MIAMI, Okla. — A recent round of federal budget cuts is reverberating through rural Oklahoma, where a planned service project by AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) was abruptly canceled, leaving a local nonprofit scrambling to fill the gap.
The cuts, implemented by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the Trump administration, forced AmeriCorps NCCC to place both staff and service members on immediate leave, effectively halting deployments across the country — including one to Miami, Oklahoma.
Among those affected was Mary Kate Sweeney, an NCCC member who had been preparing for her team’s deployment to Ottawa County.
“I was really excited because it was going to be working with The Boys & Girls Club,” said Sweeney. But just days before they were set to leave, everything changed.
“During our lunch period, they called us in and told us the program was over and we’d be leaving that night,” she recalled. “So many people were crying because so many people’s lives just got upended in like two sentences.”
Sweeney and her team had been slated to assist with the development of a new teen center for The Boys & Girls Club of Ottawa County — a critical addition to the only youth development program available in the region.
“The Boys & Girls Club is a vital service to our community and our families,” said Executive Director Mackenzie Garst. “It ensures that parents can continue working and that their children have a safe and enriching place to spend time during the summer.”
Now, without the expected support from AmeriCorps, the organization is facing serious logistical and financial challenges. “We’re scrambling to fill the gap with limited staff and volunteers and trying to figure out how we can get that teen center up and running by our deadline,” said Garst.
In preparation for the NCCC team’s arrival, the Club had already invested time and resources, anticipating the extra manpower. The sudden cancellation has left them not only short-staffed, but also financially strained.
“This cancellation is going to put a real financial strain on our organization and our ability to do the good work that we do here in small, rural Oklahoma,” Garst added.
For the AmeriCorps members affected, the decision doesn’t just mean the loss of a job — it means the loss of purpose, community, and service.
As rural nonprofits like The Boys & Girls Club of Ottawa County try to adjust, they’re left hoping for renewed support or policy reversals that might bring relief — and the helping hands they so desperately need.
