But one local group stepped up to preserve their members' jobs
By Andrew Spellman, Editor-in-chief at The Spirit of Jefferson
May 2, 2025
May 2, 2025
Federal cuts continue to impact vast amounts of Americans, and one of the most recent heads on the chopping block was AmeriCorps, the federal agency that connects public servants to different groups around the country.
The total number of cuts is significant. According to America’s Service Commission, over 1,000 programs have been shuttered and more than 32,000 member and senior volunteer positions have “prematurely end[ed]” as part of DOGE’s continued war march through Washington D.C. The Washington Post noted more precise numbers that 1,031 organizations have been affected and that 32,465 member/senior volunteers taking the hit.
This is in addition to 85% of AmeriCorps staff being put on administrative leave and orders to stop around $400 million in grants in April, according to the Associated Press. In total, the federal agency staffed 500 full-time employees and operated a $1 billion budget. An explanation from the White House cited “improper payments” totaling more than $40 million in 2024, according to the AP.
And, yet, AmeriCorps work persists in the Eastern Panhandle, although, not under that same banner. While work certainly continues, it’s now completely structured under the Potomac Valley Audubon Society which retained all eight of its former AmeriCorps members as hourly employees. The organization prepared for this by setting up an emergency fund, which is now supplementing wages to the former members at a price tag of nearly $75,000 through August.
“The AmeriCorps service members were at Poor House Farm Park doing a field trip for local school kids, got back to their cars and got the message they were terminated. So that was a fun way to end a really good day,” said PVAS Executive Director Kristin Alexander, applying lighthearted sarcasm to the word “fun.”
She said the organization was prepared for this, noting that the board decided to create that rainy day fund so local programming could continue.
“The next day [Thursday], we had another 100 kids showing up at Poor House Farm Park, so what are we supposed to do?” she posed. “We immediately offered [those previous] AmeriCorps members employment as hourly employees. They’re already trained and background checked, everything is ready so it was up to us committing money.”
Every former member showed up the next day.
“It was pretty amazing,” Alexander said. “We’re grateful that they’re willing to stick with us through this craziness. We made a commitment to them and they made a commitment to us.”
The agency layoffs in D.C. originally tipped off PVAS that cuts could be coming to AmeriCorps members, followed by word from their staffing agency, of sorts, High Rocks AmeriCorps based in Hillsboro, W.Va. Allegedly, High Rocks informed PVAS that “things weren’t looking good” but that funding was still available. Then the grants began to get pulled and, eventually, the terminations were handed down.
“We had heard [Tuesday] that other programs had been closed,” Alexander said. “And then High Rocks got shut down on Wednesday.”
Beginning Thursday morning, many goals were established by PVAS, and, while keeping those former members employed was part of that, the main goal was to maintain the summer programs local children have been looking forward to. That night, a Zoom meeting was held where key points were established.
According to a document provided by PVAS, the financial impact without AmeriCorps members after August will likely lead to a "significant" cost increase for the organization's summer camp, and that, while they currently reach virtually all 4th graders in Jefferson, Berkeley and Morgan counties with free resources, that could change. The organization expects its outreach will be reduced to one-fourth of its current numbers.
On Friday, students from Faith Christian Academy descended on Morgan's Grove Park in Shepherdstown, and, while not all former members were present for the small group event, the excitement of the children drowned out, at least temporarily, any feelings relating to the terminations among the former members.
“I’m sure it’s going to be financially challenging for our organization but I’m so grateful that we’re in a position to [keep the members], and they’ve expressed as well that they’re very grateful,” said Laurel Schwartz, program specialist at PVAS. “A lot of them have said this is their calling … and they really enjoy being with us. And that they didn’t anticipate this when they started their terms.”
Schwartz is a former AmeriCorps member, working for PVAS after she graduated from Shepherd from 2019-20. According to her, it was through the agency that she found her calling. Now, she worries that the massive cuts could hinder someone else from finding a career they love.
“Some AmeriCorps positions provide housing or housing at a lower cost, so you’re able to take that risk,” she said. “A lot of our AmeriCorps members have traveled around the U.S., and gone to states where they don’t have a support system. One of our educators came from New York after going to college in Maine and has housing through PVAS. Luckily, he’s going to be able to stay there.”
That former member is Ethan Bennett, originally of Rochester, N.Y., on the banks of Lake Ontario, who spent his Friday morning teaching the visiting students about macro-invertebrates in a portion of Town Run. During a quick break, Bennett shared his story, noting the termination left him feeling “disheartened.”
“AmeriCorps as a program largely benefits non-profits, so by cutting AmeriCorps, you’re not talking about taking money away from people who are making money,” he said. “You’re talking about taking money away from people who are in it for a non-profit purpose who are trying to give back to their communities. It was a very disheartening feeling.”
Bennett received his bachelor’s degree in environmental and ecological sciences from the University of Maine and has been searching for an opportunity for a year before landing with PVAS. And, while the news left him reeling, that was quickly replaced by a wave of relief when the organization offered him an hourly position to stay on through the end of his service period.
“I was ecstatic,” he said. “They didn’t have to do that by any stretch of the imagination and it said that the work I was doing was impactful and meaningful. If the program wasn’t worth keeping I don’t think they would have kept it going.”
When asked if he’s thinking of what comes next, Bennett said he’s looking to continue to build relationships within the community while game planning for after the end of his service period.
“I’m a go-getter. If you’re not moving forward you’re standing still,” he said. “It’s easier to open doors than to close them, so whatever opportunities are out there, I’m there.”
Currently, 24 states and the District of Columbia have sued the Trump Administration and AmeriCorps over the gutting of the agency, citing illegality in the methods used to dismantle it which was created and funded by Congress. West Virginia is not part of the lawsuit, which was filed in federal district court in Baltimore.
Back at Morgan's Grove Park, Schwartz shared her hope for the future of the agency, which could take significant time to repair and return to its previous capacity.
“AmeriCorps has a huge return on investment,” she said. “I hope AmeriCorps is a program that continues into the future. I know the immediate future is uncertain with lawsuits and whatnot. For years, it’s allowed us to provide our programs to schools free of charge because we’re able to get them funded through local grants so, for us, it’s going to change the structure of our programming in a big way.”
Alexander concurred.
“To us, AmeriCorps is the reason we have the huge outreach we do,” she said. “With AmeriCorps, last year we were able to reach 3,000 individual kids with programming ranging from one hour to 30 hours. There’s no way we could do that affordably without AmeriCorps.”
PVAS asks that people join them in reaching out to Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) regarding the cuts, as she's been a longtime proponent of the agency and its work. The Spirit reached out to Sen. Capito's communications team on Thursday requesting comment and, while the office responded to the Spirit's inquiry, those questions went unanswered by the time this article was published.
Sen. Capito did speak with MetroNews on Thursday, however, saying that the dismantling of the agency is a "great concern."
“There’s no doubt that the core functions that AmeriCorps is performing in a state like ours are pretty critical to fill gaps where we cannot fill them on our own,” Capito said in that interview. “So, I would say this is new news, and we’re going to help them work through this.”