Resident volunteers, age 50 and over, will engage in various community service jobs.

SAINT PAUL, Minnesota — AARP Minnesota and Cities of Service announced Saint Paul as a winner of its Cities of Service Experience Matters competition.

With support from AARP, Cities of Service will work with Saint Paul and five other cities to develop volunteering initiatives that address public problems related to the drivers of poverty.

In Saint Paul, the program will work with volunteers of all ages, but especially people age 50 and older, to help fellow residents with minor home and property repairs to address code violations and reduce water use.

Saint Paul will receive 25 thousand dollars, technical assistance and is recruiting two AmeriCorps VISTA members, who will work out of city hall and build capacity and awareness for the programs.

VISTA members will work alongside senior level city staff and nonprofits, build community and organizational capacity, and be a part of a nationwide network of Cities of Service AmeriCorps VISTA members.

Members will begin their year of service in early September. Other winning cities include Albuquerque, NM; Birmingham, AL; Columbia, SC.; Fort Worth, TX; and Tulsa, OK.

Cities of Service is a nonprofit organization that helps mayors build stronger cities by changing the way local government and citizens work together.

The organization helps coalition cities tap into citizen insights, skills, and service to identify and solve critical public problems.

Founded in 2009, Cities of Service supports a coalition of more than 260 cities, representing more than 73 million people across the Americas and Europe. You can find more information, here.

AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people, ages 50 and older, to choose how they live as they age.