'Too little, too late': Local volunteer organizations reeling from AmeriCorps cuts

“I learn from [the kids], just as well as trying to love on them,� she said.

Coleman is one of 45 people in the Foster Grandparent Program of the United Way Central of West Virginia. Seniors who make under 200% of the poverty level can earn a $4 per hour stipend.

“That small stipend that they receive helps pay for food, helps pay for transportation, maybe it’s car insurance, maybe it’s their electric bill in the winter,� said Amber Flynn, AmeriCorps senior director with the United Way of Central West Virginia.

Funding cuts

Flynn is facing two funding issues for the Foster Grandparents Program.

First, according to Voices for National Service, a Washington, D.C.-based group that advocates for AmeriCorps, the Office of Management and Budget is withholding $200 million in fiscal year 2025 funds that has already been granted to AmeriCorps programs, including $535,522 in funds for Flynn’s Foster Grandparents Program.

The OMB is an executive branch office that distributes federal money.

Additionally, in the proposed national budget for FY2026, all AmeriCorps programs have been slated for elimination. Already, about $400 million in AmeriCorps grants, 33,000 AmeriCorps volunteers and 85% of agency staff have been cut nationwide, according to Voices for National Service.

A federal judge ruled last month that the government must restore grants and positions in about 25 states that sued the Trump administration, according to The Associated Press. West Virginia did not join the lawsuit.

Bringing people to W.Va.

At a town hall meeting in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä last week, former AmeriCorps volunteers, current AmeriCorps workers and community members shared their AmeriCorps experiences and what they feel West Virginia loses when these cuts are made.

Paul Sheridan is a ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä attorney who came to West Virginia in 1978 to help with flood recovery in Mingo County. Originally from Massachusetts, Sheridan said he took “a scary leapâ€� and came to the state.

“I came for a year," Sheridan said, "and I’ve been here ever since.�

While volunteering in Mingo County, Sheridan met workers with Legal Aid and started a new career path as an attorney.

"It was absolutely transformative for me," he said, "and it's hard for me to imagine how I would've found my way without that opportunity to do community service.�

Devin Preston is the director of programs for High Rocks, a Pocahontas County nonprofit that serves youth and young adults. High Rocks had the second-largest AmeriCorps program in the state until the cuts.

Preston pointed out that AmeriCorps provides workforce development for the workers and for the state.

“I can tell you tons of stories of people who come to our state who have met people here, who have brought other people here and are now living and making their own families here,� he said. “I can’t imagine losing that vital conduit to our state.�

Hope in Smithers

Smithers Mayor Anne Cavalier also attended the town hall meeting and shared the effect AmeriCorps is having right now in her town of about 700 people. Cavalier explained how the economy of Smithers had been destroyed when West Virginia University Tech moved from Montgomery to Beckley in 2017.

“Last year and this year, I have AmeriCorps members. I have people who have come to our community full of hope, full of energy, full of enthusiasm and ideas,� Cavalier said.

Katherine McGraw, originally from Raleigh County, is in her second year of AmeriCorps in Smithers.

McGraw has worked on multiple projects in Smithers. Right now, she’s developing a program where residents can share their skills with each other. An upcoming program will have a local martial artist teaching kids about self-defense.

" My experience with AmeriCorps has been incredibly enriching, both personally and professionally," she said. "I was dedicated to getting this second contract because I love the area so much.�

Fisher Hemwall is in his second week as an AmeriCorps worker in Smithers. He is originally from Pittsburgh and recently graduated from Kent State University. He hopes to preserve nature and also strengthen the community of Smithers.

“The first two days, I’ve been welcomed with open arms, especially coming from not being born in West Virginia or in a rural setting,� he said.

'Too little, too late'

At the town hall, April Elkins Badtke, executive director of Stewards Individual Placements, which helps find placements for AmeriCorps members, said many people don't understand AmeriCorps.

She has been advocating for the government to keep AmeriCorps operating. According to Badtke, West Virginia is among the top five states with the most AmeriCorps members per capita.

“They don’t understand, that tutor that is sitting across the table from their child is an AmeriCorps member. They don’t understand, the person that’s getting recovery services is getting it from an AmeriCorps member who also is in recovery themselves,� she said. “They don’t understand, but they’re about to. What’s going to happen is going to be too little, too late, and we can’t let that happen.�

Continuing to serve

While the funding source for these projects remains uncertain, West Virginia volunteers like Coleman plan to keep serving.

“I love going in that classroom," she said. "The teachers and I, we have a bond.�

McGraw said she is confident the work will continue.

"There's no other return on investment like it. It delivers on-the-ground assistance that alleviates poverty and incorporates the things that the communities love. There's nothing else like it,� she said. “If I was laid off today, I really wouldn't be worried because I know, eventually, I would be able to rejoin AmeriCorps.�