A bill recently proposed in Congress would reduce opportunities for people to serve their country by cutting 500-million dollars from the Corporation for National and Community Service, which oversees the AmeriCorps program.
Mythili Rundblad oversees the Americorps program at SIU-Carbondale as co-director of the Center for Service Learning and Volunteerism.
She says similar cuts proposed in the past have not been approved because Americorps supporters are able to convince Congress about the program's merits.
"All Americorps programs show data about cost-benefit, as well as effectiveness. If this is the goal of a particular program, like ours is tutoring and mentoring, what is the impact that it makes on the children who are being tutored and mentored?
There are around a dozen Americorps workers at SIU-Carbondale each year.
Rundblad says it's refreshing to know there are still plenty of young people who are willing to make a difference in people's lives for a very small stipend.
"I think many of these students who come to me to be part of Americorps understand that it is not simply like working in a retail store or a restaurant. This is much more involved. This is impacting a life."
