BRIAN HEINRICH - FOR THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
Much has been made recently of Congressional efforts to eliminate as much as $100 billion in federal spending. And while those efforts resulted in the House approving a $61 billion budget cut, and the Senate and President approving a $4 billion budget cut just to keep the government operating, it’s important to consider that this is not just spending that goes off into the ether of supposed “big government,” but dollars that have a very real and immediate impact in our communities.
One area targeted for elimination is the Corporation for National and Community Service and its AmeriCorps programs. And while you may not have heard of this particular agency or program, many in your community, perhaps yourself, have undoubtedly benefited from national service programs.
In the Gulf States, AmeriCorps members were among the first that were able to respond to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. In fact, many AmeriCorps members and programs remain active there today. In Washington state AmeriCorps members have led emergency efforts, such as after the Lewis County flooding in 2007. In addition many more work with struggling students through the Washington Reading Corps, helping thousands of elementary school students succeed academically.
In our community, AmeriCorps members serving at Bellingham Technical College, Western Washington University, and Whatcom Community College tutor middle and high school students through the AmeriCorps Retention Project. Through the Students in Service AmeriCorps program, college students at Northwest Indian College, Western Washington University, and Whatcom Community College serve at area nonprofits. This year, through Students in Service, nearly 100 college students will volunteer more than 50,000 hours this year in service to Whatcom County communities.
National service dollars – more than $38 million annually – provide a return of $146 million of direct services to over 100,000 students who receive mentoring, tutoring and other academic assistance. Cutting programs like these would undermine significant gains made in education and interferes with preparing young people for college or the workforce.
As an organization that works closely with 38 colleges and universities in Washington, as well as hundreds of other institutions nationwide, Washington Campus Compact understands that making budget decisions in difficult times may mean that jobs are lost or that programs go unfunded. We also know that budget decisions that only look at bottom lines fail to grasp the lives touched, the services provided and the hope for better times ahead.
What national service programs provide young and old alike, in our community, in our state, in our nation, is the promise of opportunity and the ability to improve not only their own station in life, but of those around them. To view these programs as only dollars misses the essence of what they provide communities.
Yes, we can quantify the amount of dollars spent, the volunteers recruited, the hours served. And we can qualify the improvement in attitudes toward school and work, the desire to continue serving, the sense of civic duty. In fact, we have done those things. And what we’ve learned is that through national service, students have become more engaged in their academics and in civic life, student learning has increased, and yes, communities have improved.
The budget process should not just be about the bottom line. Let’s consider how dollars are spent and the return we receive on those dollars. And, let’s keep national service a vibrant part of our community, state and nation.
Brian Heinrich is the Communications Director at Washington Campus Compact, an organization that promotes service and volunteerism on college and university campuses. Washington Campus Compact is hosted at Western Washington University.
