Tell your Members of Congress to Protect AmeriCorps!

 

ANOTHER HELPFUL ORGANIZATION ATTACKED

For decades, AmeriCorps members have responded to our country's most immediate and critical needs. They are the “people power” that local nonprofit, faith-based, and community organizations rely on to deliver services and make a difference in local communities. While helping others, AmeriCorps members develop in-demand job skills, preparing a cohort of Americans to succeed in the workforce, and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers experience a decrease in isolation and loneliness.

Despite being a model of efficient and effective government, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has taken steps to dismantle AmeriCorps. Since Wednesday, April 16th, DOGE has:

• Issued stop work orders to 750 AmeriCorps NCCC and FEMA Corps members, abruptly ending their service terms with no notice.
• Dismissed nearly 85% of AmeriCorps agency staff, disrupting key functions such as program operations, member enrollment and deployment, and grant disbursement.
• Terminated close to $400 million in grant funding, a move that will impact over 1,000 local and community organizations and prematurely end the service of over 32,000 AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers.

These actions will leave communities across the country without critical services and over 32,000 service members will be forced to exit the program, losing their AmeriCorps living allowances, benefits, and workforce development opportunities.  

In an outline of the President's FY26 budget request, AmeriCorps was proposed for complete elimination - which would mean more cuts to the AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors programs that Americans rely on. 

AmeriCorps funds respond to local needs and are largely administered by states, not the federal government, to keep state and local priorities front and center. At a time when states are experiencing significant natural disasters, increasing costs stemming from increased social service needs, workforce gaps, and more, AmeriCorps delivers urgently needed resources to support communities across the country.

We need your help.

Use this form to send an email to your senators and representative asking them to protect AmeriCorps. 

Follow this link to their webpage form to send an email!

https://voicesforservice.org/take-action/contact-congress/ 

On their website, they will supply you with this letter to digitally sign:

Protect AmeriCorps from Drastic Cuts

Dear [elected official],

As your constituent, I am writing to ask that you and your colleagues take every step possible to protect AmeriCorps, the national service program that brings people together to help communities tackle their toughest challenges. Each year, approximately 75,000 AmeriCorps members and 140,000 AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serve with nonprofit, faith-based, and community organizations to respond to an array of challenges. These members are deployed in rural and urban areas across all 50 states and federal territories, addressing critical and urgent needs such as responding to natural disasters, connecting veterans and seniors to services, tutoring students, fighting the opioid epidemic, combatting hunger and homelessness, and much more. Despite its clear value, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has taken steps in recent weeks to dismantle AmeriCorps. DOGE ordered the AmeriCorps agency to terminate $400 million in grant funding, a sudden and severe move that will shutter more than 1,000 programs and prematurely end the service of over 32,000 AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers. DOGE also issued stop work orders and abruptly sent home 750 AmeriCorps NCCC and FEMA Corps members – many serving in communities impacted by natural disasters like Hurricane Helene and the wildfires in Southern California. Finally, nearly 85% of the employees at AmeriCorps have been dismissed and key agency functions – such as program operations, member enrollment and deployment, and grant disbursement – are likely to slow to a halt. These actions will eliminate crucial resources and services in communities across the country, and will leave service members without their AmeriCorps living allowance, benefits, and workforce development opportunities. AmeriCorps is a small federal investment that has an outsized impact on our nation, providing community organizations with the people power they need to address urgent local challenges. AmeriCorps is also a public-private partnership, with federal grant dollars matched by private, philanthropic, and local sources, increasing the value of the taxpayer dollar. This public-private partnership yields more than $17 in benefits to the community for every $1 invested by Congress. National service leads to long-term benefits. While helping others, AmeriCorps members gain marketable job skills, increasing their employability and earning potential, and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers experience a decrease in loneliness and isolation. AmeriCorps members also report strong personal attachment to the communities they serve in and often stay after their service term, continuing to work, volunteer, and give back. Communities like ours have faced an increase in new and complex challenges in recent years, and AmeriCorps is uniquely positioned to respond in a cost-effective, efficient manner. I strongly oppose the steps taken by DOGE to dismantle AmeriCorps through the sudden termination of grant funding, coupled with the drastic cuts to AmeriCorps agency staff and demobilization of AmeriCorps NCCC members. I hope the Administration will reverse these harmful decisions and Congress will ensure continuity of funding and operations. AmeriCorps is a powerful and cost-effective resource that our community cannot afford to lose. Thank you for your leadership and support for AmeriCorps.

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