Hartford, CT)—Today, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and U.S. Representatives Rosa DeLauro (CT-3), John Larson (CT-1), Joe Courtney (CT-2), Jim Himes (CT-4) and Elizabeth Esty (CT-5) announced $3.9 million in AmeriCorps funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). 

The funding includes four grants totaling $920,090, which will support 217 AmeriCorps members. In addition, the organizations will be awarded $1,763,730 from the Connecticut Commission on Community Service, the Governor-appointed state service commission. 

CNCS will also provide up to $1.2 million in education scholarships for the AmeriCorps members funded by these grants to help pay for college, vocational training, or pay back student loans. 

“For over 20 years, AmeriCorps has played a significant role in strengthening communities from Hartford to Bridgeport. We’re pleased to announce more funds to provide children with an excellent education, encourage healthy eating in schools, address mental health and substance abuse issues, and help cultivate the next generation of leaders. Unfortunately, the Trump budget would completely eliminate this funding— a deeply misguided decision that would harm local communities and end important service opportunities for young people nationwide. We stand united in fighting these cuts, and protecting the unique role that AmeriCorps has played in making Connecticut a better place to live, learn, and grow,” said the delegation. 

Below is a listing of 2017 AmeriCorps competitive grants in Connecticut:

  • FoodCorps Connecticut – $237,000 AmeriCorps members will connect children in public schools to healthy food through nutrition education, school garden construction, and improved school lunch offerings. (20 AmeriCorps members)
  • Teach For America Connecticut – $86,500 AmeriCorps members will serve as full-time teachers in six of Connecticut's most underserved communities: Stamford, Bridgeport, New Haven, New Britain, Hartford, and Windham. (147 AmeriCorps members)
  • Public Allies Connecticut –$363,090 AmeriCorps members will deliver capacity building services in 19 unique organizations addressing education, housing, food security and other poverty-related disparities in Bridgeport, New Haven, and Hartford. (30 AmeriCorps members)
  • Mental Health First Aid Corps – $246,500 AmeriCorps members will certify community members in Youth Mental Health First Aid, a training that teaches how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. (20 AmeriCorps members)

This announcement comes after President Trump’s latest budget proposal, which would eliminate the Corporation for National and Community Service and all of its programs, including AmeriCorps.

Since 1994, more than 1 million men and women have served in AmeriCorps, providing more than 1.4 billion hours of service and earning more than $3.3 billion in scholarships to pay for college, more than $1 billion of which has been used to pay back student loan debt.

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