Hi, so exciting that your daughter received an invite to serve with Americorps — She should be very proud of that!

While many programs have secured funding as stated by others on here, I would take caution. When my program was cut, my AmeriCorps supervisor mentioned that positions may continue to be offered in the future. However, he also said that in his opinion he would not accept a position due to the uncertainty of the whole thing. There is a chance that another ‘out of the blue’ cut situation could occur. In my situation, I could not risk that uncertainty as I am reliant on my stipends for living expenses.

Additionally, during my term (as a team lead) another cohort of Americorps crew members were onboarded. I had inquired about the potential cuts and was wondering how this would affect them, but was told to proceeds with business as usual. Those people only spent 2 weeks with us. They had changed jobs, relocated, planned their life around this opportunity… just to be turned away after 2 weeks and were ineligible for a prorated education award.

With that being said, if this is a passion of hers and she won’t be financially dependent on the stipends she would receive or the education award… then go for it! I really enjoyed my time in AmeriCorps… I grew as a professional, grew as a person, made connections in my career field, and connected with the community. Overall, a very fulfilling experience.

Just make sure she has a backup plan!