A Hand for Haiti

It has been nearly three weeks since the devastating earthquake in Haiti, and the need for international support and aid is still incredibly urgent. While over $528 million has been donated to 40 U.S. non-profit organizations and an army of volunteers have teamed up to help, there is still much more to be done, and the long road to recovery is just beginning.

As one of the Western Hemisphere’s poorest countries, Haiti suffered utter destruction and devastation on January 12, 2010 when a record 7.0 earthquake ravaged the small country. Haitians helplessly watched as their hospitals crumbled, their homes burned, their capital city turned to rubble, and found loved ones and livelihoods lost.

People all over the world have been volunteering and doing what they can to help the victims of Haiti, whether it be donating $10 via text message, or volunteering for organizations that are putting together food, medical supplies, and other important tools for survival. The immediate outpouring of support has been incredible; now it is important that this commitment continues as the news of the earthquake fades from the headlines.

Fortunately, a wealth of different organizations, along with the help of compassionate people around the world, have rallied together to provide the people of Haiti with the resources they need to survive.

The support Haiti has received from around the world has inspired youth across the globe, and young people are finding different ways to get involved and do their part to help Haiti in the recovery effort. With half the world’s population under the age of 25, the youth population is a massive resource to tap into and provide help for those in need. A number of organizations have reached out to youth, encouraging their participation and giving them the outlet to unite and make a real difference.

Here are some examples of how organizations are connecting with youth and encouraging them to get involved in helping the victims of the Haiti earthquake:

• Youth Service America (YSA) – Posted a message on their website encouraging youth to share their service ideas with friends, teachers, parents, and others in their community.

• “Get Ur Good On” – Miley Cyrus posted a video on the YSA’s Get Ur Good On website asking youth to “Get Their Good On for Haiti,” and post what they have done to help Haiti. Posts included making bracelets and selling them with proceeds donated to Haiti, donating money to UNICEF, and schools having “no-uniform” days and collected money.

• Usher’s New Look –Usher and his foundation, Usher’s New Look, along with Powered by Service and the United Nations Foundation, announced a call to action for youth to raise $5 each to support Haiti relief. One Economy Corporation organized a “Youth Respond to Haiti Toolbox” for children and young adults to learn more about Haiti and ways to donate. These toolboxes can be embedded on websites to spread the word about youth service.

• Youth Run 4 Haiti – Josh Duhamel and Red Cross Santa Monica organized a 2-mile Youth Run on January 23, 2010, to benefit the people of Haiti. Over 3,000 people attended, and all wore red to support the relief efforts.

• The Big Help: Help Haiti – Nickelodeon set up a website to help kids reach out and help Haiti, offering tips on starting a fundraiser, or how to support a relief organization.

• World Vision’s 30-hour Famine – On February 26th and 27th, U.S. teens will fast for 30 hours, drinking only water and juice while participating in local community service projects to create awareness and raise money for the child victims of Haiti. A portion of the funds raised will go directly to Haiti relief and recovery efforts.

• Los Angeles Times – An op-ed proposed a youth volunteer corps in Haiti as a great opportunity to mobilize Haiti’s youth and begin the recovery process.

Do you have stories of youth participating in the relief efforts for Haiti? We would love to hear them! Please share your stories in the comments below.

Young People Supporting Relief and Recovery Efforts

In the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, young people throughout the world are asking what they can do to help Haitians recover. Many responses to young people suggest that they can organize fundraising events to funnel needed funds to relief agencies operating in Haiti. In the immediate aftermath, securing financial support for relief agencies is crucial and a clear way young people can be contributing to the effort from afar.

If history is any guide, there are many more things young people can do in the long-term to support relief and recover efforts. Over the last decade, young people have responded to natural and human-made disasters throughout the world providing immediate and long-term relief to their fellow global citizens.

For example, in 2005 a devastating earthquake struck Northern Pakistan, killing approximately 75,000 people, leaving hundreds of thousands homeless and crumbling infrastructure. Shortly after the earthquake, news reports indicated that relief agencies were struggling to reach those who most needed aid.

As reported in the World Bank’s World Development Report 2007, students in Pakistan quickly responded to this need.

"A group of 24 students from Lahore University of Management Sciences volunteered to be the first surveyors of devastated villages. Sleeping in tents, traveling by foot and in borrowed cars, these young men and women—between the ages of 18 and 22—surveyed 3,500 households, assessing needs and delivering supplies."

In addition to the immediate response, the students conducted a second study surveying 32,000 individuals in 200 households. The data the students collected has helped relief agencies coordinate their efforts and save lives.

Young people serving in AmeriCorps in the US were engaged in recovery and rebuilding following Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of the Gulf Coast. In August 2005, the US Gulf Coast was battered by Hurricane Katrina, resulting in flooding of approximately 80% of New Orleans, Louisiana, as the levee and flood systems failed in more than 50 locations throughout the city. Approximately 1,830 people were killed in five states and damage totaled nearly $81 billion. Residences, businesses, hospitals, schools, government buildings and numerous other structures were destroyed and more than one million people were displaced. The response to this devastating natural disaster required tremendous human and financial resources in the short- and long-term.

In the aftermath, national service programs in the US joined with local, state and national relief and recovery teams to provide assistance to Gulf Coast residents. In the initial aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the federal government sent hundreds of administrative, emergency and security personnel from throughout the country to the region. AmeriCorps teams were quickly mobilized and sent to the region to assist in emergency operations. AmeriCorps members deployed to assist in donations and volunteer management efforts as well as mass care efforts. More than 1,650 volunteers assisted in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

Since that time, many more AmeriCorps members have helped to rebuild Gulf Coast communities. AmeriCorps also saw enrollment rates increase as more Americans were compelled to help in the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast through service. Gulf Coast residents relied on the invaluable services provided by AmeriCorps volunteers to help rebuild their community.

Finally, young people participated in community efforts in Sri Lanka and other Asian nations in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami. Deadly waves from the December 2004 tsunami struck in 11 countries surrounding the Indian Ocean with more than 150,000 estimated dead or missing and millions left homeless. Throughout the countries affected young people gathered in relief and recovery efforts.

USAID reported that young people in Sri Lanka were reaching across ethnic lines in coastal villages to help clean up debris, secure protective gear, clothing and medical equipment, and help with other relief. In northeastern Trincomalee, USAID worked with multi-ethnic teams of 400-1,000 young Sri Lankan volunteers to provide recovery support. “Each of our ongoing conflict resolution programs includes components encouraging people of different ethnicities to come together for some purpose, which has manifested itself in this spirit of volunteering,” said Wayne Brook, head of USAID’s Ampara Office of Transition Initiatives.

Young people in other countries volunteered throughout communities in relief and recovery efforts. Young people worldwide also travelled to affected countries to provide support. Students at Brigham Young University (BYU; US) joined with individuals from seven universities and 14 countries to carry out reconstruction efforts in Thailand.

During the 2005 Summer, students served in 10 teams in gathering debris from land and water, constructing and painting new furniture, reconstructing homes and schools, rebuilding boats, initiating income-generating programs and holding fundraisers to purchase supplies for homes, schools and medical facilities. Since 2005, new groups of volunteers have gathered in Thailand to continue long-term recovery support and the volunteers have expanded their efforts to other countries under the auspices of the Empowering Nations non-profit organization.

These are just a few examples of the many ways that young people have significantly contributed to relief and recovery efforts following natural disasters. Young people should also be engaged in efforts to rebuild Haiti in the years to come.

Do you have other stories of youth volunteers in relief situations? We would love to hear them! Please share your stories in the comments below.

A Day of Service

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once poignantly stated, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” There were over 10,000 opportunities for Americans to answer this question and honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy on January 18, 2010. Established as a national day of service by Congress 16 years ago, volunteers all over the country spent their holiday serving others in their communities, marking the day as a “day on” rather than a “day off.” In light of the nation’s economic situation and in the wake of the earthquake in Haiti last week, service opportunities were varied and plentiful for thousands of Americans to spend a day as King dreamed: working for and with each other.

In the weeks leading up to MLK Day, elected officials and organizations alike promoted this national day of service. On January 13^th, the U.S. House of Representatives released a statement, calling on Americans to participate in the community service projects organized throughout the country. To make finding a volunteer opportunity simple, Serve.gov and service organizations such as the HandsOn Network set up search databases for volunteers to enter in a zip code and search for the service project that most interested them. There was a variety of different ways for people to get involved and serve, from activities such as painting murals on elementary school walls to working in a soup kitchen, serving lunch to the homeless. No matter what the project, Americans of all age, race, and creed worked together to improve their communities.

The National Day of Service, lead by The Corporation for National and Community Service, successfully brought out thousands of Americans to lend a hand, and a record number of elected officials and corporate companies contributed to the King Day effort. Nine members of Congress and 27 Mayors participated in the day’s events, working on events such as area school beautification, making toiletry kits and fleece blankets for those in need, and making and distributing food to senior citizens. Corporate companies used their money, supplies, and resources to give back to their communities by sponsoring community service projects or having employees offer their expertise and services pro-bono. All in all, all factions of society proved the validity of Dr. King’s statement that “everybody can be great because anybody can serve.”

Here are some highlights of great National Day of Service projects around the country:

• The President, Mrs. Obama, and their children visited So Others Might Eat, and served food to the homeless and hungry men, women and children.
• Philadelphia – Over 70,000 volunteers participated in over 1,000 different service projects, making it the largest citywide service effort in the country.
• Chicago – ChicagoCares brought together corporate, community and civic volunteers created better school environments for children by painting murals, designing mosaics, and rejuvenating libraries.
• Shell Oil Company offered employees paid time off from the normal workday to volunteer in the corporate sponsored efforts, which include sorting and packing food at the Houston Food Bank and offering a day of activities for youth and seniors at a Houston neighborhood center.
• Wisconsin – About 50 students at the Racine Unified School District persuaded their administrators to close school on Monday and organized a daylong event with 14 different service projects, a peace march, social justice workshops, and a banquet.
• New Jersey – JerseyCares, along with 1,000 volunteers from ages as young as four years old to adult, participated in service projects in 10 counties. Projects included opportunities such as rejuvenating parks and schools, financial literacy workshops, and tutoring.
• Accenture employees worked on web strategy at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC, and undertook simulation and testing activities for AidMatrix Online Food Bank and Warehouse Distribution System, to help the organization distribute goods and services more effectively.
• Maryland – 2,500 volunteers of all ages came out in Rockville, MD to participate in service projects including designing bookmarks for children with terminal illnesses, packing snow-day baskets for Meals on Wheels, learning how to donate bone marrow, and attending sessions by the Conflict Resolution Center of Montgomery County.
• Seattle – Seattle Works set up classroom discussions about the importance of community and community service. Cameras were given to the students, who then photographed and interviewed their families about their roots and what community means to them. The students then made collages of they backgrounds and presented them to their class.

What did you do on MLK Day of Service? Please share your stories of service and why it was important to you in the comments section below.

Photo: CNCS photo by Cade Martin, Cade Martin Photography

© 2009 Corporation for National and Community Service, Office of Public Affairs

A Watershed Year for National Service

The closing of each year provides an opportunity to reflect on the past 12 months while looking forward to what the next 12 months might hold. For the national service movement in the United States, 2009 was a watershed year providing an unprecedented amount of support and momentum for growing the field. Here is a look back at 2009 and some of the defining moments, in no particular order, for the US national service field in 2009.

President and Mrs. Obama’s Call to Service

The end of 2008 and most of 2009 saw tremendous support for national service by President and Mrs. Obama. With a history of service themselves, both participated in service activities throughout the year, spoke at high visibility events and supported legislation to expand national service opportunities.

On the day before Inauguration, President Obama joined volunteers in painting a homeless shelter for teens in Washington, DC, as part of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. Encouraged by President Obama’s call to service, more than 13,000 service projects were implemented throughout the US, representing a historic amount of participation on the MLK Day of Service.

President Obama wrote about this call to service on MLK Day in an essay for the Washington Times. Enthusiasm is now growing for the 2010 MLK Day of Service on January 18. For information about available opportunities to participate, visit http://www.mlkday.gov/.

In February, during President Obama’s first address to Congress he called on Representatives and Senators from both parties to swiftly pass the Kennedy Serve America Act which led to its passage and signing by the end of April (more below). His support for the legislation helped speed up Congress’s consideration of and passing of the Act.

Finally, throughout the year President and Mrs. Obama spoke widely about their support for national service and volunteering. Mrs. Obama addressed a crowd of over 4,000 at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in June. President Obama joined former President George H.W. Bush at the Presidents Forum on Service in October. Both also participated in service events and continuously called on all Americans to take part in building their communities.

Historic Passage of the Kennedy Serve America Act

Following President Obama’s call for swift action on the Kennedy Serve America Act, co-sponsored by Senator Orrin Hatch (R – Utah) and Senator Edward Kennedy (D – Mass.)*, Congress passed the Kennedy Serve America Act in April. President Obama signed the legislation on April 21, 2009, saying:

We need your service, right now, at this moment in history. I’m not going to tell you what your role should be; that’s for you to discover. But I’m asking you to stand up and play your part. I’m asking you to help change history’s course. Put your shoulder up against the wheel. And if you do, I promise you – your life will be richer, our country will be stronger, and someday, years from now, you may remember it as the moment when your own story and the American story converged, when they came together, and we met the challenges of our new century.

The legislation calls for a historic expansion of national service through growing AmeriCorps to 250,000 participants each year by 2017 and focusing national service efforts on five priority areas – education, health, veterans, opportunity and clean energy. This includes a Clean Energy Service Corps as advocated for by ICP and several other community-based organizations through the Clean Energy Corps Working Group.

The Serve America Act infuses new capital into promising ideas through the Social Innovation Fund and supports Summer of Service programs as developed and nurtured by ICP. Summer of Service (SOS) programs are innovative service-learning opportunities for engaging middle school youth in intensive, structured, and supervised community-based service-learning projects that are designed to produce identifiable improvements that meet community, human, educational, environmental and other needs.

Shortly before the end of the year, Congress successfully appropriated a record $1.149 billion for the Corporation for National and Community Service to expand and implement the Serve America Act in FY2010. This includes $2 million for Summer of Service.

Historic Participation in Service Days and Activities

In the US and internationally, several days of service were celebrated engaging unprecedented amounts of people in community service projects.

An international annual campaign mobilizing youth for community service, Global Youth Service Day, saw tremendous participation from young people in over 100 countries. In April over 750,000 young people joined in addressing some of the world’s most critical issues.

In June, Mrs. Obama launched the United We Serve campaign calling on Americans to participate in service activities over the summer months. According to www.serve.gov,

With the knowledge that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things when given the proper tools, President Obama is asking us to come together to help lay a new foundation for growth. (United We Serve) aims to both expand the impact of existing organizations by engaging new volunteers in their work and encourage volunteers to develop their own "do-it-yourself" projects.

United We Serve culminated in the September 11 Day of Service and Remembrance. President Obama designated September 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance and called on all Americans to create a lasting and forward-looking legacy that forever remembers and honors the victims of 9/11 by voluntarily participating in service activities on the anniversary of 9/11 each year.

All of these efforts experienced unprecedented levels of participation, helped raise visibility for the positive impact of service efforts on community needs, and exposed Americans of all walks of life to ways they can connect with and improve their communities.

ICP’s Memorable Activities

ICP had a very exciting year with ongoing support for Summer of Service, the tremendous growth of the Talloires Network and its first awarding of the MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship, the successful design and facilitation of a stakeholders’ consultation in India and much much more. Visit our website and watch for our Activities Report early next year for more information about all of these initiatives.

During 2009 ICP interns and staff got involved in our local community through volunteering at the DC Central Kitchen in January and the Marvin Gaye Park in Northeast DC in July. At DC Central Kitchen we helped cook a yummy lunch for area homeless. At the Marvin Gaye Park we enjoyed a day outside and helped keep trees fresh with “Ooze Tubes”, ensuring a constant source of water for the trees, and placing mulch around older trees. We also helped clean up a kitchen that will become a café to serve food made from produce grown locally at the park’s farmers market.

ICP also enjoyed the support of various interns and fellows throughout 2009 that greatly contributed to our success throughout the year. We are grateful to all of our interns and fellows that gave their time and expertise to keeping our projects going.

These represent a snapshot of exciting moments for national service in the US and ICP during 2009. As you look back on 2009, please tell us about your most memorable service activities in the comments below.

We look forward to an even more exciting 2010 as we expand opportunities for engaging young people in service throughout the US and worldwide. We wish you great success in 2010 and even greater opportunities to get involved in building your communities.

* The service community also mourned the loss of Senator Kennedy to brain cancer in August. He was a long-time supporter and leader for national service and the Serve America Act was named in his honor.

Photo credits:

DC Cares recruited hundreds of volunteers to repair and paint Hine Junior High School in Washington for a King Day of Service project. An estimated 10,000 volunteers served through more than 80 projects in and around Washington D.C. They joined hundreds of thousands of Americans who participated in the 2007 King Day of Service, sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service. Photo by M. T. Harmon, Office of Public Affairs, Corporation for National and Community Service, www.nationalservice.gov.

Mayor Adrian Fenty joins volunteers in painting a mural during a service project at the Community for Creative Nonviolence in Washington, D.C. About 20,000 people in the District of Columbia participated in nearly 150 service projects in honor of the slain civil rights leader on January 21, 2008. Photo by M. T. Harmon, Office of Public Affairs, Corporation for National and Community Service, www.nationalservice.org

ICP Staff with pumpkins we carved for Halloween 2009. Photo by Susan Stroud.

Engaging Young People in Climate Change Negotiations

World leaders are gathering in Copenhagen, Denmark, this week to negotiate commitments for tackling the global climate crisis. Many of these leaders have accepted that the impacts of climate change will be felt most by the planet’s growing ranks of young people.

These young people also represent a tremendous opportunity to positively impact climate change and they have come together in various platforms to demand a voice, action and a sustainable future.

Some of these actions kicked off with the Children’s Climate Forum hosted by UNICEF in Denmark. During the week of November 30, about 160 young people from 44 countries hammered out a declaration emphasizing the urgency for fighting climate change and for government action in that fight.

Participants presented the declaration to the President of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15), Connie Hedegaard, who is expected to take it to world leaders at COP15. Addressing the young people, Ms. Hedegaard emphasized her support for the need for action:

“You must tell the politicians that they cannot leave Copenhagen empty-handed two weeks from now. Because you, the citizens – the new generation – demand us to take action now.”

For those young people unable to join the Children’s Climate Forum in person, young journalists produced daily reports on its activities. Through social media and online shows, young people expressed their views on climate change and served as the youth-created record of the Children’s Climate Forum.

At COP15 during December 7-18, 2009, approximately 2,000 young people are expected to join negotiators in Copenhagen. There are several events throughout the meetings designed to give young people a voice.

For example, three Youth Briefings will be organized by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat at which invited officials will give short presentations followed by questions from young people. A UN Youth Booth is also hosted by the Secretariat to provide a platform for youth organizations to present their initiatives. To take advantage of these activities and other participation opportunities, many young people have come together under a youth conference, YOUNGO, which the Secretariat recognized as a civil society grouping representing young people at the negotiations.

Many other young people have been engaged as ambassadors for media outlets, organizations and nations to join the negotiations and report on their activities. The Energy Action Coalition and Power Shift built Rapid Response Teams of young people in the US and in Copenhagen to share what the negotiations mean to them and make sure their voices are heard.

Canadian-based civil society organization, 2degreesC, is hosting a web-based global youth outreach initiative, mass dialogues, to connect young people attending the negotiations with others around the world. The mass dialogues include a series of web-based meetings to extend learning and empowerment through participation in the negotiations.

There are many outlets for youth participation in the COP 15 negotiations. It is inspiring to see young people throughout the world stepping up and acting on issues important to them. It is time for the world leaders to listen to them and take immediate action.

Photo courtesy of Oxfam International creative commons flickr photostream.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oxfam/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0