Posted 02/18/2011 - 01:17:24pm by MichelleHynes
In his recent State of the Union speech, President Obama urged Americans to "win the future."
Just two years ago, the encore careers community helped to pass a law that represents huge bipartisan support for service by people of all ages: the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. Serve America, as the law is commonly known, set a course for expanding the number of people across the country who tutor and mentor young children, provide academic enrichment after school, increase access to health care through community health centers, make it possible for older citizens to age in place and help families affected by natural disasters.
At the same time, the law placed a high value on making the face of national service more diverse – including a new emphasis on "encore service" for people over 55 who want to join AmeriCorps.
In communities across the country, national service – including AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and Learn and Serve – helps schools, community health centers, food banks and countless other social service organizations get things done. What's more, the national and local organizations that manage national service programs provide pathways to new work – including encore careers – for thousands of citizens each year.
The incredible promise that Serve America offers for people of all ages is in jeopardy. H.R. 1, the continuing resolution currently being considered in Congress, proposes to eliminate funding for the Corporation for National and Community Service and all of its programs. The deep budget cuts proposed in H.R. 1 would decimate the work of many of Civic Ventures' partners in the Encore Careers campaign and in related coalitions – including Experience Corps, Citizen Schools and City Year.
During tough economic times, citizens and our leaders need to make tough choices. At the same time, we need to think about investments that will, as President Obama said in his recent State of the Union speech, "win the future." We cannot win that brighter future if we do not take care of our most vulnerable community members now and build pathways to work for the decades to come.
An AmeriCorps alum from Minnesota put it well in a recent op-ed: "To cut [AmeriCorps] would put as many as 75,000 Americans out of work, cut critical services for the most vulnerable, remove some of the best and most innovative teachers from schools and take away a much needed helping hand for the environment."
Civic Ventures agrees with civic leaders like John Bridgeland, Shirley Sagawa and Rosabeth Moss Kanter that national service is an essential investment in education, health and more. It's also a critical pathway for people 55-plus to learn new skills, build new networks and gain experience that can lead to sustainable work in the nonprofit sector.
Three national coalitions – Voices for National Service, America Forward and ServiceNation – have come together to organize action in every state on Friday, February 25. Go to www.saveservice.org to join a District Day visit. If you're on Facebook or Twitter, please share this information with friends and colleagues. You can also follow me on Twitter at @mehencore and other posts related to this issue through #saveservice and #districtday.
Please comment on this blog to let us know you were here and to share your own service story.
Thank you!
- MichelleHynes's blog
- Login or register to post comments
- Email this page
Informative New Report from America's Service Commissions
America's Service Commissions, a national association of statewide organizations focused on service and volunteering, just published an excellent report that succinctly documents the local impact of national and community service programs on a state by state basis. Download the report, or take a look at your own state, here.
--Michelle
What's Next to Save Service: from the Campaign Director
This message was sent to the Save Service listserv on Wednesday morning, 3/2. Stories about the impact of encore service are still needed! Please consider a letter to the editor and/or a call to your elected representatives. Thank you! -- Michelle
Dear Save Service Partners,
On Tuesday afternoon, the House of Representatives passed a short-term spending bill that will avert a federal government shutdown for two weeks. The Senate has agreed to pass the same measure within the next few days. While this gives us a chance to take a deep breath, we know that the clock is still ticking. Congress must reach a compromise on the FY11 budget before the extension expires on March 18th. Lawmakers will eventually agree on how to fund the government for the remainder of the year, and we have less than 14 working days to make sure that the final bill restores funding for the Corporation for National and Community Service and its programs.
We stood 2600 strong for service last Friday, and the energy you unleashed on District Day continues to ripple out across the country. We generated dozens of local and national stories about service and the budget cut, attracted the support of celebrities and star citizens who shared their experiences on our social media channels, and more. Your mobilization matters and we must keep up the momentum.
We need your continued help with two assignments this week:
1. CALL YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS Tell your legislators that we can't afford to lose the critical services and jobs national service and volunteering provides. Follow our step by step instructions to call your Member of Congress to ask for their leadership and support.
2. WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR Flood your local papers with letters that explain what's at stake locally if Congress cuts or eliminates the Corporation for National and Community Service. We have launched a tool on our website (www.saveservice.org)that makes this quick, easy and effective.
As the noise around the budget debate escalates and grows contentious, we must do even more to ensure our concerns on this issue are heard. Thank you for continuing to raise your voice to Save Service in America.
Sincerely,
AnnMaura Connolly
Save Service Campaign Director
Save Service Update -- from the Campaign Director
Dear “Save Service” Partners,
Our campaign is gaining momentum across America:
The first day we launched www.saveservice.org, someone registered to attend District Day every three minutes— we now have more than 700 people registered and hope to have 2,000 by this time tomorrow.
We are closing in on more than 1,000 fans on our recently launched Facebook page at www.facebook.com/saveservice;
More than six hundred people joined Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in a rally against H.R. 1 and the jobs it will eliminate – including national service positions;
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor will visit Harvard University this Thursday, and students are organizing to powerfully show Rep. Cantor how much they value and want to protect the opportunity to serve; and
Iowans for Volunteering and Service are planning a Save Service Flash Mob in support of the Save Service in Des Moines this Friday to call attention to what stands to be lost.
District Day is just three days away, on February 25. The kind of energy we’re seeing from LA to Des Moines to Boston is vital as we head into Friday, where each of us must deliver a strong message about the impact the loss of national service will have on our own community if funding is not restored. With Congress on recess, we must ensure that while they arehome, our representatives hear from their constituents how much this issue matters to them.
Please continue to encourage your networks to go to www.saveservice.org and sign up to attend or lead a visit; below is a template for a reminder e-mail for you to send. Over the next 24 hours, you’ll also see a number of new tools and resources added to our District Day Tools tab, including a how-to guide, state-by-state impact statements for you to take along with you on your visit, and more.
There is much to do in a very small window of time – but by working together to spread the word and share the critical importance of this day, we can make significant progress in our effort to protect the future national service in our country.
Thanks for everything you are doing to mobilize to Save Service in America!
Sincerely,
AnnMaura Connolly
Campaign Director
Save Service
Legislative Update/Action Still Needed
The House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, the continuing resolution that eliminates funding for national service and makes other deep cuts in 2011 domestic spending, early Saturday morning.
The House vote is just one step in the legislative process; the Senate must also take action and Congress must send the President a bill to sign. The two houses of Congress must reach a compromise by March 4th to avoid a government shutdown.
Please visit the Save Service Action Center to get legislative updates and suggested actions you can take. There's a very active social media community engaged in the Save Service effort. You can also "like" and follow Stand for AmeriCorps, managed by AmeriCorps Alums, on Facebook or follow @saveservice on Twitter.
Telling your story about the impact service has had on your encore career and in your community is important and powerful. Please consider writing an op-ed for your local paper, participating in District Day on February 25, and posting a comment here on encore.org.
Thank you!
An AmeriCorps VISTA Encore: Kathleen Gierhart
Editor's note: Thanks so much to Kathleen Gierhart for permission to re-post this comment she made on the AmeriCorps listserv (ACList) over the weekend.
Following a long career in writing and fundraising, Kathleen served two terms as an AmeriCorps State member before finding her current VISTA assignment. Kathleen's story is a powerful reminder of how experienced professionals enrolled in national service create a win-win for communities!--Michelle
"I am an Americorps VISTA. During this year in my assignment to the Corporation for Ohio Appalachian Development, I was recruited in my community (longterm resident of Athens) to chair a committee to respond to a tornado that hit Athens, Ohio on Sept. 16, 2010. It is said that we do what we have to do in a crisis. It took us four months, but we (government and faith-based organizations plus social services) all worked and responded together and helped over 200 people recover their homes and their lives after so much was lost.
WE ARE AMERICORPS VISTA VOLUNTEERS...COOPERATION, COLLABORATION, AND COMMUNICATION CHANGES LIVES.
Stand up and tell your stories...
Kathleen B. Gierhart
COAD/Senior Programs
Athens, Ohio 45701"