sandra's blog

In April, President Obama signed the bipartisan Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act into law. The Act more than triples the size of AmeriCorps and will create a new era of service in America. Now, we need to let Congress know how important it is to fully fund the Serve America Act.

Video: Brattleboro Reformer interview - http://tinyurl.com/mag644

Filmmakers Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan received a standing ovation Wednesday evening, at the Bellows Falls Vermont Opera House, following the screening of a clip of their latest series: The National Parks, America’s Best Idea. The event was hosted by SCA and the Walpole Historical Society.

SCA just learned that the Massachusetts Senate recently voted to eliminate $750,000 in funding for the Massachusetts Service Alliance (MSA). This action would effectively shut down the MSA, the state agency that administers all AmeriCorps funding for Massachusetts.

Stripping the $750K for MSA puts at risk $10 million in federal funding, another $10 million in private matching funds, and nearly $5 million in post-service education awards for members. No matter how you add it up, it just doesn't make sense. And it would be a real blow to SCA’s Mass Parks program.

Please help by sending a letter to your State Senator in the next week. (See sample text below. Find your senator's email address here) http://members.thesca.org/site/R?i=WYs6hx0hARC7k4IcNZ2BIg.

This week, the first wave of 93 SCA high school trail crews started work. In Denali, Inyo Mammoth, Chief Joseph Dam, Saguaro, Acadia, Cumberland Island National Seashore and many, many other national parks and forests, SCA members are building trails and bridges, making new friends, and taking up the challenge issued by President Obama to engage in national service. You can sign our Conservation Declaration to show your support for the important conservation work they are doing.