It is with deep sadness that we share devastating news with you — our Flipside AmeriCorps program has been terminated as part of the national DOGE budget cuts. Our program, along with over 1,000 others across the country have been closed, effective immediately. Over 32,000 hard working AmeriCorps members are losing their service placements.
This is truly heartbreaking. For the past three years, Flipside AmeriCorps has provided critical afterschool support, mentorship, and enrichment to hundreds of middle school students across Marion County. Our dedicated members poured their hearts into helping students grow academically, socially, and emotionally — and thanks to their hard work, we made an incredible difference in the lives of so many young people.
Unfortunately, despite the clear and urgent need for these services, extremely careless funding decisions at the federal level have forced the end of programs like ours.
Currently, we have other grant funding available to keep the Flipside Afterschool program operational through the end of the school year. That’s not the case at many programs across the state or country.
I want to specifically thank each of our AmeriCorps members. As an AmeriCorps alum myself, their service and commitment made me so extremely proud to have them as part of our team. I also want to express my appreciation to our Program Manager Becky Ashcraft who is also being let go as part of this termination as well. Becky has been a phenomenal member of our team and we so appreciate her commitment.
If you are able, we certainly encourage you to inform your elected officials about the extremely cruel and hurtful ramifications these cuts have on everyday lives. You can use this link to contact your congressional delegation members: https://voicesforservice.org/take-action/contact-congress/
Thank you for standing with us, for believing in our programs, and for your unwavering support of our United Way.
With heartfelt gratitude,
Brett White
Chief Executive Officer