The Selma City Council honored AmeriCorps volunteers during AmeriCorps Week in March. The city was notified Sunday that the program has been terminated.
The Selma City Council honored AmeriCorps volunteers during AmeriCorps Week in March. The city was notified Sunday that the program has been terminated.
A national volunteer program that has served Selma for years has been shut down.
Selma Mayor James Perkins Jr. said the city was told by the Federal Corporation for National and Community Service Sunday that the Selma AmeriCorps Neighborhood Development Initiative was terminated effective immediately.
“Over the decades, this program has closed the digital divide families, advanced K-12 literacy in our schools and prepared countless young people for a lifetime of leadership and learning,” Perkins said in a news release.
“For decades, the Selma AmeriCorps program has stood as a beacon of hope, service and transformation— empowering local residents, supporting local schools, and rebuilding our neighborhoods and communities,” Perkins said. “This abrupt termination brings an untimely end to a program that has not only rebuilt homes but restored lives and strengthened the very fabric of our city.”
Perkins said, “This decision does not reflect the value or impact of the Selma AmeriCorps team. Our members, staff and partners have served this city with honor, compassion and a deep commitment to progress. Their work has been vital to our shared mission to recover, rebuild and begin to shape a thriving Selma.”
Perkins called on state and federal partners “to reexamine the role of national service in rural communities. We urge supporters across Alabama and the nation to raise their voices in advocacy for programs that empower local leadership, cultivate young talent and drive community-led change.”
“Selma is a city shaped by struggle but defined by perseverance,” Perkins said. “While this chapter of AmeriCorps service concludes, our work to rebuild, restore and reimagine Selma continues.”
Perkins said, “On behalf of the City of Selma, I extend heartfelt gratitude to every AmeriCorps member, partner, and supporter who made this program a pillar of community resilience. We will honor your service by carrying forward the legacy of what you began to build.”
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