On July 21, 2014, as part of his My Brother’s Keeper initiative, President Obama announced new AmeriCorps partnerships with federal agencies and the private sector to connect young people to mentoring, support networks, and job skills to help them reach their full potential. The announcement represents a total of $24 million in investments in national service.

The U.S. Departments of Justice and Agriculture (USDA) are joining with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to launch new AmeriCorps programs and partnerships that total up to $14 million over 3 years. Private-sector commitments from AT&T and Citi Foundation will support additional AmeriCorps service opportunities that provide young people with skills and supports to successfully enter the workforce.

OJJDP and CNCS are jointly funding Youth Opportunity AmeriCorps. The program, which totals up to $10 million over 3 years, will enroll disconnected youth in national service programs as AmeriCorps members. It includes a mentorship component that will provide critical mentoring support to the AmeriCorps members.

USDA and CNCS have joined in a new partnership between the USDA’s Forest Service and AmeriCorps that connects youth and veterans with service opportunities to restore the nation’s forests and grasslands. The $3.8 million in joint funding will provide resources for both AmeriCorps grantees and member organizations of the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps, and will also provide for 300 new AmeriCorps members serving in U.S. forests and grasslands.

The commitments announced by the President support the My Brother’s Keeper initiative by increasing entry-level job, mentorship, and apprenticeship options for all young people, including boys and young men of color. They also advance the goals of the President’s Task Force on Expanding National Service, which calls for new public-private partnerships that use national service to help solve our nation’s most pressing challenges.

In addition to new federal partnerships, the White House announced additional AmeriCorps commitments from the private sector to support the goals of My Brother’s Keeper. AT&T is launching the Aspire Mentoring Academy Corps, powered by AmeriCorps, AT&T, and MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership. The program will engage AmeriCorps members in regions around the country and involve thousands of youth from underserved communities in mentoring activities.

Citi Foundation is making a 3-year, $10 million commitment to create ServiceWorks, a national program powered by AmeriCorps and Points of Light that uses volunteer service to help 25,000 young people in 10 cities across the United States develop the skills they need to prepare for college and careers.

The program, which will deploy 225 AmeriCorps VISTA members over 3 years, will engage youth ages 16-24 in service and build a large-scale volunteer response to the crisis of low college and career attainment. The young people will receive training in leadership and workplace skills, the chance to build networks and connections to their communities, and the opportunity to use their new skills by participating in and leading volunteer service projects.

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More information about the President’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative is available at the White House Web site.