Jim Snell, Volunteer Tennessee Executive Director

Volunteer Tennessee Executive Director, Jim Snell, has been serving the communities of Tennessee in official capacity for more than 20 years. After serving as an AmeriCorps member in Tennessee’s inaugural class in 1994, Jim went on to lead an AmeriCorps program in Nashville. A couple years later, he took a position as staff with Volunteer Tennessee, the state agency with the mission of encouraging volunteerism and service. In this role, he provided training and oversight for AmeriCorps programs throughout the state, including the Appalachia CARES program, hosted by Clinch-Powell since 1996.

Now in his twelfth year as Executive Director, Jim and his department manage 19 AmeriCorps programs, which place approximately 900 members in service positions across the state with the help of funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service. Team Tennessee AmeriCorps members are repairing and weatherizing homes, teaching and mentoring youth, increasing food security, maintaining public lands, engaging volunteers in service opportunities, and providing many more programs to underserved populations throughout the state.

Jim explains that “[AmeriCorps] provides resources for local nonprofits to be able to identify and meet local needs. It is very flexible in that regard – the programs can have completely different designs, but they can still use AmeriCorps members to meet that need. I think that is really valuable for programs in Tennessee.” Utilizing federal funds to meet a legitimate need on the local level is what marks the success of the AmeriCorps program.

Appalachia CARES places AmeriCorps members with over 30 organizations annually. If you are interested in serving or hosting a member, contact us!