In 2012, the New Mexico Commission on Community Volunteerism (NMCCV) will create its 3-year State Service Plan, as required by the Edward Kennedy Serve America Act. The Plan will be developed through an open and public process that provides for maximum participation and input from diverse stakeholders.

The overall goal is to effectively coordinate federal, state and local resources to increase volunteerism in New Mexico’s communities. The State Plan will guide how state and federal resources are allocated to support volunteerism in New Mexico in the years 2013-2015.

To create a plan that is meaningful to communities and meets their needs, we first need good information from a variety of stakeholders across the state. This includes the business sector, nonprofit organizations, community groups, and public agencies interested in, or currently using, volunteerism as a strategy to meet critical community needs. NMCCV would like to hear from you, from each of the communities, and learn about assets, priorities, needs and barriers. The information you provide will help us develop a good plan, guiding how volunteerism dollars will be invested in New Mexico’s communities.

Data for developing the State Plan will be gathered in two ways:

• through a statewide, online-only survey (coming soon)
• through a series of eight community meetings in May and June, with a focus on rural New Mexico (Meeting Schedule). Currently, meeting locations include: Farmington, Española, T or C, Las Cruces, Roswell, Hobbs, Santa Rosa, and Springer. All surrounding communities are invited to participate and be part of the plan.

For more information, or to be put on the email list for community meetings and plan updates, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Romain Serna with Patthy Zamora, Employee Volunteer Coordinator representing Sandia National Laboratories who received the Corporate Volunteer Award.

Romain Serna with Patthy Zamora, Employee Volunteer Coordinator representing Sandia National Laboratories who received the Corporate Volunteer Award.

The 14th Annual” Spotlight on Volunteers Conference” was well attended. Over 300 individuals celebrated the recognition of New Mexicans recognized for their contributions. Sandia National Laboratories received the Corporate Volunteer Award. Workshops were full and two AMERICORPS members presented slide shows depicting their service to New Mexico. Eight recently appointed Commissioners attended the event. Nicole Brady, was the MC. The awards went to:

• Lifetime Achievement: Nancy Ann Bell
• Volunteer Award: Frank Chacon
• Volunteer Award: Roy Cotinola
• Volunteer Award: Albert DeLanoy
• Volunteer Award: L. Dick Tatro
• Volunteer Award: Leonard Witter
• Corporate Volunteer Program Award: Sandia National Laboratories
• Youth Service Award: Kayla Suazo

Read more: Spotlight Awards

We’d love to get applications from your alumni communities for this year’s Eli Segal Award – here’s some news:

• AmeriCorps Alums, the national network for over 700,000 alumni of National Service, has released their prestigious Eli Segal Entrepreneurship Award to honor alumni whose work, after completing his or her service in AmeriCorps, demonstrates entrepreneurial vision and leadership to make this a better world.

  Nominate a friend or yourself for this celebrated award before Feb 29th: http://bit.ly/wFmN06

Read more: Resources from AmeriCorps Alums

The Wellness Coalition organized, planed and implemented a MLK Day service project and a community discussion around the film "The Children's March"

Service Project: Called "Smart Choices". Youth Volunteer Corps participants organized a healthy food project that helped educate youth and community members about healthy alternatives to drinking soda pop. We held a taste testing contest to select the official drink for YVC in 2012. We juiced several different types of fruits and vegetables and held a blind taste test were participants could rate and select their favorer drink. The Carrot Apple blend won hands down and was adopted as the Official YVC 2012 Drink. We will try to serve the drink during our programming during out of school time and our large Summer Block program. We will strive to offer healthy alternatives to typical youth program snacks like cookies and sweets. Letting the youth choose their favorite healthy alternatives helps with buy-in and acceptance. We had 16 youth and community members in attendance.

Read more: The Wellness Coalition "The Children's March" Event

The Commission hosted the “AmeriCorps Salutes Veterans” on February 12, 2012 at the American Legion Post 49. Over 200 Veterans and their families attended the Valentine Luncheon and learned about the importance of National Service in New Mexico. The Delta Company Fourth Reconnaissance Battalion Marie Corps opened the event with the Color Guard presentation. U.S. Marine Corps Major Christopher Lucas welcomed the participants and spoke on the importance of engaging Veterans in National Service. The Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce provided outreach materials on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. Paul Caputo, with the Marine Corps, recruited former Marines to volunteer. Judge Alisia Hadfield shared community resources for Veterans and their families. Guest were served a delicious spaghetti dinner by the AmeriCorps Members from the Rio Grande Community Farm and the American Red Cross. Veterans and their sweethearts danced to the lively music played by the all Veteran band, Driftin’ Country. AmeriCorps celebrated the service of Veterans and shared the on-going collaboration of Military Service and National Service.

Read more: AmeriCorps Salutes Veterans