AmeriCorps cancels 11 Volunteers’ Education Award

On April 19th, 2021, eleven Chicagoland AmeriCorps members were notified by their leaders that their year of local service, a modest weekly stipend, and health insurance would end six months early on April 30th, 2021.

Ten Villages and Cities in the Chicagoland area are losing the main person designated to Sustainability projects addressing climate change and environmental justice in our region. 

The projects we are creating and implementing impact our communities and immensely benefit our region in preparing for the future. Projects include:

➜  Reducing air pollution by advancing Solar Energy and Electric Vehicle use,
➜  Community outreach & education on composting and recycling programs,
➜  Lead service line removal,
➜  Tree, bee, and butterfly conservation and preservation programs,
➜  Food drives & donation events, 
➜  Creating Climate Action Plans & Business Recognition Programs, 
➜  Acquiring mental health funding,
➜  Environmental Justice mapping and planning
➜  and so much more...

What spurred this fundraiser is that the Serve Illinois Commission administers the AmeriCorps programs in Illinois and distributes the Federal Funds allocated to those programs. Due to an unfortunate administrative error on their part and unnecessary delay in correcting it, we have learned that AmeriCorps will no longer assist in reinstating us into the program.

We entered the AmeriCorps program with plans to attend graduate school and further our contribution to society. Unfortunately, the 9,900+ hours of service we have provided thus far will not count towards unlocking AmeriCorps' $6,345 Segal Education Award, nor will graduate school tuition matches be available to defray graduate education costs. At the moment, this opportunity is lost.

We have been honored to serve ten Illinois communities for over 9,900 hours so far this year. Your goodwill and donations will cover the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award that all of us were depending on. Please help us further our environmental and sustainability professional careers to address climate change on behalf of all of us. Thank you!