AmeriCorps (/əˈmɛrɪkɔːr/ ə-MERR-ih-kor[citation needed]; officially the Corporation for National and Community Service or CNCS) is an independent agency of the United States government that engages more than five million Americans in service through a variety of stipended volunteer work programs in many sectors.

[4] The agency's mission is "to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering".

[7] AmeriCorps delivers several programs designed to help communities address poverty, the environment, education, and other unmet human needs.

VISTA members take the following oath: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."

AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) is a full-time, residential team-based program for men and women ages 18–26.

Members serve at one of four regional campuses located throughout the United States (Vicksburg, Mississippi; Vinton, Iowa; Aurora/Denver, Colorado; and Sacramento, California).

Grants assist these groups in recruiting, training and placing AmeriCorps members to meet critical community needs in education, public safety, health, and the environment.

[11] Full-time members typically complete 1,700 hours of service over 11 months; they also receive a living allowance, health benefits, and child care assistance during their term.

[12] AmeriCorps State and National members take the following pledge:[13] I will get things done for America – to make our people safer, smarter, and healthier.

[14] On September 12, 2014, President Barack Obama launched the Employers of National Service initiative at the 20th Anniversary of AmeriCorps event on the South Lawn of the White House.

1990: President George H. W. Bush signs the National and Community Service Act of 1990 into law, ushering in a renewed federal focus on encouraging volunteering in the U.S.

Those who completed the community service program received a $4,725 stipend to go towards higher education or student loan debt.

Targeted communities at a local level to strengthen them back together and aim to lower crime rates.

AmeriCorps provided fiscal resources and personnel to support the start-up of national programs, including Public Allies and Teach For America.

[26][27] Additionally, according to a 2007 study released by AmeriCorps, a majority of AmeriCorps State and National, VISTA, and NCCC alumni within the study period claimed they had gained life and job skills, such as leadership, teamwork, time-management, and hands-on experience in a field of interest.

[28] AmeriCorps programs have been criticized as being exploitive of their volunteers, being "voluntourism",[29] and serving to privatize or de-professionalize public services.

[30] In 2018, a A CBS News Radio did an investigation into years of complaints about AmeriCorps programs which found multiple allegations of sexual harassment, abusive behavior and mismanagement since 2013.