Sometimes, I Actually, Secretly Enjoy Life

#saveservice

boundaway:

Stutzman trying to abolish agency (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette)

Stutzman has announced he is sponsoring the Volunteer Freedom Act, which would eliminate the Corporation for National and Community Service.

He said in a statement that the agency is “unnecessary and expensive.”

It had an annual budget of more than $1 billion in fiscal 2011 and will cost taxpayers more than $11.5 billion over the next 10 years, he said.

“My bill is based on a simple truth: It’s not volunteering if it comes with a paycheck,” Stutzman said.

He also said: “Americans volunteer because we believe in better communities, stronger families and personal commitments. Volunteering isn’t something we do for our bottom line.”

Guess what, Representative Stutzman? Volunteering isn’t something we as AmeriCorps members do for OUR bottom line, either. I can’t speak to many of the programs operated under the Corporation for National and Community Service, but I can talk about my experiences in the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC). The loss of this program if CNCS was eliminated would be an absolute travesty.

Let’s start with some statistics. During my term of service in Class 17 at NCCC’s Atlantic Region campus, we: planted 17,671 trees; recruited or coordinated 28,875 volunteers; completed 4,308 damage assessments; assisted 21,637 citizens in disaster areas; assisted 2,409 at-risk youth; and constructed 29 houses, among countless other things. This was all done in ten months by a group of approximately 200 extremely dedicated, hard-working young adults between the ages of 18 and 24. We weren’t doing it “for our bottom line,” we were doing it because we truly wanted to give back to our communities. That paycheck the good Representative is so ferociously protesting? Every two weeks we received, after taxes, roughly $150. The per-person allotted food budget was $4.50 PER DAY. That amount won’t even buy you a value meal at McDonald’s. 

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boundaway:

Stutzman trying to abolish agency (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette)

Stutzman has announced he is sponsoring the Volunteer Freedom Act, which would eliminate the Corporation for National and Community Service.

He said in a statement that the agency is “unnecessary and expensive.”

It had an annual budget of more than $1 billion in fiscal 2011 and will cost taxpayers more than $11.5 billion over the next 10 years, he said.

“My bill is based on a simple truth: It’s not volunteering if it comes with a paycheck,” Stutzman said.

He also said: “Americans volunteer because we believe in better communities, stronger families and personal commitments. Volunteering isn’t something we do for our bottom line.”

Guess what, Representative Stutzman? Volunteering isn’t something we as AmeriCorps members do for OUR bottom line, either. I can’t speak to many of the programs operated under the Corporation for National and Community Service, but I can talk about my experiences in the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC). The loss of this program if CNCS was eliminated would be an absolute travesty.

Let’s start with some statistics. During my term of service in Class 17 at NCCC’s Atlantic Region campus, we: planted 17,671 trees; recruited or coordinated 28,875 volunteers; completed 4,308 damage assessments; assisted 21,637 citizens in disaster areas; assisted 2,409 at-risk youth; and constructed 29 houses, among countless other things. This was all done in ten months by a group of approximately 200 extremely dedicated, hard-working young adults between the ages of 18 and 24. We weren’t doing it “for our bottom line,” we were doing it because we truly wanted to give back to our communities. That paycheck the good Representative is so ferociously protesting? Every two weeks we received, after taxes, roughly $150. The per-person allotted food budget was $4.50 PER DAY. That amount won’t even buy you a value meal at McDonald’s. 

Read More