Why National Service Funding is Important

On February 19, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, legislation that would make deep cuts in government spending for the rest of the fiscal year. The measure - which eliminates the Corporation for National and Community Service and its programs - passed 235-189. The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is a federal agency that provides funding for Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America. The current Continuing Resolution that provides funding for programs such as the CNCS ends Friday, March 4. However, the House Appropriations Committee revealed late on Friday, February 25 an extension that would allow most programs to continue to operate at FY 2010 levels through March 18. This excludes $4 billion of cuts and terminations to programs. The CNCS was not among the programs cut at this time. Below are three programs supported by the CNCS and the impact it would have on Michigan if eliminated.

1) Eliminating Senior Corps: The Impact in Michigan
Senior Corps engages Americans age 55 and over to meet a wide range of community challenges through three programs - RSVP, Foster Grandparents, and the Senior Companion program. Without funding made available through the CNCS for Senior Corps, more than 11,000 people would be left without an opportunity to support their communities as Foster Grandparents, RSVP volunteers, or senior companions in Michigan. Senior Corps programs address issues made possible by the funding and if these funds were to be cut, many of these issues would not be able to be addressed. These issues include: more than 2,600 homebound seniors and other adults would not receive companionship to help maintain independence in their own homes, more than 6,100 young people with special needs would not have Foster Grandparents to serve as one-on-one tutors, and more than three million hours of service would not be conducted in communities. Overall, more than 2,000 Michigan organizations would be affected by the elimination of Senior Corps funding. For more information on the impact of eliminating Senior Corps in Michigan, click here: http://www.mnaonline.org/CMDocs/MNA/Public%20Policy/Eliminating%20Senior%20Corps%20-%20The%20Impact%20in%20Michigan.pdf.

2) Eliminating AmeriCorps: The Impact in Michigan
AmeriCorps is a national service program designed to strengthen citizenship and the ethic of service by engaging thousands of Americans on a full-time or part-time basis to help communities to address their toughest challenges. Without AmeriCorps in Michigan, more than 2,000 individuals would be forced to seek alternative forms of employment. Many of these AmeriCorps members serve to address issues because of the funding made possible from the CNCS that would be eliminated as a result of the budget cuts. The impact of losing the funding on these issues include: losing literacy and academic support that is provided for more than 8,418 children and youth, losing foreclosure prevention assistance for more than 5,372 individuals, and lack of disaster relief services for 4,245 individuals after large and small scale disasters in their communities. Above all, 350 Michigan organizations representing 83 counties in the state would be affected by this elimination. For more information on the impact of eliminating AmeriCorps in Michigan, click here: http://www.mnaonline.org/CMDocs/MNA/Public%20Policy/Eliminating%20AmeriCorps%20-%20The%20Impact%20in%20Michigan.pdf.

3) Eliminating Learn and Serve: The Impact in Michigan
Service-learning is a teaching and learning approach that connects meaningful community service to the curriculum. Without these resources in Michigan, K-12 schools in 21 counties across the state would lose their resources to service-learning, and more than 2,500 teachers would not be able to engage 50,000 students in service-learning activities this year. Without these programs, students would lose programs that encourage a life long commitment to civic engagement, improve student motivation for academic achievement, and builds critical thinking and communication skills. For more information on the impact of eliminating learn and serve funds in the state of Michigan, click here: http://www.mnaonline.org/CMDocs/MNA/Public%20Policy/Eliminating%20Learn%20and%20Serve%20-%20The%20Impact%20in%20Michigan.pdf.

For more information on the impact of the elimination of national service funding, check out Michigan Nonprofit Association’s call to action at: http://www.mnaonline.org/servicefunding.aspx.