Will Fischer, who leads AFL-CIO Community Services, sends us this update welcoming the new class of AFL-CIO Community Services Liaisons:

AFL-CIO Community Services is halfway through wrapping up its annual new staff training. New AFL-CIO Community Services Liaisons and community services representatives from around the country came to Washington, D.C., to receive training that provides them with skills necessary to be more effective in their jobs.

Staff are familiarized with the national AFL-CIO Community Services Network and how Community Services connects to other grassroots work of the AFL-CIO. 

The Letter Carriers (NALC) will be holding its 21st annual “Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive on May 11. The food drive is the largest annual food collection day in the United States. In 2012, the drive collected more than 70 million pounds of food and it has collected nearly 1.2 billion pounds of food since it began in 1993.

Georgia Power, one of the largest utilities companies in the South, took out a full-page ad in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution honoring the contribution of Electrical Workers (IBEW) who jumped into action and helped out during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  The rare instance of a corporation lauding union members in a major press outlet was a reaction to a resolution honoring the members of IBEW Local 84 that the state legislature passed at the request of the Georgia AFL-CIO.

Pierce County [Wash.] Central Labor Council Secretary-Treasurer Patty Rose was given the Joseph A. Beirne Community Services Award by the United Way of Pierce County, the highest honor the organization can bestow upon a labor leader. The award is given annually to the labor leader who best exemplifies a commitment to community service.

What youngster hasn’t had a thought or two about being a firefighter? And in a world where role models are sometimes hard to find, what kid doesn’t look up to the men and women who put their lives on the line, almost every day?

Recently in Erie, Pa., members of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 293 and Engine 8, 4th Platoon of the Erie Fire Department, hosted an open house for several dozen grade school students.

Here is a great story about unions giving back and making a big difference in their community from David Groves, editor for the Washington State Labor Council’s (WSLC‘s) news site The Stand. Groves reports on the Central Washington Building and Construction Trades Council’s (CWBCTC's) volunteer efforts that provided 100% of the labor to build a 14,000-square-foot warehouse for Second Harvest, a network of 250 neighborhood food banks and meal centers throughout eastern Washington and north Idaho.

In case you missed it, "A Wider World," a PBS TV show, is replaying a segment highlighting the work of union volunteers and the United Way for Southeastern Michigan on the Ray West Memorial Ramp Project. 

Check out the video above, and check your local PBS listings for times the segment will air in your area. 

"A Wider World" focuses on inspirational tales, stigma busting, cutting-edge treatment options and assisting technology, veterans issues, sports and other stories that celebrate the resilience of the human spirit and the abilities of all.

On the heels of its successful “Boots on the Ground” outdoors rehabilitation initiative for hunting and fishing areas, the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) has launched a new “Adopt-A-Park” program to help renew, rebuild and restore the nation’s state parks.

At a time when income inequality is rising and the middle class is shrinking, Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 569 and the San Diego County Building and Construction Trades Council are doing their part to help working families not only survive, but thrive in the face of significant economic obstacles. The Southern California-based unions operate the National City Park Apartments, which support low- to moderate-income families by providing affordable housing in a nice, but expensive, neighborhood.

Aug. 28 marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. To commemorate the historic 1963 march, the AFL-CIO, in partnership with Union Plus, announced today a new Dreams of Jobs and Freedom Scholarship program.    

The scholarships will provide $5,000 each to at least 50 talented high school seniors—including those from union families—to help pay for the costs of higher education.