Action Alert: Advocate for AmeriCorps funding

ACTION ALERT

Dear CCMI Alumni and Supporters,

I am writing to ask you to take 5-10 minutes to send an email to both of your U.S. Senators advocating for Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa (CCMI).

A major source of funding for our AmeriCorps members comes from Federal appropriations. Our 2026 budget will rely on decisions senators will be making in the next few weeks. Regardless of what state you live in, or which senators represent you, your advocacy for funding National Service programs will make a difference to CCMI.

Please send an email to your Senators asking them to sign on to a Dear Colleague Letter being circulated by Senators Coons (D-DE) and Cassidy (R-LA) in support of Federal Fiscal Year 2025 funds for the AmeriCorps agency. It urges the Appropriations Committee “to provide robust funding to restore the number of funded AmeriCorps member slots to 2023 levels and to make further investments in member benefits. Should achieving these objectives not be possible this year, we ask that you take a meaningful step toward building on the President’s budget request and providing an increase of $300 million.”

Sample email text is provided below. While it would be wonderful for you to personalize it with your own Corps experience and its impact, if all you have time to do is copy and paste, it is still valuable!

You can find contact information for your Senators here.

The deadline for Senators to sign the Dear Colleague Letter is Wednesday, May 8th. Your investment of 5 minutes now could have a lifetime of impact for our states. Please act today in support of CCMI and all National Service programs!

Thank you,

Nalani McCutcheon, Interim Executive Director
Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa

TAKE ACTION NOW!

STEP 1: Find your Senators
STEP 2: Copy sample email text below
STEP 3: Send your email message to your Senators ASAP

SAMPLE EMAIL TEXT FOR SENATORS

Dear Senators [insert your senator names here],

I urge you to sign Senators Coons (D-DE) and Cassidy (R-LA) Dear Colleague letter in support of Federal Fiscal Year 2025 funds for the AmeriCorps agency. AmeriCorps members serve in their communities conserving natural lands, supporting educational achievement, addressing food insecurity, supporting people in recovery, providing literacy training, and responding to disasters. These members provide critical and invaluable service to our communities.

As an AmeriCorps supporter, I know firsthand how service can impact Corps members, fostering workforce and leadership skills for future employment. Beyond the individual growth, AmeriCorps members are making a real difference in our local community:

• Schools benefit from Reading and Math Corps tutors providing children with extra support to learn crucial reading and math skills.
• Families benefit from AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparents who connect role models with young people with exceptional needs.
• Communities benefit from Recovery Corps members providing drug abuse education, providing recovery coaching, and working to prevent relapse and recidivism.
• Veterans benefit from programs to help them transition from military to civilian life and connect with service opportunities.
• States benefit from Conservation Corps building trails, planting trees, and restoring habitat on public lands enjoyed by everyone.

Specifically, I have been involved with and support Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa, whose members improve public lands, trails, and waterways for hikers, anglers, and ATVers in Minnesota. These crews are critical to the state’s ability to respond to wildfires, and they have responded to disasters throughout the country too – from tornadoes to hurricanes to wildfires in places like Joplin, New Orleans, Maui, and Guam.

I’d love to talk more about AmeriCorps if you have any questions. However, please sign onto this Dear Colleague letter to support funding for cost-effective and impactful AmeriCorps programs in FY25. Your signature must be added by May 8th!

Please use the Quill link to sign here, or email Katie_Pannell@coons.senate.gov.

Thank you,

[Your Name]
[Your Address]