Editor, Gazette-Journal:

I urge everyone to contact their local Congressional representative to express support for funding for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). I am currently director of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) for the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula and know the importance of national volunteer service to individuals and the communities served.

Congress is proposing to eliminate funding for the CNCS, which is the federal agency that provides grant funds and national service opportunities in our communities. Without this program, our communities would definitely suffer. Last year, 838 RSVP volunteers provided 62,547 hours of service to the elderly and disabled in our 10-county area. These services included delivery of meals to the homebound elderly, provided non-emergency medical transportation, assistance in nursing homes, hospitals, food banks, calling and visiting those in need of social stimulation and safety check-ups, as...