I’m one of about 200 people—mostly

corporate executives—who signed an open letter to President Bush that’s printed

as a full-page ad in today’s New York Times. It reads, in part: "AmeriCorps

programs are closing. Young people who want to serve their country are being turned

away. Communities, schools and children are losing their AmeriCorps mentors, tutors,

teachers and builders . . . Please save these essential AmeriCorps programs that

have done so much good for our communities." (I can’t find a link to the

Times ad, but the Washington Post has a

story about it.)