Savannah lands volunteer grant

Money may be used for education, health, development
Posted: January 19, 2010 - 12:16am
By Savannah Morning News

The city of Savannah is one of the first 10 cities in the nation to win a grant intended to kick-start volunteer efforts.
Savannah competed with 50 other cities for one of the two-year, $200,000 grants, which can be used to create a city program to increase volunteers and direct them to programs of greatest need.

The announcement was made on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national day of service, by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, founding members of the Cities of Service Coalition, a bipartisan organization of mayors.

The Savannah application laid out a plan to increase volunteers in the areas of education, neighborhood development, cultural education and public health.
Savannah was the smallest of the 10 cities to receive a grant. The other nine were Chicago; Detroit; Los Angeles; Sacramento, Calif.; Nashville; Newark, N.J.; Omaha, Neb.; Philadelphia; and Seattle, Wash.

Mayor Otis Johnson could not be reached for comment Monday, and other city officials did not have details on the award.

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