Dear Voices Community,
I hope you all are enjoying the wrap up of another successful AmeriCorps Week! It was truly amazing to see so much activity across the country highlighting the impact of national service, and in many cases, tying the message back to federal appropriations during this critical time on the Hill. A special shout out to St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson and the efforts of John Albright and the entire Missouri National Service Coalition for securing this important OpEd in the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
As we have shared, programmatic letters of support for Fiscal Year 2019 are still circulating in the House, and we’re nearing record level of support on both sides of the aisle. As of this morning, 106 members of Congress, including 8 Republicans, have added their name in support.
Here are a few highlights from the past week:
-Led by Senators Coons (D-DE), Cochran (R-MS), Wicker (R-MS) and Shaheen (D-NH), the Senate passed a resolution in recognition of AmeriCorps week, with thirty Senators co-sponsoring. Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Rep. David Price (D-NC) also led a similar effort in the House. Great work to everyone who did outreach!
-A big shout out to Ilana Levinson of YouthBuild for organizing a historic bipartisan coalition and Dear Colleague calling for increased funding for a set of Opportunity Youth programs, including CNCS and AmeriCorps. We’re proud to be a part of your efforts!
-Don’t miss this fantastic OpEd in The Herald News penned by Emily Haber, CEO of the Massachusetts Service Alliance and Barbara Moffat of Western New England University highlighting the impact of proposed cuts to CNCS on Massachusetts.
-The YMCA was also on Capitol Hill this pas week for their Advocacy Day. Thank you to Neal Denton for making national service funding one of your legislative priorities!
–Check out this great letter to the editor in The Buffalo News from Adam M. Bartoszek of The Service Collaborative of WNY on the importance of preserving funding for CNCS.
-Congratulations to Liz Darling of the OneStar Foundation for your presidential appointment to serve as the commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF), one of the top child welfare jobs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). We wish you luck on this new endeavor!
-During City Year Capitol Hill Day, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) shared that he #Stands4Service. Thank you to City Year San Antonio for leading this great meeting!