Dear Voices Community,
We have been busy monitoring social media, and we are pleased to see so many of you celebrating the FY18 appropriation for CNCS and taking a moment to thank Congress for the funding. A simple thank you goes a long way … and we must continue to show our gratitude. Please keep emailing the Appropriations Committee leadership, share your support on Facebook, and/or send a tweet!
As you know, Congress must turn around and start work on FY19 immediately, and the President is recommending they eliminate CNCS. Continued funding in FY19 is not guaranteed, so our work continues.
Congress is in recess this week, and they will break again from April 30 to May 4. This is prime time to reach out to your members of Congress and ask for an in-district meeting or site visit. It is important that they see how AmeriCorps and Senior Corps funds are being utilized on the ground, in their states and districts. Check out our toolkit for more tips on hosting a successful site visit. If you have planned an upcoming visit with your legislator, please let us know!
Tomorrow, April 3rd, is the Corporation for National and Community Service’s National Service Recognition Day! Nearly 5,000 elected officials have already registered as “Leaders for National Service”. We will be amplifying the vast support over social media.
Here are a few recent highlights:
–YouthBuild, Service Year and America Forward held successful Capitol Hill Days on March 22nd and national service was among their legislative priorities.
-A big thank you to Naila Bolus of Jumpstart for co-authoring this fantastic OpEd in the Fresno Bee with Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro. This is a great example of partnering with community leaders to raise awareness for our work and show support for AmeriCorps!
-The Joplin Globe published this powerful editorial recognizing the victory on funding for national service, and a call to action to invite members of Congress to see service in action as we face a challenging year ahead.
– In a press release on the passage of the FY18 Omnibus, Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) highlighted the $34 billion increase for CNCS – that he helped to secure.
–Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), and Rep. John Larson (D-CT) all shared messages of support for the increased FY18 funding for CNCS.
-A big thanks to City Year and ProLiteracy for issuing press releases on the FY18 funding bill and the increase in funding for CNCS.