Announcing IANYS 9th Global Conference on National Youth Service

Check out this blog post on The New Service from ICP intern Christina Sewell here!

Students Exchanging Sand for Service

As the middle of March quickly approaches, there is one thing on the mind of college students across the United States: Spring Break. While infamously known as a week when college students flock southward for sun, sand, and parties on the beach, many college students are using their week off from school to do something worthwhile and serve communities in need instead.

Known as Alternative Spring Break, college students organize service trips to communities both in the United States and abroad, and spend the week aiding disaster relief, building homes, feeding the homeless, and implementing various other projects benefitting the community.

More and more colleges and universities across the United States are offering a variety of Alternative Spring Break (ASB) trips to their students every year. ASBs give students a chance to learn more about themselves outside of the classroom, and see firsthand how their service benefits the community in which they volunteer.

These spring break experiences open up young adults to a breadth of social issues, and inspire them to go beyond their week of service and take action in their own communities. Break Away, a non-profit dedicated to supporting colleges, universities, and other non-profit organizations in the implementation of ASB programs, trains and assists these organizations in the hopes that their service-learning programs will create “lifelong active citizens.”

ASB trips reached a peak in popularity after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged New Orleans and left thousands of Americans with their homes and livelihoods destroyed. The destruction that was left after these hurricanes hit close to home and motivated thousands of college students to rally together and help in the relief and recovery efforts (To read more about youth aiding relief and recovery efforts, check out our previous blog entry, Young People Supporting Relief and Recovery Efforts).

According to U.S. News and World Report, one of the most popular ASB destinations is New Orleans, where students spend their time rebuilding the city after the devastation of the hurricanes. Haiti will also most likely prove to be the destination of many ASB groups in future spring breaks to aid in the relief and recovery efforts after an enormous earthquake decimated the small country earlier this year.

Other organizations aside from colleges and universities are also promoting ASB opportunities for young adults. For the past 20 years, Habitat for Humanity has organized a year-round alternative break program for students, called the Collegiate Challenge. Habitat for Humanity offers groups of 5 or more, ages 16 and older the chance to work with one of the 250 Habitat affiliates for a week, building houses and working to eliminate housing poverty in America.

For the past 5 years, United Way has provided ASB programs for young adults to make a difference in communities across the country. This year, United Way is joining forces with Deloitte for Maximum Impact: Deloitte Alternative Spring Break” and is teaming up 30 students from colleges across the country and 20 Deloitte employees for service projects around the country, including a trip to Biloxi, Mississippi, to continue rebuilding the Gulf Coast after Katrina.

Here are a few more examples of Alternative Spring Break activities taking place this year:

• Hamilton College’s ASB program is celebrating its 18^th year of service trips, ranging from activities such as building homes with Habitat for Humanity, to passing out meals to the homeless and tutoring children in elementary school.
• Students from Vassar College in New York and Duquesne University in Pennsylvania are traveling to Central Florida to build homes as part of Habitat’s Collegiate Challenge.
• UT Dallas is offering 11 different trips this year, focusing on different social issues that face communities. Some examples are traveling to Oklahoma and working with the Sequoyah Bay State Park in environmental conservation efforts, and traveling to Texas and working with the Southern Animal Rescue Association and aiding in animal rescue and protection projects.
• The University of Richmond’s Collegiate Disaster Relief Team will be spending their 5^th consecutive spring break in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans working on hurricane relief efforts
• 300 University of Iowa students are volunteering at inner-city elementary schools in Chicago and working on literacy projects with the students.

There are many other Alternative Spring Efforts engaging students throughout the US this year. Do you have other examples of Alternative Spring Break programs to share? We would love to hear them! Please share your stories in the comments below.

Youth Service as a Pathway for Careers in Public Service

One great advantage for youth to serve, aside from working for the betterment of the community, is the opportunity for young people to learn more about themselves and where they want to take their future career paths. One career field that has a strong connection to youth service is that of public service.

This makes sense: the values and characteristics that are instilled in a person during a service project or year of service - a sense to work for the greater good and betterment of others and the community – often do not disappear once their service term is over. Many choose to continually pursue their call to service from youth to adulthood by establishing their careers in public service, whether it is in education, environment, public safety, government, or military service. Service can serve as a great jumping off point for youth that are interested in public service careers.

A major pipeline from service to careers in public service is AmeriCorps. AmeriCorps mobilizes over 75,000 volunteers each year in addressing community needs in a variety of areas such as education, environment, disaster relief, public safety and other needs that arise. Organized by the Corporation for National and Community Service, these young volunteers, typically ranging in age from 17-24 (although they can be older too) improve lives and strengthen communities in need around the United States.

AmeriCorps provides great job training and fosters the development of skills integral to a successful career in public service, opening up the door for youth to jumpstart their careers in the public sphere. According to a longitudinal study conducted by AmeriCorps, 46% of National and State AmeriCorps Alumni are employed in public service fields, and 61% of these are employed in the government and non-profit sectors. Service Corps to Social Impact Career, written by Amy Potthast at Idealist, is a great manual for AmeriCorps alumni that are interested in pursuing public service careers.

Participation in service organizations not only develops the skills needed for a career in public service, but also creates a fantastic opportunity for networking within the public service sphere. AmeriCorps members, according to the study, report that their service connected them and made them aware of job connections and other career opportunities, and 47% of National and State members said AmeriCorps gave them the connections that helped them find a job. Clearly, the work experience and networking that service members gain during their service opens the door for careers in public service.

The Peace Corps also promotes the professional and career benefits associated with their two year stints of service. The development of skills such as fluency in a foreign language, international experience, and cross-cultural understanding can be very appealing to public service employers. In fact, Peace Corps alumni receive one year of noncompetitive eligibility for employment in the federal government. This is a tremendous advantage, as the employee screening process for the federal government can be a lengthy process. Alumni of the Peace Corps have taken advantage of this opportunity and have gone on to serve as Members of Congress and cabinet secretaries.

Along with AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps, there are other service programs available that focus on a specific area of interest in which youth can gain experience for future employment in public service. The Department of Interior has allotted $50 million to the implementation of the 21st Century Conservation Corps.

This Conservation Corps fosters a respect and appreciation for the environment and its natural resources, and provides the opportunity to develop skills and contacts necessary for environmental and natural resource careers. One initiative in particular, the Student Career Experience Program, is designed specifically to support equal opportunity employment objectives and expose youth to careers in public service. These programs give youth the ability to serve in a focused career sector and apply these skills and experiences to future employment opportunities.

No matter the path of service a young person chooses, the skills and connections developed during their service can provide a wealth of opportunity for careers in public service. To find out more about youth service and employment, check out the latest addition of ICP’s monthly newsletter, Service News Worldwide!

Photo by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

An Innovative Approach to Building a Common Trail and Understanding for Peace

Guest Post:

Reuven Gal, a youth civic engagement practitioner in Israel, is pursuing a new idea for a Middle East Peace Trail (MEPT) to connect diverse young people, differing nations and adversaries in building a common trail and understanding for peace. Reuven shared his idea with ICP for our blog readers.

The MEPT project involves engaging young people in building a 2,000 kilometers (approximately 1,240 miles) long trail, across four neighboring countries in the Middle-East. The cross-regional trail would start in Alexandria, Egypt, west of the Nile Delta, cross the Sinai Peninsula and the Palestinian Gaza Strip into the southern Israeli Negev desert and over to the Jordanian hills, and continue all the way to the Iraqi border.

To build the trail, a number of young cohorts, coming from Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Israel, will be organized interactively to perform a meaningful and visible mission, of an internationally significant scale. The impact of accomplishing this mission, throughout a prolonged period of time, will be two-fold: on the one hand, these young people will create a significant change in the Middle-East's map; and on the other hand, they will experience themselves a meaningful transformation in their own perceptions about their respective neighbors.

The construction of this entire system will be carried out by young volunteers, members of Middle-East National Youth Service frameworks, together with some young volunteers from other countries across the world. These volunteers will be grouped into twelve-member teams - three individuals (preferably a mix of males and females) from each of the four participating nations (Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Israel). Each team will be assigned to build a section of the trail (e.g. 10 miles). It is also proposed that there will be two official languages mandatory in all teams -- Hebrew and Arabic.

While the trail itself will be well-paved, clearly marked and strolling through scenery paths, it will also include along its route numerous rest-areas, picnic-areas, observation-points, camp-grounds, etc. Note that the term 'trail' indicates a walking and hiking route, rather than a road that vehicles can drive along.

While during the day-time the volunteers will be occupied in the physical labor of the trail, their free time afterwards will be devoted to learning each other's 'language' and backgrounds, through team engagements. These will include interactive activities, group discussions, and other vicarious experiences that nurture close familiarity among these youth.

Thus, throughout the period of this cross-cultural, inter-state project, approximately 1,500 young men and women will return each year to their respective countries, with a different and new perspective about the Middle-East: not as mutually-hostile states, but rather as an all-inclusive region; not fragmented, but potentially united. They will also be free of distorted prejudices and false stereotypes about their former foes.

The mixed teams working along this trail would not only experience a road without borders, but also a collective accomplishment without rivalry. These thousands of youth will then become the future leaders in their respective states, and will disseminate their acquired new perception into actions and onto many other people.

The high visibility of the project would be further leveraged and utilized, both for political reasons (namely, advancing peace relations in the region), as well as for the continuation of the project itself. With the sophisticated applications of current electronic media (e.g. Google Earth, Google Earth Pro etc'), it will be possible for anyone, anywhere, to follow in real-time, after the gradual progress of the trail construction. This, in turn, would enable individuals and organizations, throughout the globe, to take part in the project – either by means of sending contributions, communicating with the youth in the field, spreading the information and more.

This creative project seeks to bridge deep fears and mutual hatred through a prolonged period of shared activities between adversaries. They will be challenged together with a common goal, that requires significant effort, inter-reliant cooperation and close acquaintance. This will be characterized by a sense of "service," have high visibility and symbolic (in addition to practical) value, and carry an overall positive and optimistic message.

The site of the trail can also become the meeting place for leaders of the region in their peace-keeping endeavors. The picture of two (or more) previously-opponent leaders, conducting a friendly walk-and-talk session along the surfacing trail route – can be very appealing…

For other examples of young people engaging in post-conflict reconstruction and peace building projects, please see the January 2010 issue of ICP's newsletter, Service News Worldwide.

Patrick Corvington sworn in as new head of the Corporation for National and Community Service

While Washington, DC, and much of the east coast came to a standstill under the snow and ice that blanketed the area last week, the Corporation for National and Community Service braved the elements to announce the confirmation of their new Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Corvington. On February 11, the US Senate unanimously confirmed Corvington’s nomination and on February 18 was officially sworn in to lead the national service agency.

The Corporation’s statement on the appointment reflects Corvington’s wide breadth of knowledge and experience that he will bring to his new position at CNCS. With more than 20 years of leadership experience in the non-profit sector, Corvington has the skill set needed to achieve the triumphs and tackle the challenges that face the Corporation. Voices for National Service commented that “Patrick brings a unique set of skills and expertise that are right for these times. His expertise in nonprofit leadership and capacity-building, evaluation and performance measurement, and systems reform will be helpful to a field poised for major growth with high expectations for results. Patrick's relationships with grassroots organizations, national nonprofits and foundations, social entrepreneurs and systems reformers will bring many new partners to national service and expand service and innovation as solutions to community needs.”

In his most recent position as a Senior Associate at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Corvington worked with grantees on capacity and leadership building. He has co-authored research publications such as “Ready to Lead: Next Generation Leaders Speak Out” and “Next Shift: Beyond the Non-Profit Leadership Crisis,” and has served as Executive Director of Innovation Network, a non-profit agency that builds the evaluation capacity of the non-profit sector. Stephen Goldsmith, the Chair of the Corporation for National and Community Services Board of Directors conveys CNCS’s excitement for Corvington’s appointment: “Patrick's years on the frontline of the service movement give him a unique understanding of the obstacles facing communities and the transformative power of service. The Corporation's ability to respond to human needs, rebuild our cities and inspire more Americans to serve is more critical today than ever before. There is no doubt that Patrick's varied experience and dynamic leadership will be an asset to the Corporation. He is the right CEO at the right time.”

Born in Haiti and raised in Africa, Corvington has a personal understanding of the importance of service and civic engagement. He graduated with a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Maryland, College Park, and later received his M.A. in Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University, receiving the National Minority Leadership Fellowship from the Kellogg Foundation.

Following his education, Corvington began his life mission of successfully engaging and bettering communities that would eventually lead him to CNCS. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, described Corvington as having “devoted his career to finding solutions that address communities' unmet needs and is an expert on volunteerism, philanthropy and nonprofit capacity building. He is well qualified to lead the Administration's agenda on community service, including the implementation of the bipartisan Serve America Act.” According to his biography on the Corporation’s website, Corvington has worked as a case manager for migrant workers, a director of a youth group shelter home, a homeless shelter volunteer, and a patient advocate in an HIV/AIDS clinic. With his wide range of experience, as Paul Schmitz, chief executive of Public Allies states in an article released by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, “He’s one of the smartest people in the country about leadership and the capacity needs of nonprofits.”

We congratulate Patrick Corvington on his appointment and look forward to his leadership in the Corporation for National and Community Service.

To read the full press release from the Corporation for National and Community Service and to read Corvington’s full biography, please click here and here.