City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Program

The City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Program leverages Dubuque Community members to build capacity with local non-profits, government departments and school districts to solve some of Dubuque’s most pressing needs. The Program’s current priorities are our Partners in Learning Project, focusing on Every Child | Reads (previously known as the Dubuque Campaign for Grade-Level Reading) and our Creating Opportunities Project, focusing on building capacity around teen programming.

During the school year, our program supports the Dubuque Community School District by providing 22 Academic Reading AmeriCorps Members to support K-3^rd grade students as they build their literacy skills. Our members support students with improving their literacy, but also with building their self-confidence. These AmeriCorps Members hold a special place in our schools and within the hearts and minds of our students. Additionally, we provide 3 AmeriCorps Members to St Mark Youth Enrichment to support the social-emotional learning  and trauma-informed care support to students in their after-school programs.

Throughout the year, our program supports Hillcrest Family Services – Mentor Dubuque program by providing a Mentor-Mentee Match Support AmeriCorps Member, Mentor Recruitment AmeriCorps Member, and a Teen Education AmeriCorps Member. This program supports youth by connecting them with an adult mentor. The AmeriCorps Members provide support to these “matches” as they develop and grow. The program also support the Multicultural Family Center by providing a Teen Engagement Specialist that focuses on engaging the teenaged population in Dubuque through after-school and summer programs that provides social-emotional learning, civic engagement and a safe and positive spaces.

During the summer, AmeriCorps members serve with different partner organizations to provide academic, social and academic enrichment programs.  Our partner organizations are St. Mark Youth Enrichment, Multicultural Family Center, Leisure Services Recreation, Dubuque Community School District, and the Carnegie-Stout Public Library.

The City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Program has been in the Dubuque community since 2000 and has over 800 alumni.  Together, we have provided well over 480,000 hours of service to children across our community. We have seen the cycle complete itself with some students supported in our early years who have become AmeriCorps members.