Letters to the editor: I can’t imagine better value than the AmeriCorps

I can’t imagine better value than the AmeriCorps It was with profound sadness, anger and despair that I learned of Trump’s cutting of AmeriCorps. I served in AmeriCorps for four years working with low-income students through the I Have a Dream Foundation. If he is looking to cut waste, I can’t imagine a worse decision.

Thousands of young people work through AmeriCorps for a minimal stipend to support children, to build houses, to provide disaster relief, to provide healthcare, to care for the elderly plus the many other ways they support communities. I can’t imagine more bang for your buck. It was a joy for me to serve with a bunch of fired-up twenty-somethings, many who went on to become teachers, doctors, and lawyers.



For them, AmeriCorps was a chance to serve and gain a different perspective that they carried with them into their professions. This is just one example of how the indiscriminate slashing of funding for government programs is damaging our society. We need to stand up against Trump and DOGE to stop this madness.

Jeff Oliver, Lafayette.