URGENT: Ask your Representatives to CO-SPONSOR the Youth Corps Act of 2011

Do you care about the future of youth conservation services?

Then help protect and expand them.

Call, write, and email your Congressman today and ask them to co-sponsor The Youth Corps Act of 2011 (H.R. 711).

This bill was first introduced by Representative Hirono (HI) with co-sponsor support from Representatives Andrews (NJ), Boswell (IA), Costa (CA), Grijalva (AZ), Kildee (MI), Luján (NM), and Matsui (CA). If passed the Act will amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to provide for the establishment of Youth Corps programs and wider dissemination of the Youth Corps model.

Passage would expand opportunities for young adults to protect our public lands and equip the conservation leaders of tomorrow with the hands-on skills they need to succeed.

On June 1st Representative Hirono will send a letter out to other members of the House asking for their support.

You can take part in moving these efforts forward!!

Call your Representative today to let him or her know that strengthening national youth conservation services is an important tool to help address conservation and environmental concerns on public lands and in our communities. Here is how you can contact your Representative:

• Call the U.S. Capitol at 202-224-3121
• Provide your zip code to find your Rep or ask for your Representative's office directly
• Explain that you are a resident of the Representative's home state
• Tell them you are calling to register your strong support for The Youth Corps Act of 2011 (H.R. 711) and to ASK YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TO CO-SPONSOR IT.
• Explain that you support this legislation because it promotes the conservation of public lands today, as well as the chance to provide young Americans with the training and education to ensure that we have a well-equipped workforce to care for these public lands in the future as well.

Your calls are extremely important. Representatives track and count the calls they receive in deciding how they will vote on an issue. Please call your Representative this Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.

To find your representative online simply go to www.house.gov and enter your zip code into the ‘Find your Representative" box in the upper right.

For more information about the Youth Corps Act of 2011:

• Read a summary of the Youth Corps Act of 2011 (PDF)
• Let us know that you've called your Representative and give us your thoughts by commenting on this blog post

Thank you for voicing your support to expand service opportunities for Americans of all ages!