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Robyn Landes is an AmeriCorps Resilience Fellow serving with the City of South Portland’s Sustainability Department, focused on community engagement, outreach, and communications.
While uncertain of my next steps after graduating from college, I knew I wanted to jumpstart my career in a meaningful way through tangible, community-centric work. I moved to Maine in January to begin a new position as an AmeriCorps Resilience Fellow serving with the City of South Portland. I committed to the U.S. government for a year-long national service term, along with thousands of other young AmeriCorps fellows across the country. In return for our collective dedication to public service, the U.S. government has abandoned its commitment to us, halting funding for our year of service.
If the goal is to reduce government spending, defunding AmeriCorps won’t achieve much in savings, as the program accounts for a mere .018 percent of the federal budget. Also, I can’t imagine a more efficient use of tax dollars. AmeriCorps, which provides a crucial living stipend for its members, leverages the power of community building while at the same time encouraging the next generation to pursue public service-oriented careers.
This type of community-based work grounds me in the places I inhabit. It strengthens neighborhoods and brings people together. The South Portland Resilient Yards program, for example, relies on volunteer gardening experts to aid residents in transforming their barren lawns into resilient landscapes, vibrant with native plants and pollinators. While organizing volunteers for the 2025 program, I’ve noticed they possess an inherent optimism and a belief in our collective future, as they cultivate resilient gardens and witness their growth over time.
One volunteer, Judy Kimball, told me about what the program means to her: “There’s something about meeting people in a garden,” she said. “It gives us the freedom to connect with each other at the most basic level and find common ground. I have seen neighbors connect over these hopeful little plots, and it makes me feel more invested in the community.”
I share a similar sentiment. Whether connecting residents with sustainability initiatives in South Portland or planting native species in parks in my hometown of New York City, civic engagement increases my personal investment in a community.
I have seen firsthand the power of volunteerism. Over the past four months, I’ve helped recruit more than 25 volunteers to support programs, such as the Resilient Yards program and the South Portland Swap Shop, where residents donate and take items free of charge. These initiatives promote waste reduction, encourage resource sharing, and nurture sustainable gardening practices. Whether digging in soil with neighbors or learning the story behind a well-loved Swap Shop mug, people come together.
It is only because residents offer their time and energy that these programs are even feasible. Their contributions result in a more connected, resilient community.
My role adds capacity to the City of South Portland’s scope of work while simultaneously increasing residents’ involvement in our programs. I think cutting AmeriCorps funding is nothing short of ridiculous, as the work I’ve done to recruit community volunteers is the epitome of government efficiency: These residents give back without expecting anything, but in turn receive deeper connections to the people and places that make up South Portland.
Community resilience work cannot be done in isolation. I am grateful to be an AmeriCorps fellow in Maine. We’re all working on essential projects, ranging from energy efficiency education and outreach to supporting planning efforts and protecting water quality.
I am confident that we will continue to find joy in local action and collectively hope for a better future. But I am also deeply worried. AmeriCorps fellows will lose out on the invaluable guidance and support promised to us through our year of service.
How will we fill this void on the cusp of our careers, as young adults left adrift to navigate our futures in an unstable world? The abrupt termination of our AmeriCorps funding will also leave the communities we serve with a tremendous loss. They will bear the brunt of this careless decision.
