We are sad to share that Monday evening, we received notice from the Illinois Department of Human Services that our AmeriCorps program was terminated as of Friday, April 25, and that all members must stop service.

Severson Dells is one of over 1,000 AmeriCorps host sites nationwide that received this cancellation notice, affecting more than 30,000 AmeriCorps members. In Illinois, these cuts affected 25 of the 33 AmeriCorps host sites across the state. 

Our partnership with AmeriCorps goes back to 2019, when we began hosting 2 full time members and 8 part time summer members.  Since then, we have grown our program to host 6 full time members and 6 part time members. While most of these members serve at Severson Dells, we also have members serving with Boone County Conservation District, the Natural Land Institute, Nature at the Confluence and Dekalb County Forest Preserves. So these cuts affect more than just the Severson Dells organization, they affect the entire region.

The impact of this termination is significant. Over the next four months of their scheduled term, we planned for our AmeriCorps members to support:

• Thousands of walk-in visitors annually
• 5 weeks of Summer Education Programs for Rockford Public Schools that serve 125 students
• 25 Spring Field Trips and 1,125 students
• 10+ Summer Field Trips with outside camps, library and community groups
• An anticipated 32 Fall Field Trips
• 35+  Public Education Programs
• Monthly habitat restoration days with community volunteers
• Support 7 regional and national Community Science research projects
• Collect baseline environmental data at the Elliot Golf Course property
• Members serving with partner organizations were planning on supporting hundreds of acres of habitat restoration across Winnebago, Boone and Dekalb counties and supporting education programs in and around South Beloit

This is where Severson Dells needs your help! We are asking you to reach out to your federal legislators and let them know how these AmeriCorps cuts affect your community: https://voicesforservice.org/take-action/contact-congress/

In addition to the direct impact on the AmeriCorps members that have been cut, these cuts also have a significant financial impact on the Severson Dells organization.  Severson Dells is seeking support from the community to help us cover the unexpected $60,000 cost of staffing the programs and services once delivered by AmeriCorps, as well as plan for the future costs of hiring internally for the next term without AmeriCorps. Please consider donating: https://bit.ly/SDNC-AmeriCorps

The AmeriCorps program, nationally, has seen continual increases in federal funding in both Republican and Democrat administrations, including in Trump’s first term. There are numerous members of the House and Senate that span the full political spectrum that have been staunch advocates for the AmeriCorps program.  For every $1 of federal funding to the AmeriCorps program, communities receive $34 in benefits. Because of the strength of this program and the benefit to the community, Severson Dells thought it was a safe program to invest in as a way to expand our impact in the community while also helping to develop the next generation of environmental educators and natural land managers. 

We have seen our AmeriCorps alumni go on to work as:

• The Executive Director of Nature at the Confluence
• Water Resource Specialist for IL Environmental Protection Agency
• Museum Program and Makerspace Manager at the Discovery Center Museum
• Biological Technician for the US Forest Service
• Educator with the Rockford Park District

We have three AmeriCorps alumni that are pursuing higher education degrees (2 Masters of Science and 1 PhD) in Natural Resources, Ecology and Conservation. 

We are so proud of the work they have accomplished at Severson Dells and continue to accomplish in their professional journeys. We are also grateful that these members so generously gave their time and talents to Severson Dells and the northern Illinois community.