AmeriCorps Seniors is a United States government program run by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The program engages volunteers aged 55 and older to serve their communities. There are over 200,000 volunteers nationwide.[1]
AmeriCorps Seniors is made up of seven constituent programs—State and National, VISTA, NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps), Foster Grandparents, Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), Senior Companions and Volunteer in Community—which were brought together under one umbrella when the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) was formed by then-president Bill Clinton in 1993. At that time, the three programs were collectively called Senior Corps.[2] On September 29, 2020, CNCS announced the agency was rebranding itself as AmeriCorps, and Senior Corps was being rebranded as AmeriCorps Seniors.[3]
Three of the programs have unique histories, and each was developed to meet a specific need. The Foster Grandparent Program was piloted on August 28, 1965, to entice low income people over 60 in community service. The Senior Companion Program began as part of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare and Administration on Aging in 1968, and before being legislated and signed into law under President Richard Nixon. The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) began as an outgrowth by private groups and government agencies to create opportunities of engagement, activity, and growth for older Americans following the work of the Community Service Society of New York on Staten Island beginning in 1965; the Society's success led the Older Americans Act being amended to create RSVP as a nationwide program in 1969.
