Peace Corps’s top priority is the health and safety of it Volunteers who yearly practice safety drills in case evacuation becomes necessary.
See this update from the Andean Information Network, including an email message from an evacuated Volunteer.
And read this report from the Associated Press in October 2008 about 70 Volunteers who had been evacuated from Bolivia and subsequently terminated their Peace Corps assignments early, so they could return to Bolivia on their own terms. (Normally, Peace Corps would work to find new assignments for these Volunteers.)
So lately I have noticed a lot of bizarre references to Public Allies in the blogosphere. Barack and Michelle Obama were involved with the Chicago program, so it’s pretty obvious the attacks have been politically motivated.
For example, one blogger referred to Public Allies participants as a “band of taxpayer-supported social misfits.” Another says of the program: “its real mission is to radicalize American youth and use them to bring about ‘social change’ through threats, pressure, tension and confrontation….” According to one, the national service program is connected to a “boot camp for radicals who hate the military.”
So after coming across so many offensive references to Public Allies (a group that has co-sponsored our Idealist.org graduate admissions fairs for several years), I am glad to see this note in the Chronicle of Philanthropy‘s web site shedding some light on the attacks. For more information, read the fact sheet Public Allies posted on its site about its relationship with the Obamas.
Participants in national service programs are prohibited from taking part in political activity during service hours or while wearing the AmeriCorps logo. Here is a good summary of other prohibited activities for AmeriCorps from the Serve Illinois web site. Further, people of all political backgrounds are inspired to become involved in their communities and take part in national service.
The conversation about the Service Nation Summit this week has been forcefully nonpartisan, people of all political ideologies will be involved with the event, and Summit volunteers have been encouraged to keep the conversation neutral. I get it that people who are in favor of smaller government resent the notion of government-funded volunteer programs, but I regret the tone these blogs are taking against citizen service.
A VISTA Campus web site has been launched to serve as a learning resource for VISTAs and supervisors. One of my favorite sections is an alumni page that includes audio files from many of the “Voices of VISTA” radio programs that aired during the 1960s. Musical performers who perform VISTA public service announcements include Otis Redding, Simon and Garfunkel, and Peggy Lee. Leonard Nimoy also did a Voices of VISTA spot, but for whatever reason it’s not included here.
When you click the link, log on as a guest to check out these sound files. You can also check out other sections of the campus.
Engage local youth whom the schools have not reached, including formerly incarcerated and court-involved 16-24 year olds
Prepare these youth with highly marketable and potentially lucrative green job skills
Give them the chance to use sustainable practices to restore the environment and historic structures, conserve energy, and build community
Revitalize New Orleans, a city still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina
Innovate service learning practices by implementing them without the classroom
Transform the public perception of marginalized youth by giving them a platform and a voice
Instill in these youth the value of service to community at an early age
CCGNO leverages some investment from the Federal government, to not only transform the lives of its Corps members but also to rebuild and rejuvenate New Orleans infrastructure and community.
The program graduates its first class of Corps members this Friday through its Service Learning Showcase, where 100 Corps members will share their accomplishments from their three-month term of service.
During their term, Corps members visualized success, researched and assessed community needs, proposed and implemented sustainable projects, and finally evaluated their own outcomes. Corps members have served side by side with up to seven peers, plus professional mentors who have guided them. They have served in agencies throughout Greater New Orleans.
Recruited from the parishes of Greater New Orleans, the inaugural class of CCGNO show that quality service-learning comes through youth ownership. By mid-2009, CCGNO hopes to have graduated 800 Corps members.
While some service corps programs are hit-or-miss when it comes to career transitions, CCGNO is all about green workforce development, and commits to propelling its graduating Corps members towards green jobs and further education.
For further reading on bringing all voices to the environmental movement, check out GreenForAll.org. In November 2008, Green For All’s founder Van Jones published a book Green Collar Economy. Also read this New York Times blog post (from 11/10/08) about Van Jones and the Obama administration. Check out this interview with Van Jones, who explains more:
Looking to get more directly involved in the democratic process? Is the election year whetting your appetite for campaign action? Many service programs disallow political involvement due to financial support from the government. But these programs exist that embrace politics:
Based in Portland, OR, and a project of the Bus Project, PolitiCorps is a “boot camp” for organizers. Fellows spend the summer registering voters, issuing policy white papers, and learning to run campaigns. Alumni go on to run political and fundraising campaigns, serve nonprofits, earn graduate degrees and more.
A year-long, hands-on experience, Green Corps’ Field School for Environmental Organizing teaches the art of building grassroots, activist support as well as the science of influencing policy. Based in Boston, the Corps also supports its members’s career transitions.
Emily’s List offers this opportunity for college grads to get involved with Democratic Party campaigns: one week of Campaign School and then working the final three months on a Democratic campaign.
ForecastRed
On the Republican front, learn more about ForecastRed’s campaign school that prepares participants for the campaign season. Email events@forecastred.org.
The New Service 