AmeriCorps Is America at Its Best

This spring, Brandon F. was rebuilding homes in North Carolina ravaged by Hurricane Helene. Brandon had committed to a year of service through AmeriCorps NCCC, a team-based service year program for young adults.

For decades, teams like Brandon’s have shown up in response to natural disasters and stayed long after news cameras and public attention moved elsewhere. Yet, just months after Brandon started his service year, he found himself back at home without a paycheck and looking for answers.

Brandon is one of nearly 33,000 Americans whose AmeriCorps service was abruptly terminated in April when the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) dismantled the program. As CEO of Service Year Alliance, I’ve spent months hearing hundreds of heartbreaking stories from corps members whose service year journeys were disrupted.

Since mid-April, more than 1,000 AmeriCorps grants have been terminated, impacting every state, Washington, D.C., multiple territories, and tribal nations. In 13 states, every AmeriCorps program was defunded.

This means fewer adults in classrooms to help students learn to read and write. It means food pantries without the help they need to cook, serve, and deliver hot meals to the elderly and those who experience food insecurity. It means homes damaged by natural disasters were left uninhabitable because the team responsible for the repairs was told they needed to go home within 24 hours of the notice.

While a recent court injunction calls for the reinstatement of grants in some states, uncertainty surrounding the release of funding and deep cuts to federal agency staff leave the programs and the corps members serving through AmeriCorps in limbo.

In Chattanooga, Tennessee, Angel T., a single mother serving with Housing First Service Corps, was working to prevent youth homelessness when her position was eliminated.

“AmeriCorps changed the trajectory of my life,” Angel told our team. “It gave me more than just professional development. It gave me a lifeline. Its sudden and unexpected termination threatens to push me back into the cycle of poverty and housing instability that I’ve fought so hard to escape.”

And in Carroll County, Georgia, Krystal Z. was mentoring youth with the local 4-H program when she got the news that her service was ending.

“It felt like a punch to the gut,” she shared. Like thousands of other AmeriCorps members, Krystal faced immediate uncertainty. During their service years, corps members like Krystal rely on a modest living stipend and benefits. They also serve with the promise of a post-service award that can be used for education-related expenses like tuition or to help pay down student loans.

The cuts to AmeriCorps extend across every sector where members serve, including schools, community health centers, and our national parks. The consequences are both immediate and long-lasting. Tens of thousands of Americans were suddenly left without paychecks, healthcare, and education awards. Communities have lost critical support systems overnight. And we're sending a devastating message to the next generation about whether their desire to serve even matters.

For more than 30 years, AmeriCorps has been a cornerstone of our civic life, engaging over 200,000 Americans annually. From high school graduates to senior citizens, service years are a proven pathway to develop leadership and workforce-ready skills while strengthening your commitment to our country along the way.

AmeriCorps has long enjoyed support across the political divide because it embodies values all Americans share: commitment to community, personal responsibility, and the belief that we're stronger when we work together.

This is the work that matters most—neighbors helping neighbors, strangers helping strangers. When our leaders decide that programs like AmeriCorps aren’t needed, we abandon the very values we claim to uphold as Americans.

AmeriCorps is America at its best. This Independence Day, we need more of it, not less.

Kristen Bennett is CEO of Service Year Alliance, a nonprofit working to make a year of service a common expectation and opportunity for all young Americans.