"This week, the House is expected to pass a bill that would increase the number of federally funded service slots to 250,000, and the Senate will soon begin moving similar legislation.It would also increase the education award Americorps receive from $4,725 to $5,350 and requires that it match any future increases in Pell Grant scholarships. Being an Americorps volunteer myself, obviously I have some embedded personal interest in the bill.
The House proposal won committee approval last week with overwhelming support from both parties."
But beyond supporting myself, this bill will further aid poverty reduction efforts across the US in a extremely affordable way. Americorps are basically paid a poverty-level wage, so the cost of labor is insignificant. We also create millions of volunteers: it is estimated the current 75,000 in service responsible for creating over 2.2 million volunteers to their organizations.
Having Americorps volunteers work for the Kalamazoo County Poverty Reduction Initiative has greatly increased our capacity to fight poverty; it will certainly aid other organizations as well. I strongly recommend to anyone, young or old, this exciting opportunity to serve their country.
To learn more on how to serve, visit http://www.americorps.org.
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