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MCC Daily Tribune

SUNY Chancellor King Celebrates New York State Joining the Center for State Service Innovation

SUNY Chancellor King Celebrates New York State Joining the Center for State Service Innovation

New York, Represented by SUNY, and Three Other States were Selected by Service Year Alliance for Inaugural Cohort 

Albany, NY — State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. celebrated New York State’s selection by Service Year Alliance to join the inaugural cohort of the Center for State Service Innovation, an initiative seeking to grow the number of paid service opportunities throughout the United States. Through participation in the program, SUNY as the New York State representative will receive technical support to help guide the program’s expansion and offer more annual service positions.

“The Empire State Service Corps program is providing empowering, real-world opportunities for SUNY students to make a difference in their communities,” SUNY Chancellor King said. “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.”

The SUNY Board of Trustees said, “Governor Kathy Hochul’s historic Empire State Service Corps is in high demand among SUNY students looking to serve their communities in meaningful ways and take on civic engagement opportunities. We are honored to be part of the inaugural cohort of the Center for State Service Innovation, which will provide the tools to expand the Empire State Service Corps, as we seek to empower our students with more opportunities to invest in their communities through service.”

New York State is one of four states chosen to participate in the inaugural cohort of the Center for State Service Innovation, and will be represented by SUNY. 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.

Empire State Service Corps, championed by Governor Hochul, and funded by $2.75 million in the FY25 Enacted State Budget, is New York State’s largest AmeriCorps program. Through the program, students from SUNY campuses commit to dedicating at least 300 hours to engaging 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.

Over 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 3:1 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. Empire State Summer Service Corps members also supported 200 new SNAP application submissions during this year’s summer session.

Empire State Service Corps members work in several areas, including Food Insecurity and SNAP Basic Needs, to support their local communities. Corps members have supported students or individuals through SNAP outreach and other basic needs support, such as working on their on-campus food pantry or in other food insecurity aligned work.

Additional areas Empire State Service Corps members work in include:

  • Civic Engagement/Civil Discourse: Students will serve either on or off campus with organizations such as local nonprofits related to civic engagement and civil discourse, including nonpartisan voter outreach, voter registration and engaging campus peers in voter activity.
  • Early Childhood Education (new in 2025-26): Students will serve at a host site dedicated to early childhood education and/or development (for example, daycare or Head Start centers).
  • FAFSA Completion: Students will serve local communities, in visits to local high schools and through work on-campus, to support students in completing the FAFSA.
  • Food Insecurity/SNAP Basic Needs: Students will serve on or off campus supporting students and others with SNAP outreach as well as basic needs support (which could include shifts at a campus food pantry) or with other food insecurity-aligned work.
  • K-12 Education: Students will partner with local school districts for regular tutoring sessions with students in the community who need more academic support.
  • Peer Mental Health: Students will be trained to serve as a peer mental health educator, typically at a campus/community wellness or counseling center. Students will support peers either on or off campus in supporting strong mental health practices and overall wellness initiatives.
  • Student Success Coaching (new in 2025-26): Students will work with middle and high school students to combat common challenges external to academics like addressing chronic absenteeism, access to socio-emotional learning, mentoring, and mental health support.
  • Sustainability: Students will serve in campus roles and with local nonprofits and State agencies on sustainability work, such as recycling campaigns, tree planting, pollinator gardens, and sustainability outreach.
  • Veterans Affairs Outreach (new in 2025-26): Students will serve at host sites dedicated to supporting active military or veterans' affairs for individuals, families, or affiliated groups.

Last week, Governor Hochul announced $65 million in state funding for emergency food assistance, and deployed Empire State Service Corps members in new, short-term crisis response positions to assist food pantries and food banks facing staffing shortages. The Empire State Service Corps members will be allowed to expand their paid hours, to provide greater support at food pantries both on their campuses and in their communities statewide. 

About The State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.16 billion in fiscal year 2024, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit the SUNY website.

Veronica Chiesi Brown
Community Relations
11/06/2025