Saving Service Programs

This week the National Mentoring Partnership released a legislative alert regarding a potential bill that would drastically cut funding to government programs and would eliminate the Corporation for National and Community Service. See the full story below and learn what you can do to save service programs:

Mentoring Legislative Alert
February 2011
Save Service Day


This past weekend, by a vote of 235-189, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, a continuing resolution that will cut government programs by $100 billion for the rest of this fiscal year. This bill eliminates the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and would zero out funding for the Mentoring Children of Prisoners program. We need your help now to ensure these harmful cuts to mentoring do not become law.

As you may know, Congress is in recess, and the Senate has not yet voted on this bill (and after they vote, the bill will still need to go to the President), so there is time to act. Therefore, Friday has been designated a "Save Service Day."
We are joining forces with Big Brothers Big Sisters, Voices for National Service and several additional service-related organizations in reaching out to our members. We ask you all to contact your Members of Congress this Friday, February 25, by phone or e-mail — or by scheduling a meeting — to explain the necessity of service programs.

We need your help in contacting your Senators right away and telling them to pass a Continuing Resolution that restores funding to CNCS and the Mentoring Children of Prisoners program. You can find contact information at: www.senate.gov.
If you choose to reach out by phone, we encourage you to state the bill number (H.R. 1), the title of the legislation (Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011) and why restoring funding to Mentoring Children of Prisoners and CNCS is important to you.

We understand that this is a difficult time for our economy and a difficult time for funding all programs. We ask that you encourage your Senators to fund quality mentoring programs. We certainly do not want to see tax-payer dollars wasted on bad programs.

If you choose to reach out by e-mail, you can click here to write your Senators: (www.capwiz.com/mentor/issues/alert/?alertid=30007506&type=CO)
Then, on Friday, please call or e-mail your Senators again in honor of Save Service Day. With programs across the country reaching out en masse, we hope to make a major impact.

Thank you very much for your support and efforts. Together, we can save mentoring programs across the country.