Patrick eager to get newly created volunteer corps off the ground

Governor Deval Patrick got some pointers yesterday on sorting donated food from Catherine D'Amato (right), president and CEO of the Greater Boston Food Bank. (Dina Rudick/Globe Staff)

Governor Deval Patrick signed ambitious legislation yesterday creating the Commonwealth Corps, a program encouraging state residents to volunteer for a year as tutors, assistants to the elderly, park cleaners, and other jobs in their communities.

Patrick wants to sign up 250 part-time and full-time volunteers in the first year of the program, expected to start in early 2008, with a target of 1,000 volunteers by 2012. Volunteers would work with nonprofit, civic initiatives, or public entities providing direct services to people or communities in need.

"The sky's the limit," said Patrick as he placed cans of tomato paste, packets of pasta, and other donated food into cardboard boxes at the Greater Boston Food Bank, where moments earlier he had signed legislation creating the corps, an initiative he promised during his campaign.

The program is expected to cost $3 million next year. Volunteers will receive stipends for travel expenses and other costs related to their jobs, and will get child care and healthcare benefits.

The legislation also created a Commonwealth Student Corps, a pilot program for students who are at least 18 to participate in volunteerism linked to their area of study.

"We've been working to engage people more actively in their civic life through the campaign and since I've been in office, and we take a big step forward today with the Commonwealth Corps," Patrick said.

The Reverend William E. Dickerson, pastor of the Greater Love Tabernacle in Dorchester, also volunteered on the assembly line at the food bank. He called the corps program "something that is near and dear to what we do as a church, and I will be encouraging our members to participate."

Politicians have pushed volunteerism for years. The first President Bush introduced his "thousand points of light" concept at the 1988 Republican National Convention. According to the Points of Light & Hands On Network, Bush recognized 1,020 individuals and organizations as a Daily Point of Light for their volunteer service between 1989 and 1993.

In holding the signing at the food bank, Patrick had one of the largest examples of volunteerism in the state as a backdrop. Catherine D'Amato, the food bank's president and CEO, said more than 16,000 people gave their time last year sorting millions of pounds of food in Eastern Massachusetts.

"The emergency food system in Massachusetts would not be able to run without volunteers," she said.

Patrick is expected to appoint up to 11 people in the next few weeks to the Commonwealth Corps Commission, which will oversee the corps and its members. The appointees will not be paid. The Massachusetts Campus Compact, an organization of college and university presidents in the state, will be contracted to administer the commission, monitoring corps members and the commission and setting policies and procedures.

John Pearson, president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay, said in a telephone interview that his organization would probably utilize some corps volunteers. "We're very pleased that the governor has created this," he said. "We have kids that have been waiting too long to get a big brother or a big sister."