Dodd, Cochran, DeLauro Announce "ServiceDodd, Cochran, DeLauro Announce "Service for All Ages" Initiative for All Ages" Initiative

On Tuesday, February 24, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) announced the introduction of their "Service for All Ages" initiative, a group of four bills that will expand and strengthen opportunities for Americans of all ages to serve their communities. The initiative includes the Semester of Service Act, the Summer of Service Act, the AmeriCorps: Together Improving Our Nation (ACTION) Act, and the Encore Service Act.

The Semester of Service Act is modeled after YSA's Semester of Service program and will give students in their junior or senior year of high school the opportunity to spend a semester participating in community service-learning for academic credit. Luz and LaToya, two youth representatives from YSA Global Youth Service Day Lead Agency Our Piece of the Pie spoke.

Senator Dodd's Opening Remarks


Latoya's Comments on Service


Senator Dodd's Closing Remarks


Press Release:

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) today announced the introduction of their “Service for All Ages” initiative, a group of four bills that will expand and strengthen opportunities for Americans of all ages to serve their communities. The initiative includes the Semester of Service Act, the Summer of Service Act, the AmeriCorps: Together Improving Our Nation (ACTION) Act, and the Encore Service Act.

“Similar to the call to serve a purpose greater than themselves first put forward by President John F. Kennedy, Americans are once again being asked by their President to serve their country. And I can think of no time in recent history when it was more desperately needed—as 10,000 families lose their homes every day and 20,000 families lose their jobs,” said Dodd. “While our challenges are great, I am confident this initiative will help ensure that dedicated Americans of all ages are there to meet them.”

Sen. Cochran said: “Volunteering to help others can change not only the lives of those who are being served but also those who are serving others. The bills that Sen. Dodd and I have introduced in the Senate today will help provide opportunities for people of all ages to give back to their communities and the world around them.”

“Service is about mutual responsibility to our nation, our community and one another – and it has been at challenging times such as these, that Americans have stepped up to serve their country and their communities. It is a challenge President Obama has made to all of us,” said DeLauro. “With this initiative we are helping to fulfill that commitment and provide the tools to make service possible and to make a difference.”

The Service for All Ages Initiative includes:

• The Semester of Service Act will give students in their junior or senior year of high school the opportunity to spend a semester participating in community service-learning for academic credit.
• The Summer of Service Act will create a competitive grant program that enables states and localities to offer students making the transition from middle to high school an opportunity to participate in a structured community service program over the summer months.
• The ACTION Act will not only help many young people realize their dreams of going to college, but will also allow them to afford it by updating the AmeriCorps Education Award to reflect 15 years of college tuition increases.
• The Encore Service Act will take advantage of all older Americans have to offer communities by providing stipends and educational scholarships to citizens 55 years of age and older who volunteer their time and dedicate their knowledge to help communities in need.

Boston Care's Semester of Service

Each week, we'll feature a posting by a guest blogger about their Semester of Service projects. This week's Guest Blog is by Karen Boss - Director of Programs, Boston Cares.

We are Boston Cares (http://www.bostoncares.org/). We organize and lead team-oriented volunteer opportunities and services in and around Boston that have a positive impact on individuals and communities. We are a proud member of the Hands On Network. Our Semester of Service project this year is a Youth Council. This is our pilot year, and we’re engaging 3 young people from Martin Luther King Day through Global Youth Service Day and into June.

We decided to implement a Semester of Service component to our BOOYAH! (Boston’s Young Active Hands) program in order to engage more youth in informing our programming. Our Youth and Family Coordinator is a Massachusetts Promise Fellow (a part of the America’s Promise program). She wrote the curriculum and planned the program, marketed to our youth, and gained commitment from 3 young women to participate this year. (In addition, we have a youth intern who has been working each week with us for 2 years, but he is participating in our Civic Leadership Institute as the youngest participant ever, so he opted out of this role.)

The Youth Council began at Martin Luther King Day, at our project which engaged 357 volunteers overall. Of those, 203 were youth aged 25 or under. Of those 25 or under, 144 were under 18. All three of the Youth Council members participated. They will meet twice a month for regular meetings, plan their own volunteer projects in their community in order to reach the 70 hour commitment, and participate in Teen TeamWorks, our week-long workshop/service program over February Vacation with 15 teens. They will participate in Global Youth Service Day and in our other BOOYAH! projects throughout the spring. Their experience will culminate with a graduation ceremony with the entire Boston Cares staff in June.

The three participants are diverse in terms of race and geography. One travels from Lexington, a suburb of Boston and is moving soon to Dorchester, a neighborhood of Boston. One is from Cambridge, Boston’s sister city across the Charles River. One is from Brockton, a large city about 45 minutes south of Boston. They have gotten along exceedingly well so far and will act as a cohesive first group for this new endeavor for Boston Cares. Scheduling has been a bit challenging, but that will work itself out over time.

These participants will help with the planning of GYSD and will make the BOOYAH! program of Boston Cares stronger and more relevant to the youth users. We hope that by messages coming from youth to youth, more will be interested in participating in the future. We believe that youth are knowledgeable, hard workers, and largely untapped. This is one way we at Boston Cares are working to engage more youth in more meaningful ways.

Answer President-elect Obama's Call to Service by Participating in Semester of Service and Global Youth Service Day

“Next Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. And to honor the legacy of a man who lived his life as a servant to others, I will ask all Americans to make a renewed commitment to serving their communities and their country. On Monday, my family and the Biden family will spend time volunteering in neighborhoods around Washington. I am asking you to join us in that same spirit of service to others - no matter where you live. Because I'm not just asking you to take part in one day of service. I am asking you to make a lasting commitment to make better the lives of your fellow Americans - a commitment that must endure beyond one day, or even one presidency. At this moment of great challenge and great change, I am asking you to play your part; to roll up your sleeves and join in the work of remaking this nation. And if you do, then I truly believe a new and better day is within our reach.”
– President-elect Barack Obama, 1/14/09

Youth Service America’s Semester of Service and Global Youth Service Day provide opportunities for young people, ages 5-25, to answer President-elect Obama’s call to service. Semester of Service provides the framework and tools for children and youth from schools, colleges and universities, youth centers, and faith-based organizations to continue service started on MLK Day and sustain it over the course of the spring semester, providing time for youth to delve deeply into an issue and improve their communities. Global Youth Service Day (April 24-26, 2009) is the largest service event in the world and provides an opportunity for children and youth to join with millions of their peers around the world to improve communities and to raise awareness of service and the role of youth as community leaders.

Plan a Semester of Service or Global Youth Service Day project:

1. Download planning resources.

• The GYSD Project Planning Toolkit offers step-by-step, how-to directions for planning and implementing a service project.
• The GYSD Service-Learning Curriculum Guide is a guide for teachers and service-learning coordinators to use in implementing a high-quality service-learning project.
• The Semester of Service Strategy Guide is a service-learning curriculum linking MLK Day of Service with Global Youth Service Day.
• The GYSD Classroom Poster is a poster on the front and project planning guide on the back.
• Request free printed copies of the Semester of Service Strategy Guide and the GYSD Classroom Poster.

2. Register your project. Registering projects can help generate more volunteers, media attention, and recognition by public officials

• Register MLK Day projects at http://www.USAService.org
• Register Semester of Service and Global Youth Service Day projects at http://globalyouthserviceday.org/howtopost

3. Find funding.

• Learn more about YSA’s grant programs and sign up for YSA’s Grants Alert.
  
• Grant & award opportunities are also published weekly in the National Service Briefing.
• YSA also offers a free subscription to the weekly GrantStation Insider.