ALBANY, N.Y. — Service Year Alliance has selected New York to join the inaugural group of the Center for State Service Innovation, an effort seeking to grow the number of paid-service opportunities throughout the U.S.
SUNY is representing New York State and will receive technical support to help guide the program’s expansion and offer more annual service positions, per the SUNY announcement.
Besides New York, other states selected by Service Year Alliance include California, Colorado, and Kentucky. The Center for State Service Innovation will provide technical support and guidance to New York State and SUNY, including policy-advisory services, capacity-building resources, and cross-sector collaboration and convenings, to assist with expanding the Empire State Service Corps.
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“The Empire State Service Corps program is providing empowering, real-world opportunities for SUNY students to make a difference in their communities,” SUNY Chancellor John King, Jr. said in the announcement. “SUNY’s selection by the Center for State Service Innovation is a strong endorsement of our efforts to implement Governor Kathy Hochul’s plan to increase opportunities for students to undertake civic engagement projects. We will continue to work with Governor Hochul, the State Legislature, and the Center for State Service Innovation to meet the growing demand for service opportunities in New York State, so our students can continue to enrich their communities and gain important career skills.”
Empire State Service Corps is New York State’s largest AmeriCorps program and is funded by $2.75 million in the enacted fiscal year 2025 state budget, SUNY noted.
Through the program, students from SUNY campuses commit to dedicating at least 300 hours of involvement in paid community service, while also convening regularly to share and learn from each other’s experiences. As a recognized AmeriCorps program, participating students who complete 300 service hours are also eligible to receive an AmeriCorps Segal Education Award of up to $1,500 for their service.
More than 500 students from 45 SUNY campuses participated in the program this year, and the number of applicants “far exceeded” the number of available positions, with applications outpacing the number of campus spots at more than 3-to-1 over the last two years. The first cohort of Empire State Service Corps and Empire State Summer Service Corps members logged a combined 102,343 service hours during the 2024-25 program, serving 74,638 New Yorkers.
