AmeriCorps: take action!

I'm copying and pasting this from an email I was forwarded:

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On Friday, May 16, 2008, U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut will introduce the AmeriCorps Act of 2008. The bill will:

• Raise the education award to $6,185,the average annual cost of tuition and fees for an instate student at a four year public university
• Make the education award tax exempt
• Restore the Corporation's previous authority to partner with other Federal agencies to use national service as a strategy to carry out Departments' priorities
• Promote the Corporation for National and Community Service to Cabinet level status.

AmeriCorps Alums encourages all AmeriCorps Alums to support this effort, as it recognizes the importance of service and promotes access to education by increasing the value of the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award. Since its inception in 1994, more than 540,000 citizens have served through AmeriCorps to address the unmet needs of our nation. These citizens have given over 700,000,000 hours toward improving the lives of other Americans.

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To take action:

You can build support for national service by encouraging your Senators to join as original cosponsors of the bill. Call today; the deadline for cosponsors is Thursday, May 15th at 4:00pm.

Action Steps for the AmeriCorps Act of 2008:

1. Call the Capitol operator at (202) 224-3121 to be connected to your Senator.
2. Ask your elected official to be an original cosponsor of the AmeriCorps Act of 2008.
3. To cosponsor, interested offices should contact Mary Ellen McGuire with Senator Dodd’s office by email: MaryEllen_McGuire@help.senate.gov. Deadline for cosponsors is Thursday, May 15th at 4pm.

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And of course, I am NOT doing this while clocking hours (hello, lunch. jamba juice & a popsicle! apparently a predicted high of 95 degrees encourages SF to buy popsicles, even though its really like 75 degrees.)