Dear Friends,
I’m writing today with some urgent news and to ask for your help.
On April 26, GMCG was notified that the federal AmeriCorps program was being terminated, effective immediately. For GMCG, this has meant the immediate loss of funding for two full-time and two part-time AmeriCorps members – nearly half of our staff.
This news has been devastating, not just to GMCG, but to seven other conservation organizations in the Lakes Region hosting a total of 27 service members — all vital to their mission and day-to-day operations. All told, over 1,000 AmeriCorps programs have been immediately terminated affecting roughly 32,000 people serving communities across the nation.
Here at GMCG, AmeriCorps members contribute nearly 4,000 service hours annually, providing educational programming and regular water quality monitoring on Ossipee Lake, Broad Bay, Leavitt Bay, Berry Bay, Danforth Ponds, Round Pond, Loon Lake, and 28 rivers and streams across the watershed in the towns of Eaton, Effingham, Freedom, Madison, Ossipee, Sandwich and Tamworth.
Data collected by AmeriCorps members directly impacts local understanding of harmful cyanobacteria blooms, the effects of E. coli contamination and the significance of changes in salt, pH and dissolved oxygen in local waters on wildlife and humans.
AmeriCorps members play a critical role in our ability to offer high quality educational programming in local schools, libraries and at our Effingham headquarters. Through our well-regarded educational programs such as Trout in the Classroom and GET WET, GMCG provides hands-on experiences for young people in basic science, watershed literacy and environmental stewardship.
In the wake of the abrupt and disappointing decision to end AmeriCorps, we have had to make the difficult decision to rescind job offers to two members scheduled to begin work in less than two weeks. It has been a heartbreaking choice to deny these passionate and committed individuals the opportunity to serve and support our community.
For our two members currently serving, this situation has created a profound and painful disruption. Our priority now is to support these (now former) AmeriCorps members and continue the programs they were set to offer as part of GMCG’s mission.
We are pulling together resources to hire them as seasonal employees to honor the commitment they made,– and that GMCG has made to the community — to provide water quality monitoring and educational programs across the watershed.
To continue this impactful work into the future, we are launching a special fundraising effort titled the AmeriCorps Bridge Campaign. We are seeking funds to support the program in its current state and create a robust program for the future.
Please stay tuned and consider donating as generously as you can. Every donation, no matter how small, will make a difference in sustaining the efforts we embarked on with the AmeriCorps program.
More than ever, we will depend on volunteers to help us achieve our mission of protecting the natural resources and water quality of the Greater Ossipee Watershed. Please consider serving on one of our several committees that support our staff in their work. Reach out to me if you are interested or have any questions.
And thank you for your continued support!
– Nancy Ritger
Executive Director
director@gmcg.org
