It’s AmeriCorps Week!
Ask Congress to Invest in National Service and Volunteerism
May 8-15, 2010
It's AmeriCorps Week, and we need your help. Voices for National Service is encouraging our members, friends, and supporters to take time during this week to urge Congress to fund service and volunteerism. The more letters, e-mails, faxes, and phones calls that we can generate, the more we help to amplify our voice and deliver our message.
We must tell Congress to fully fund the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2011 budget request for the Corporation for National and Community Service. This investment is required if we are to increase the number of individuals serving and work together to solve our nation's critical challenges. |
Ask Members of Congress to
Support President's FY11 Request for Service
As Congress prepares to consider the FY 2011 appropriations bills, it is vital that Members hear from constituents in support of funding for national service. Call, write, fax, and e-mail your elected officials and urge them to support the President's full request for the Corporation for National and Community Service ($1.42 billion). At a time of mounting social needs and renewed interest in citizen service, this investment in more human capital is central to addressing our nation's most pressing issues.
- Click here to write your Representatives and Senators in support of national service funding.
- The following are statistics and information on AmeriCorps' impact you can incorporate into your letters, calls, e-mails, and faxes:
Since 1994, nearly 650,000 AmeriCorps members have served 774 million hours addressing local needs: building and renovating homes for low-income people, expanding Americans' access to public health, helping underserved schools and addressing escalating drop-out rates, building and clearing miles of trails, and responding to natural disasters.
In 2009 alone, AmeriCorps participants mobilized an additional 2.4 million community volunteers, raised more than $183 million in support of community initiatives, and helped place more than 7,700 individuals in jobs.
Interest in national service is at record levels: the number of applications to AmeriCorps programs has tripled over the past year.
AmeriCorps members serve more than 3,300 organizations across America.
Ninety-two percent of sponsoring groups say that AmeriCorps members helped increase the number of people served by the organizations to a large or moderate extent.
Visit Congressional District Offices
and
Engage Local News Media
Invite Congressional staff from your Members' district offices to visit your program and participate in projects you have planned during AmeriCorps Week. In advance of your service day, alert your local news outlets with a media advisory. By involving Congressional staff and the media in our events, we are able to show directly, rather than merely talk about, national service's essential role in communities.
- Visit our Action Center for more information on inviting an official to visit your program and promoting your service day to the media.
- Visit www.AmeriCorpsWeek.gov for more information on AmeriCorps Week, including tips on maximizing social networking tools and on engaging the news media and local government leaders.
- Click here to read a press release on AmeriCorps Week 2010 from the Corporation for National and Community Service.
Congressional Resolutions
- H. Res. 1338: Recognizing the significant accomplishments of AmeriCorps and encouraging all citizens to join in a national effort to raise awareness about the importance of national and community service. (Introduced on May 6, 2010; agreed to by vote, 280-128, on May 13, 2010)
- S. Res. 516: Recognizing the contributions of AmeriCorps members to the lives of the people of the United States. (Introduced and agreed to by unanimous consent on May 7, 2010)
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States Celebrating and Recognizing AmeriCorps Week
- Alabama
- California
- Colorado
- District of Columbia
- Georgia
- Kentucky
- Illinois
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Pennsylvania
- South Dakota
- Utah
- Virginia
Cities and Counties
- Atlanta, GA
- Bibb County, GA
- Manatee County, FL
- Philadelphia, PA
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