Monday, September 21, 2015

Tell Your Elected Officials that AmeriCorps Matters!

Recently, both houses of our Congress--your elected officials--proposed a budget that included major cuts to the Corporation for National and Community Service, the government arm that manages all AmeriCorps and Senior Corps programs. This means they want to take away funds for AmeriCorps, which would eliminate tens of thousands of AmeriCorps positions.

As someone who knows firsthand the value of AmeriCorps programs, it's important that you TELL your elected officials that AmeriCorps is important and needs to keep it's current funding! This is

Voices for National Service, a national advocacy organization, has developed some materials to help. Please see below. You can send this template, or make your own, to your elected official. Specifically, in Illinois, the most important person you can communicate this to is Senator Mark Kirk, R-IL. 

Please take a moment to send a message or make a call to Senator Kirk before the end of this month! Staff at his office WILL read your messages and answer your calls. As a constituent, your voice and your opinions matter to the Senator, and he has a duty as your elected official to represent your interests. 

You can copy/paste any of the samples below, or send a note to us and we can send you Word doc copies, along with more details about the bills and national service in Illinois. Email us at americorpsalumschicago@gmail.com 

Thank you for helping to Save Service!


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Template for Email:
- Submit messages through online form: http://www.kirk.senate.gov/?p=comment_on_legislation 

Dear Senator Kirk,

I am writing to you about the proposed spending bill before Congress that contains debilitating budget cuts to the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), a small federal agency that harnesses the power of citizens to fuel community solutions to pressing local problems. AmeriCorps and Senior Corps are two programs that CNCS administers that provide vital resources and services to our state by tutoring and mentoring struggling students, providing job training to returning veterans and their families, building homes for those in need, enabling seniors and individuals with disabilities to live independently, and helping communities recover after natural disasters. These national service programs deliver a dual benefit, offering a ladder of opportunity to those who serve.  During their service terms, members acquire workplace skills and post-service scholarships that provide access to higher education, propel them towards future career success, or help them enter or re-engage in the workforce. 

The cuts to CNCS included in the Labor-HHS-Education spending bill would have serious consequences in Illinois, where 2,826 AmeriCorps members and 12,263 Senior Corps volunteers participate in 146 programs at 2,011 sites. The bill proposes to cut CNCS by 20 percent and, if enacted, would eliminate tens of thousands of national service positions nationwide.  

This is a loss our community cannot afford.  National service programs have real impacts on communities and are a smart investment for the nation: according to a study by economists at Columbia University, for every dollar invested in national service, there is a $3.95 return to society in terms of higher earnings, increased output, and other community-wide benefits. 

In my community of Chicago, IL, [Insert personal story here. Include your connection to national and community service, the positive impacts of it that you’ve witnessed personally, and how these cuts will negatively affect your community. The more specific and meaningful, the better!].

CNCS programs play a deep and meaningful role in Illinois. Cutting them would take key services away from our community and those in need.  I ask that you use your position on the Appropriations Committee to ensure continued funding for CNCS in fiscal year 2016. Illinois is counting on you.

Sincerely, 

[YOUR NAME]

[YOUR ADDRESS]

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Template for Letter:
- Send letters to either office: 
Chicago
230 South Dearborn
Suite 3900
Chicago, IL 60604
Fax: 312-886-2117 
Washington, DC
524 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC, 20510
Fax: 202-228-4611 





Dear Senator Kirk:

As representatives of national service organizations in the state of Illinois, we urge you to protect the current funding level for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) in any budget negotiation and/or continuing resolution. CNCS is our nation’s largest grantmaker for service and volunteerism, and their core programs, AmeriCorps and Senior Corps,  harness the energy and ingenuity of American citizens to address the nation's most pressing challenges. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, we know you are well positioned to support CNCS funding and ensure these programs continue to provide intensive, results-driven service to meet education, environmental, health, economic, and other pressing needs in communities across Illinois.

We represent a broad spectrum of national service organizations in Illinois.  We receive competitive grants from CNCS that helps to fuel our service delivery.  Our programs support struggling students, provide returning veterans and military families with job training, enable seniors and individuals with disabilities to live independently, and help communities rebuild after natural disasters.  Under current funding levels, STATE receives $XX million annually from CNCS, which allows a total of 12,263 Senior Corps and 2,826 AmeriCorps members to participate in 146 projects at 2,011 service locations across the state. [Add in story/example/case study of how CNCS programming affects the state]

National service programs supported by CNCS are proven to be a cost-effective investment for the nation. A study by economists at Columbia University demonstrates that, for every dollar invested in national service, there is a $3.95 return to society in terms of higher earnings, increased output, and other community-wide benefits. Through a robust public-private partnership, the federal investment in national service is highly leveraged to cultivate matching support from private, philanthropic, and local sources. Every AmeriCorps grant dollar results in another dollar of investment by community partners.

Given the impact and cost-effectiveness of national service programs in Illinois and across the country, we are extremely concerned about the proposed funding cuts to CNCS adopted by both the Senate and House Appropriations Committees for FY16. CNCS has been subject to significant reductions in funding since FY10, and further decreases to the agency’s budget would have dire implications. Should CNCS’s appropriations be cut further—after years of inadequate funding due to the combination of budget caps and sequestration—AmeriCorps and Senior Corps positions will be eliminated and our ability to deliver critical services  in Illinois will be in jeopardy. We certainly recognize the difficult atmosphere in which the Appropriations Committee is working to make challenging decisions, but the impact of national service programs on local communities and the economy in our state cannot be ignored. CNCS must be protected.

As a member of the Appropriations Committee, you have the power to protect CNCS funding. We are counting on you to be our champion.

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]


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Template for Phone Call:
- Call either office: Chicago - 312-886-3506 , Washington, DC - 202-224-2854 


  • Phone Call To Congressional Offices – Talking Points
  • Hi, my name is NAME and I’m calling from Chicago, Illinois.
  • I’m calling to urge the Senator/Representative to protect funding for the Corporation for National and Community Service. 
  • The Corporation for National and Community Service is our nation’s largest grantmaker for service and volunteerism, and they operate two large national service programs, AmeriCorps and Senior Corps.  These programs harness the energy and ingenuity of American citizens to help address local needs.  AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members tutor students, provide job training to veterans, and aid in recovery after natural disasters. 
  • Our national service programs offer an additional benefit by helping to develop the workplace skills and experience of those who serve.   
  • National and local nonprofits receive grants from the Corporation for National and Community Service to help fuel their work, including Habitat for Humanity, City Year, Teach For America, the American Red Cross, and many others.
  • Funding for these programs is important to me because [insert personal story of how AmeriCorps/Senior Corps has affected your life and/or your community]
  • As we approach the end of the fiscal year, I respectfully request that the Senator use his Appropriations Committee position to protect funding for the Corporation for National and Community Service.
  • His constituents are counting on him!

1 comment:

  1. My email (tweaked with info. provided above). I submitted under "Unemployment" fyi:

    Good afternoon Senator Kirk,

    I am writing to you regarding the proposed budget cuts to the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) as proposed in the Labor-HHS-Education spending bill.

    CNCS includes programs such as AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and VISTA which service our public schools through various tutoring and mentoring programs (City year, Teach for America, Chicago HOPES for Kids, etc.), provide job training to returning veterans and their families (American Legion Auxilliary Call to Service Corps), building homes for low income residents (Illinois Habitat for Humanity, Housing Forward, Housing Action Illinois), emergency relief (Illinois Emergency Assistance/Interim Housing Program, American Red Cross Safe Families Program).

    These national service programs deliver a dual benefit, offering a ladder of opportunity to those who serve; providing members the ability to acquire workplace skills and post-service scholarships that are geared toward higher education; encouraging a community of service and professional success.

    The budget cuts proposed in Labor-HHS-
    Education would have a seriously negative impact as it would reduce the budget for these prograns by 20%!! This is a loss that the state of Illinois cannot afford.

    As a resident of Illinois, for the past 10 years, I have been actively involved in trying to improve the community for which I live (Chicago). AmeriCorps has been a HUGE support in identifying volunteers, providing professional development, organizing service and community events, and providing an avenue for young adults to give back to their communities while also earning an Education Award to apply towards a degree that they may otherwise have NOT been able to afford.

    CNCS programs play a deep and meaningful role in Illinois by providing employment, human service which are otherwise unmet, and support for higher education. Cutting them would take key services away from those in need within our community and increase unemployment among the 18-26yr (AmeriCorps) and 50+ sectors (Senior Corps).

    I ask that you use your position on the Appropriations Committee to ensure continued funding for CNCS in fiscal year 2016. Illinois is counting on you.

    Sincerely,
    Bevin Callan

    ReplyDelete