The Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks proudly sponsors one of the largest AmeriCorps programs in the country. Our national service members provide both direct and indirect services throughout the state, bolstering nonprofit organizations and bringing Ohioans closer to self-sufficiency every day.
Funding for the Corporation for National and Community Service will be eliminated without your help. Read some of the stories of help and hope from current and former national service members, as well as the community organizations that would be devastated without their service. Then, ACT NOW by calling your legislators and signing the SaveAmeriCorps petition.
"Call me crazy, but I honestly think I can make a difference, a lasting impact in my country. Serving in AmeriCorps is what I see as an investment in an area that can not only have a huge impact on my own future, but essentially an impact for the country as a whole."
"To take AmeriCorps away would crush me, because I know the names and have seen the faces of the individuals who will not get the assistance they need."
"It's easy to turn the other cheek knowing that you don't depend on that food pantry to feed your family. It's easy to close that homeless shelter when you have somewhere else to stay warm and sleep regardless. It's easy to condemn people who make mistakes to lifelong punishments, and it's easy not to think about how we condemn their children, and their children's children, too. The easy thing to do is to cut them loose, and to go home and live comfortably. But it is also the wrong thing to do. If I need to explain why, then I fear no amount of letters can make a
difference. Save AmeriCorps."
"Our community will suffer because it would open the gap between the have and have nots which VISTA has work tirelessly to close."
"I do not wear a military uniform and I do not fight on the frontlines of armed conflicts but I made an oath to serve my county and am committed to fight for the recognition and revitalization of our American neighborhoods. As a nation moving forward from crisis perhaps a sense of duty to our local communities is a force that we should choose to invest in and- at the very least- should not underestimate."
"In large part, the contributions of these AmeriCorps members cannot be measured. How does one measure the value of heat restored to a freezing family or the humbling feeling that overcomes a volunteer the first time they change a life for the better? But warm feelings and touching stories do not drive budget processes. Fortunately, the results produced by these members stand alone and support the continuation of funding to the CNCS."
"Denying funding to AmeriCorps would put thousands of members out of work in a time when unemployment is already at record highs. Cutting AmeriCorps wouldn‘t just put AmeriCorps members out of work, though. It would also cripple the hundreds of thousands of non-profit agencies all over the United States that rely on AmeriCorps members to help them serve their communities."
"Our military service men and women work long hours and struggle bravely to protect our country. Similarly, our national service members work long hours and struggle bravely to serve and protect our most cherished resources—our communities and our neighbors."
"As one of the agencies that supports the work of the Americorps VISTA program and who has sponsored a VISTA member for the past two years I am greatly saddened. Our small non-profit agency and the clients we serve in this neighborhood rely on our VISTA member to coordinate all of our volunteers who do the work that we cannot afford to hire others to do."
"The Corporation of National and Community Service is a foundational element to
the moral fabric of our country and supporting such programs sends a powerful message that our communities are ultimately strengthened by civic engagement."
