ServiceNation to Hold Presidential Candidate Summit on Volunteerism

On September 11th, ServiceNation, a National Campaign of a large group of non-profits, such as NCLR, Habitat for Humanity, the AARP and City Year, will be holding a Presidential Summit on National Service. The forum will be broadcast by CNN and moderated by Time Magazine in an attempt to shine a light on the importance of modifying and readying American National Youth Service (NYS) Policy for the near future and a change in executive branch leadership.

The Summit will include both a dialogue between the Presidential Candidates, as well as a call to action in support of Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatche’s upcoming legislation on NYS. This will include a formal request that the legislation be enacted by the new president within one year of the start of the conference (by September 11th, 2009).

However, the “ultimate goal of the ServiceNation Summit" is to have US citizens sign the Declaration of Service, to increase the yearly national level of participation in community service from 61 million Americans to 100 million citizens by the year 2020.

Also, a part of the summit is meant to publicize the September 27th, 2008 Day of Action during which Americans across the country will engage in coordinated community service actions to show the power of civic service on a large scale. This event is scheduled to coincide with the first Presidential debate of the election season and continue to publicize the need for sensible and expanded National Service policy.

ServiceNation represents the growing tide of support for National Service from a variety of organizations who recognize the value of increased civic engagement.

Music National Service Initiative (MNSi) and the Music Service Corps Proposal—A Logical Next Step for National Youth Service Policy?

A recent Blog by Kiff Gallagher on Huffington Post explores the merits of creating a national service to bring music to underprivileged areas of the United States. Gallagher reports on the Music National Service Initiative’s MusicianCorps, which would attempt to foster the “critical skills a child develops when she struggles with her instrument, writes a song, joins a band or finds her voice in a choir”—skills that would help a young boy or girl succeed and contribute to the economy and help address future challenges. These capabilities are also what employers in high-end industries look for in their search for productive, flexible, adaptive and imaginative employees.

The correlation between engaged and active youth and music education has been proven in a variety of instances. Involvement in the arts results in lower rates of recidivism, 17% higher rates of graduation and better test scores in English and science. This is due, in no small part, to the fact that young men and women love music. In a MTV survey cited by Gallagher, teens said that music “defines them more than family, moral values, religion and style.” MusicianCorps would provide a medium through which successful and more affluent people could connect and impact society for the greater good—transcending social and economic boundaries.

This truly innovative route towards civic participation deserves support and advocacy from any service oriented non-profit. Already on board with the MNSi’s proposal are City Year and ServiceNation, who are both organizational partners. This group, led by MNSi, has begun to push legislators for consideration of an Artist or Music service along with current GreenCorps and HealthCorps Initiatives. MusicianCorps is a logical addition to US national youth service policy in the spirit of the founders of AmeriCorps.

Botswana Announces 5th Annual Youth Awards

Rewarding Youth Service is important in motivating increased participation. Botswana has taken a lead in nationally recognizing youths and projects that have made a difference in local communities. Earlier this week the Botswana Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture announced the start of the process to nominate and give out their 5th Annual Youth Awards.

Ministry arranges 5th youth awards

Staff Writer

The Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture, through the Department of Culture and Youth, will be hosting the 5th Botswana National Youth Service Awards this year.

The awards ceremony will be held on 28 November. As the National Youth Service awards seek to recognise all deserving youth nationwide, the department has started mobilising the youth to nominate their projects for the exercise. The awards seek to reward young people who make a difference in their communities in terms of development and empowerment.

The awards are for projects that have been primarily thought, planned and carried out by the youth and also individuals or youth groups whose services and objectives are aimed at youth development.

The theme for this year's awards ceremony is: "Young People's Active Participation in National Development Processes: An imperative".

Entry forms are obtainable from all District Youth offices countrywide. The completed forms should be hand-delivered to the District Youth offices by 25 July, which is the deadline.

Youth Service requires motivated membership, and awards are especially effective in achieving this goal. National recognizance also increases visibility of the programs and projects, helping involve non-profits and stimulate funding. Indirect forms of compensation are pivotal in successful Youth Service Programs, as evidenced by the scholarships and tax credits given to members in countries across the world. Botswana's 5th Annual National Youth Service Awards are an effective example of this strategy for increasing participation.

National Service and the Presumptive Republican and Democratic Nominees for President

After June 3rd, the US Presidential race is down to two major-party candidates, John McCain of the Republican Party and Barack Obama of the Democratic Party. McCain and Obama have both shown a willingness to discuss the expansion of AmeriCorps and new ideas for national and community service in the US. Here at ICP, we have paid close attention to their platforms, as the future of National Service both in the US and abroad is contingent upon the policies of the two candidates.

Both candidates have called for young men and women to serve their country in some capacity—in the armed forces, AmeriCorps, or the Peace Corps. Along with this call, the candidates have proposed implementing specific new program initiatives and policy changes in order to achieve the goal of increased civic engagement, though Obama’s platform is more comprehensive than McCain’s.

John McCain voted against the AmeriCorps bill in 1993, but later became an advocate for the expansion of AmeriCorps. In 2003, he cosponsored the “Call to Service” bill with Senator Evan Bayh, which would have vastly increased the size of AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps and provided monetary compensation for the work.

However, more recently his support has waned as he has admittedly focused more on security issues. In 2005, he called for US citizens, even those who oppose the war, to contribute 2 years of service to the United States as an act of patriotism. In an Op-Ed in the Dallas Morning News, McCain wrote:

“There are few greater ways of infusing your life with meaning than by spending two or more years in the service of your nation. The military obviously forms an exceptional way to serve America and our ideals, but it is not the only route. The Peace Corps and AmeriCorps also provide excellent and fulfilling ways to serve.”

At present, the Republican candidate’s major policy initiative related to civic service is his support of “Troops-to-Teachers,” which creates incentives for returning military service people to transition into careers in teaching. In a March 15th, 2008 speech in Columbus, Ohio, McCain spoke about his vision for National Service and the US educational system in 2013:

“Public education in the United States is much improved thanks to the competition provided by charter and private schools; the increase of quality teachers through incentives like merit pay and terrific programs that attract to the classroom enthusiastic and innovative teachers from many disciplines, like Teach for America and Troops to Teachers.”

Although vocally supportive of AmeriCorps and Teach for America (an AmeriCorps program), McCain has failed to present a dynamic and thorough policy for expanding and funding these programs. When asked by ServeNext (an organization dedicated to advocating for increasing the visibility of National Service programs as well as funding them) to sign their “Presidential Pledge to Expand National Service¹,” McCain declined, saying, “I stand on my record, not on pledges.”

On the other side of the aisle, Barack Obama not only signed the ServeNext Pledge, but has also developed a more comprehensive proposal to address the need for national youth service and civic engagement. On his website, Obama has a page dedicated to service under his “Issues” section. Here, Obama details his plan for improving support and funding for National Youth Service Programs.

One of his major initiatives would include expanding AmeriCorps from 75,000 slots annually to 250,000, as well as doubling the size of the Peace Corps. Obama also provides for changing American culture to be more receptive to national service by stimulating service learning in middle and high schools and by offering a $4,000 tax credit to college students willing to contribute 100 hours of public service a year.

Obama has made several speeches, including his December 5, 2007 speech, “A Call to Serve” at Cornell College in which he laid out the national service platform for his campaign and his May 25, 2008 commencement address at Wesleyan University, which outlines the vision he has for youth service in the context of the future of the United States. In the speech at Wesleyan, he said,

“As President, I intend to grow the Foreign Service, double the Peace Corps over the next few years, and engage the young people of other nations in similar programs, so that we work side by side to take on the common challenges that confront all humanity… …You know, Ted Kennedy often tells a story about the fifth anniversary celebration of the Peace Corps. He was there, and he asked one of the young Americans why he had chosen to volunteer. And the man replied, “Because it was the first time someone asked me to do something for my country.” I don’t know how many of you have been asked that question, but after today, you have no excuses.”

This speech went beyond a simple endorsement of the AmeriCorps program—it was a call to young men and women to serve their country in any way possible. In his speech at Wesleyan, Obama made clear that his support for national service derives in part from his own experience as a community organizer on the south side of Chicago – a connection that links national service to a progressive view of national service as a vehicle for social change and justice

In a world where civic engagement has become increasingly popular and where young men and women have increasingly attempted to donate their time and skills to help create change, support for programs like the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps from the highest levels of government has never been more important.

(For more current information with regards to Presidential Candidate Obama's position, also see this speech at CU-Colorado Springs.)

1. ServeNext does not have the Presidential Pledge uploaded to their website; however, they do have the Congressional Pledge, which is the exact same pledge, only that it instead asks the congressperson to join the Congressional Caucus for National Service.