Central American and U.S. Private Sector Supports Vice President Harris’ Launch of the Central American Service Corps (CASC)

Washington DC, JUNE 17, 2022 -  In response to Vice President Kamala Harris’ launch last week of the Central American Service Corps (CASC) at the 9th Annual Summit of the Americas, today, over twenty businesses from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras and the U.S. announce support for the initiative.

Photo Credit: Glasswing International

As stated in the White House Fact Sheet, the CASC aims to provide thousands of young people with paid community service opportunities, mentorship, and a path to future employment. Through CASC, youth will be offered opportunities to work in their own communities on local priorities such as educational support and tutoring, climate action, food security, green jobs, health education and services, violence prevention, and other civic-engagement activities. CASC will engage youth in local driven service opportunities, providing a modest stipend, offering work and life skills acquisition, and enhancing young people’s sense of rootedness and commitment to their communities.

The following businesses, organizations, and business associations committed to explore, where feasible, to match volunteers with market-based, sustainable, and good jobs; train and mentor; provide temporary use of local facilities; host local events to engage with CASC volunteers; provide internships; identify local service opportunities; facilitate financial inclusion efforts through the electronic delivery of monthly stipends; as well as, in some cases, direct financial support:

AgroAmerica

American Chamber of Commerce El Salvador

American Chamber of Commerce Guatemala

American Chamber of Commerce Honduras

Arizona State University (ASU)

BAC Credomatic

Banco Davivienda S.A.

Banco Industrial

CentraRSE

COATL

Corporación AG

Consejo Nacional Empresarial (CNE)

Fedecocagua

Fundación Terra

Grupo Calleja

Guatemalan Chamber of Commerce

Manpower Group

Meta (Facebook)

Millicom

Panifresh

Pantaleon

PriceSmart

Ria Money Transfer

Teleperformance

Collectively, the companies who have committed support to date employ tens of thousands of people across the region and are committed to supporting young people who want a better future for themselves and their families. "We represent over twenty thousand small coffee producers and we see training and mentorship for young people, especially in rural areas, not only as part of our core business, but as critical to the future of our countries." said Italo Antoniotti, FEDECOCAGUA

"Our employees across the region are wholeheartedly committed to the continued betterment of the communities we operate in. We will lean into the CASC initiative as we are proud to support young people engaged in the spirit of service." said Millicom CEO Mauricio Ramos

"We actively strive to give back to the communities we serve and are proud to be a part of this growing movement of young people giving back to their local communities,” said Ria Money Transfer CEO Shawn Fielder.

The announcement on the CASC was made by the U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on the same day as announcing that businesses associated with the Call to Action and the Partnership for Central America (PCA) will invest an additional over $1.9B in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to create new economic opportunities and address the root causes of migration.  Exactly one year since the Partnership’s launch, this marks a total of $3.2B in investment announced in the region following the Vice President’s May 2021 Call to Action to Deepen Private Sector Investment. These investments will translate into real impact - jobs, services, and opportunities - for the people of the Region. 

The CASC builds on a collaboration between USAID, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and Salvadoran NGO Glasswing International on a youth service pilot program which launched in 2021 with $13.2 million provided exclusively by the Buffett Foundation. The CASC was launched with $50 million of U.S. Government funds which will be administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in collaboration with the U.S. Peace Corps and the Inter-American Foundation.

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