On September 14, 2005, over 70 representatives of the national service field, including program staff, board members, corporate sponsors, and alumni, participated in the National Service Hill Day. The group met with more than 80 congressional offices representing 29 states from across the nation. Throughout the meetings, national service representatives reinforced three messages:

1. The request that the Member support The AmeriCorps Disaster Relief Corps Act of 2005, co-sponsored by Co-Chairs of the National Service Congressional Caucus, which proposes to expand AmeriCorps by 10,000 members immediately as a strategic response to the relief and recovery efforts in Gulf Coast Region;
2. The request that the Member work to pass the Fiscal Year 2006 funding levels approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on July 14; $429 million for AmeriCorps, $42.6 million for Learn and Serve America;
3. The request that the Member support the expansion of AmeriCorps in FY07 to 150,000, double the current enrollment of 75,000 members, and a growth in the appropriation for Learn and Serve America to $46 million to support scientifically-based research and additional grants for local schools and communities.

Meeting participants reported that meetings with Congressmen and staffers went very well and that these requests were well received. A special thanks to all the individuals and organizations that joined us this year on the Hill to bring the power and impact of national service programs to our public leaders.

Photos taken by: Claire Duggan - Copyright 2005