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I am a 24-year-old Hispanic male from Boise, Idaho, and I have just completed my ten-month term of service for AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps, also known as the domestic Peace Corps. Before I joined, I was getting restless in life. I needed to find something that would allow me to get away and have new experiences. AmeriCorps gave me just that.

Since last year, I have done many things I would never have done without AmeriCorps. First, I have been to every state in the Northeast. Before, I had never been further east than Chicago. I also had the chance to visit Alabama and Mississippi. I have always wanted to see as much of the United States as possible, and I was given that chance.

My projects put me in situations that challenged me mentally and physically. I did everything from inner-city cleanup in Baltimore, Maryland, to teen suicide research in Camden, Maine. My team worked on a farm, and I worked a summer education program in Brooklyn, New York. One day I would build a playground in Philadelphia, and the next, I would do summer camp maintenance in Plymouth, Massachusetts. When Hurricane Katrina devastated the South, I was sent down and put in charge of a shelter for more than 180 evacuees.

The highlight for me was being asked to speak on behalf of AmeriCorps at the 2005 National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Annual Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NCLR is the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States and the leading voice in Washington, DC for the Hispanic community. I have done so much for this country through AmeriCorps.

"Getting things done" is no longer a slogan for me; it is a lifestyle. Fortunately, I was not alone in all of this. I was placed on a team of 12 people. We were called "Fire 3." This team started off as a group of strangers from all over the country. We became so close that I now do not hesitate to call them my family. We went through so much together. We laughed, cried, argued, played, broke down, and rose up together. We taught each other patience, teamwork, and cultural understanding.

At the beginning of last year, I was told I would be a different person after finishing the program. It took everything in me not to laugh. Now I believe everything I have done for AmeriCorps has significantly affected my life and who I am. I want more people to experience this. This program is an extraordinary pipeline for thousands of young people to come together and serve this country within its borders. It is a vital part of America.

That said, the AmeriCorps organization got word that our nation's administration is planning to cut $50 million of its fiscal year 2007 funding. This includes the total shutdown of the National Civilian Community Corps program. The hundreds of thousands of people who have been touched by this program do not want this to happen. The best way to oppose the funding cut is to garner support from our local media, city and state governments, and concerned citizens. Please contact your city and state leaders with letters and emails. Without AmeriCorps, how can we “change the world?”

Thank you for your consideration.

José Fulgencio Manzanares currently works at a shelter for homeless and runaway teens in Boise, Idaho. He may be reached at mrmanzy@hotmail.com.

Please find below, a link detailing the planned funding cuts of $50 million from AmeriCorps and the shutting down of NCCC: http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/newsroom/states_news_detail.asp?tbl_pr_id=248

This column was originally published on Hispanic Link News Service. To visit the site go to http://www.hispaniclink.org/index.htm