‘Very devastated’: AmeriCorps volunteers sent home after sudden federal funding cuts
LAS VEGAS (KVVU/Gray News) - Officials in Las Vegas say they have received word that all AmeriCorps services must end due to federal cuts affecting certain programs.
AmeriCorps volunteer Geena Donnelly said the cuts don’t just affect her position, especially since her team was looking forward to what they could do in the future.
“We were very excited about the next year that’s going to come,” Donnelly said. “We had all these plans to make our program even more than it already is, and when we got the news, we were just very devastated. It was very sudden.”
Donnelly, who’s been with AmeriCorps in the Las Vegas valley for about two years, said the positive trajectory they thought they had, being able to help families, was stopped in its tracks.
And the crew found out about the changes in a group chat.
“We received a message on Slack that the educational grant has been terminated due to federal funding cuts,” Donnelly said.
The grant had supported more than 60 positions across the city.
City leaders said those roles offered vital support for young people and families, helping students stay in school, connecting residents to services and strengthening community programs.
Donnelly said that the support she gave to students was also something she benefited from because she was in their shoes, paying off student loans.
But the program has been cut short for Donnelly and others.
Donnelly said the cuts sting even more for her, given that she was just shy of fulfilling her 900-hour commitment to AmeriCorps, which would have bagged her thousands of dollars in an education award.
“This is going to affect, not only my financial aid with college, but it’s going to affect everybody else’s in the AmeriCorps program,” Donnelly said. “If they had student loans to pay off, it’s going to massively affect that.”
City officials say AmeriCorps members were pulled from their service sites and sent home.
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