ServiceNation Talks to Government Leaders

Saturday, June 1, 2013 - 09:47 Wayne Hagen, Richard Smaby

On Wednesday May 29 ServiceNation organized an opportunity for those who have served in civilian service programs, such as AmeriCorps, VISTA, and Senior Corps, to send a message to Congress to not cut AmeriCorps spending. See the previous article about ServiceNation and the report on the event at the ServiceNation site. The images and words of the participants speak eloquently to the reasons for supporting AmeriCorps and similar organizations. So, we will let them. Enjoy the following gallery of images.

Carol Farer, the Field Organizer for ServiceNation in Washington State, introduced those who listened to the testimonials. From left to right in the photo in the second row middle in the photo gallery, they are:

  • Dan Newell, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education and Student Support, Office of Superintendent of Pubic Instruction
  • Debbie Schuffenhauer, Executive Director, Washington Commission for National and Community Service
  • Lauren Adler, Pierce County Coordinator for Representative Denny Heck
  • Tommy Bauer, Pierce County Outreach Representative for Senator Maria Cantwell
  • Kristine Reeves, South Sound Regional Director for Senator Patty Murray
  • Linh Thai, Community Liaison for Representative Adam Smith
Contact your representatives in Congress to take leadership roles in persuading their colleagues to adequately fund AmeriCorps. You can find contact information for your representatives here.
  • Registering for ServiceNation Event
  • Get Your 'Stand for Service' T-shirt
  • Write Your Personal Testimonial
  • The Other Sponsor: Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
  • Networking Before Official Introductions
  • Networking Before Official Introductions
  • Networking Before Official Introductions
  • Carol Farer, ServiceNation Field Organizer for Washingto State Introduces Those Who Will Listen
  • Kristine Reeves, South Sound Regional Director for Senator Patty Murray, describes how the senator makes sure AmeriCorps dollars come back here to Washington State.
  • Lauren Adler, Pierce County Coordinator for Congressman Denny Heck, describes how an AmeriCorps member working in the Academic Resource Center at Pierce College Puyallup helped run that center to make sure students had the help they need in their classes.
  • Linh Thai, Community Liaison for Congressman Adam Smith, shares how Adam Smith consistently supports funding for national service programs and encourages everyone on his staff to contribute to public service, so they can do their job even better.
  • Debbie Schuffenhauer, Executive Director, Washington Commission for National and Community Service, oversees approximately 17.5 million dollars in federal AmeriCorps funds that fund over 1500 AmeriCorps members here in Washington State.
  • Dan Newell, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education and Student Support, Office of Superintendent of Pubic Instruction.
  • Ryan Mello, Tacoma City Council member, told how fresh out of college his job in AmeriCorps was to figure out how to move middle and high school students to a life long ethic of service. The result was a varsity letter for community service.
  • Laurie Jinkins, Representative (D) from the 27th Legislative District, emphasizes the importance of getting to know and work with people who from different backgrounds.
  • Former state representative and judge Art Wang came to Washington State as a VISTA volunteer 40 years ago to work with the Tacoma Community House, which had two employees at that time.
  • Ben Rasmus, Program Director and VISTA alum, Rotary First Harvest, shares how he was one of the alums who got hired by a host site
  • Franklin Pierce High School College Bound students and teacher Kyler Phillips expressing appreciation for the assistance of AmeriCorps members in the schools.
  • AmeriCorps alum sharing what AmeriCorps meant to her
  • AmeriCorps alum sharing what AmeriCorps meant to her
  • Dexter Gordon, Professor of Communication Studies and African American Studies at the University of Puget Sound, shares the advice he gives to all his students that service is a necessary part of their lives.
  • State Senator Steve Conway (D) from the 29th legislative district, relates how AmeriCorps at Peace Lutheran which runs a large AmeriCorps program for outreach to middle schools to help students who are struggling in school to improve their performance.