/ AmeriCorps,

Contact Members of Congress about AmeriCorps Project Conserve

On April 28, DOGE abruptly cut AmeriCorps Project Conserve, a program that has supported conservation in WNC for 20 years. You can learn more here. Please call your Members of Congress to share your concerns about this action.

How to Find Your Representatives’ Contact Information

The most effective way to make your voice heard is to call your two Senators and your one Representative. In NC, your Senators are Sen. Thom Tillis and Sen. Ted Budd. Your Representative depends on where you live.  

Use this link to look up your address and find your legislators’ contact information.  

Remember to always be polite and respectful when contacting your representatives!

What to Say About AmeriCorps Project Conserve

Here are some talking points. Feel free to personalize this to express what Project Conserve means to you:

  • Hi, my name is [your name] from [where you live.] I was upset to learn that DOGE cut AmeriCorps Project Conserve, which supports land and water conservation in WNC. This important program should be reinstated right away.
  • The program was terminated in the middle of the AmeriCorps term, even though grant funding had been awarded through the end of July in a binding contract. This shows a disturbing disregard for law and order.
  • AmeriCorps Project Conserve members support 14 conservation nonprofits and local governments in WNC. These organizations are now struggling with an unexpected loss of capacity. And AmeriCorps members are potentially facing the abrupt loss of the modest living stipend they use to pay their rent and buy groceries.
  • It doesn’t make sense to cut Project Conserve in the name of efficiency, since it provides an excellent return on investment. Members were serving full-time and earning only a modest living stipend. The cost of that stipend was split between the federal program and the local organization.
  • I hope that you share my strong commitment to conservation and will do everything in your power to reinstate this program, which should never have been terminated. Thank you!