Arlington leaders say they will do what they can to blunt the loss of AmeriCorps staff at local nonprofit organizations.
The Trump administration has targeted the federal agency for downsizing or elimination. It is a domestic version of the Peace Corps, providing personnel — from young adults to seniors — who help staff social-safety-net organizations.
Among local groups being impacted is Aspire! Afterschool Learning, which has used personnel from AmeriCorps in providing educational-support services to students in grades 3 to 8 from low-income families.
The organization on April 28 lost federal funding that had supported 17 AmeriCorps personnel. It has rehired 15 staffers on a temporary basis, and is attempting to raise $350,000 by June 30 while taking steps to get the federal funds restored.
“We’re fighting this in court,” said Tony Weaver, a member of the organization’s board of directors. However, the fight will likely be lengthy, and the program will need additional resources in the interim.
“Your support is immensely appreciated,” said Weaver, speaking at the County Board’s Saturday (May 10) public-comment period. A large contingent backing the request for additional support accompanied him.
Aspire’s services currently impact about 150 students, the vast majority from households earning 30% or less of area median income, Weaver said.
Typical students enter the program two grade levels behind in reading competency, he said. They emerge four times more likely to graduate high school than others in the same economic condition that do not receive support services.
Also facing the prospect of AmeriCorps support being cut or eliminated is Edu-Futuro. The organization provides support to at-risk high-school students, helping them to graduate and attend college.
County leaders on May 10 offered no specific promises, but said they are aware of the situation and are trying to address it.
“This is an absolutely essential service,” Board Chair Takis Karantonis said.
Karantonis said the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation is being asked to fill gaps in order keep programming running through the summer, with “the bulk of the challenge” likely to arrive when the 2025-26 school year starts.
Board member Matt de Ferranti, an alumnus of the AmeriCorps program, said targeting it for elimination was very personal to him.
“It is an inhumane and stupid policy,” he said.
As part of the fiscal 2026 budget-adoption process recently concluded, county officials left themselves several million dollars in reserve funds and discretionary funding. How much of that could go to address the situation remains to be seen.
“We can’t fix everything,” de Ferranti said. “We’re going to try to do what is plausible.”
The county government did provide Aspire with just under $150,000 in March, part of a group of grants supporting organizations working with those in the immigrant community.
According to federal data, Virginia in 2024 was served by nearly 2,900 members of the AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors programs, aiding about 370 different organizations.
Nationally in 2024, about 200,000 AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors personnel served in local communities.
