Dear Editor: At 6:20 p.m. Friday, April 25, we received notice that federal grants for the 25 active AmeriCorps programs in our state board’s portfolio were being terminated immediately, as well as planning grants for five organizations to develop programs through the Volunteer Generation Fund.

Closing these programs would halt service at more than 300 sites across Wisconsin, including schools, medical clinics and nonprofit organizations, as well as harming the hundreds of AmeriCorps members currently serving.

If these grant terminations take effect, thousands of students will suddenly lose tutoring and support programming. Hundreds of people with substance abuse disorders will lose their recovery coaches and thousands of people will lose programming at health clinics and organizations throughout Wisconsin.

Services provided to homeless youth and individuals with disabilities will be greatly reduced and hundreds of nonprofits will lose support in serving their communities. Planned conservation projects and summer programming for children that families depend on will no longer take place.

In the Madison area, this will eliminate service through nine AmeriCorps programs, including United Way of Dane County’s Schools of Hope and Achievement Connections, Partners for After School Success, Easterseals Wisconsin, DPI Farm to School, and several more organizations.

Contact your members of Congress to let them know these grants need to be reinstated. To find their contact information, click here.