Institute and the Kennedy Political Union, Mauk spoke to AU students and faculty about the importance of volunteerism.
As the director of AmeriCorps, a federally funded program that provides volunteers for non-profit organizations, public agencies and faith-based organizations all over the country, Mauk has been at the program's helm during a financial storm.
In the last two fiscal years, AmeriCorps had several thousand more volunteers than its trust could pay for, according to figures from a congressional Appropriations Committee report. This oversight led to the possibility of the program losing funding at the hands of Congress earlier this year.
However, Mauk said AmeriCorps' financial future appears to be safe.
"We are very confident that our financial problems are resolved," she said. "The Inspector General has approved our new enrollment methods and their application."
With past problems corrected, Mauk said she hopes to see an increase in AmeriCorps membership from the current 50,000 members to 75,000 next year - if President Bush's budget proposal is passed, which would provide AmeriCorps with the funds it needs to operate.
"There was such a surge in the people interested in serving, especially after 9-11 and the president's call to service in the State of the Union," Mauk said.
The program's volunteers help others in the community to serve, Mauk said.
Since starting at a grassroots level in community building and organization in Texas, Mauk has been an advocate for volunteerism.
"Something has to hold our society together," Mauk said. "I boldly believe it's national service. A life without service is a life without significance"
