Saturday, March 12, 2011

Save Service in America!


    

On Tuesday, March 15th, we are asking you, your friends, your family, your neighbors, the milk man, and anyone else you can think of to make a call toSave Service in America! Help us get the attention of the entire Senate by overwhelming their offices with phone calls asking them to support AmeriCorps and keep national service alive in America!
Congress has passed a short-term spending bill that will avert a federal government shutdown for two weeks. Before March 18th, Congress must reach a compromise on the FY11 budget. As you know, the House already voted to eliminate AmeriCorps when they passed H.R. 1. This week, the Senate weighed in: the vote on H.R. 1 and on the Democratic alternative failed.
Now, serious negotiations will follow, as the House and Senate try to make the tough decisions and find common ground. The question is: will the FY11 budget agreement fund AmeriCorps and Corporation for National and Community Service?
That is why, on March 15th, we are going to flood their offices with calls telling them to support AmeriCorps and service. The best part is, you don't even have to take off from work for this! You can locate your Senators here and find the phone number to their office. When you call, simply tell them you support AmeriCorps, what it does for the country, and that Congress should keep it funded in the next year.Your voice matters!
You can also continue to help support service by submitting your personal testimonials of serviceWe're preparing a collection of these to give to the Senate. Our best stories will show how national service has shaped and changed the U.S. for the better for the last 45 years and cutting it now would be a terrible mistake. For those who have already contributed stories, thank you! For those who haven't, now is your chance to share!
That's all for now, but keep following us onFacebookandTwitterfor updates. Keep on the great work and don't forget to call your Senator on March 15th and tell them to Save Service!
Serve On!

The AmeriCorps Alums Team


Support the fight to keep AmeriCorps going strong.