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About us > Our role in the community > Washington Conservation Corps > About the WCC

About the WCC

Our mission statement

To conserve and enhance the natural resources of Washington while providing meaningful service opportunities to young adults and military veterans.

Our important milestones

  • 1980s: Created in 1983, our WCC program is modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s and '40s.
  • 1990s: We have been an AmeriCorps program since 1994. AmeriCorps funding enables us to offer the Eli Segal Education Award (scholarships) to our members and diversify their service experience.
  • 2000-2010: We expanded from 75 to 150 member positions by mid-decade. We grew to 200 positions in 2010, through economic stimulus programs, as youth unemployment approached historic highs.
  • 2011: The Washington Legislature folded all existing WCC activities that had been housed in three other state agencies into our program. In addition, Puget SoundCorps provided funding for veteran-specific opportunities and waived the 18-25 age limit* for Gulf War Era II military veterans to serve in the WCC. Puget SoundCorps funding greatly expanded our partnership with the Washington Department of Natural Resources. We grew to 350 member positions within the year to complete priority Puget SoundCorps projects.
  • 2014: As some short-term projects were completed, we contracted to our current size.
  • Today: We have 53 crews and 14 Individual Placements completing projects in nearly every part of the state.
*Age restrictions are based on legislative mandate, limited exceptions may be made for Gulf War era II veterans, reservists, and dependents. In addition, leadership (non-member) positions, and participants with a sensory or mental disability are not subject to this age restriction.

What is AmeriCorps?

Approximately 15 percent of our funding is provided through an AmeriCorps grant (Grant number #16ESHWA0010001). This grant funding helps support the living allowance, benefits, and AmeriCorps scholarships for 285 of our members. In addition, we receive 30 AmeriCorps scholarships through the Corps Network, a National Direct AmeriCorps program.

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is the federal agency that houses AmeriCorps. Working with local partners, CNCS programs tackle some of the most pressing challenges facing the nation. AmeriCorps engages more than 80,000 Americans in service each year at 21,600 sites across the country. In addition to grant funding, AmeriCorps support has resulted in $138.6 million in AmeriCorps scholarships in Washington since 1994. See a list of AmeriCorps programs in Washington.

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