Category Archives: Service News

10.05.09
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Patrick Corvington Named as Likely Nominee for the Top CNCS Post

Patrick Corvington (from the CNCS website)

Patrick Corvington (from the CNCS website)

Friday, President Obama announced his intention to nominate Annie E. Casey Foundation senior associate Patrick Corvington as the C.E.O. of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) — the federal agency that oversees the AmeriCorps family of programs.

Corvington’s focus areas at Anne E. Casey Foundation have included next generation leadership development and capacity building with the foundation’s grantee organizations — themes that affect the work of AmeriCorps programs on the ground as well.

He co-authored Ready to Lead: Next Generation Leaders Speak Out a study that looked at the rising generation of nonprofit leaders’s reluctance to take on executive roles. He currently serves on the board of Echoing Green which offers highly competitive start-up fellowship funding for new nonprofit and social enterprise development, and he serves on the advisory board for American Humanics which educates college students about nonprofit leadership.

According to the press release from CNCS, Corvington also has “engaged directly with some of the top social innovation intermediaries.”

Other professional background details from the press release:

From 2003-2005, Corvington was Executive Director of Innovation Network, a non-profit agency whose Continue reading →

09.11.09
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Tobey Maguire and Other Celebrities Honor 9/11 with Service

Tobey Maguire, sigh<br>Chair of the ServiceNation Ambassador's program

Tobey Maguire, sigh -- leader of ServiceNation's Ambassadors

Today Service Nation launched its celebrity Ambassadors program, engaging famous people in service projects as a way of highlighting the new day of service and inspiring the public to get involved proactively in building stronger communities.

Guided by an Ambassador’s Council — and led by actor Tobey Maguire — other celebrities who’ve participated in community service events today include other actors: Cameron Diaz in Boston, Anne Hathaway in Los Angeles, Oscar de la Hoya in Los Angeles, and Anna Sophia Robb in her hometown Denver.

Another initiative Service Nation has spearheaded this week included a Mayors Meeting in New York yesterday — convened by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Hands On Network, AARP, and the Entertainment Industry Foundation. The two dozen mayors from around the country came together to announce their commitments to the Cities of Service campaign, following in Mayor Bloomberg’s footsteps to highlight and support civic service in their cities.

Finally, Service Nation is hosting an event tonight in New York City at the Beacon Theatre where Secretary of State Clinton will keynote, and many other public leaders and entertainment industry stars will speak and perform.

Idealist’s Joanne Eng is on the ground at that event and will be bringing back a full report for us in the coming days.

09.01.09
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Inner City Teaching Corps Volunteer Teachers Gear Up for the New School Year in Chicago

Brittorf (left) and Tiffany Watson are teachers with the Inner City Teaching Corps of Chicago

Pat Bittorf (left) and Tiffany Watson are teachers with the Inner City Teaching Corps of Chicago

Jim Conti contributed this post — an interview with two teachers in the Inner City Teaching Corps (ICTC) of Chicago‘s Volunteer Teaching Corps (VTC). Jim is the program’s Recruiting Coordinator and Associate Director.

It’s that time of year again! Retailers have penny sales on notebooks, pencils, and scissors. School buses are being swept out and shined up. The collective groan of school-age children can be heard across the country as the 2009-2010 school year starts up. As students dread the end of summer, teachers are gearing up for what promises to be a new and exciting year.

Tiffany Watson and Pat Bittorf, members of the Inner-City Teaching Corps’s Volunteer Teaching Corps, are no exceptions. Having graduated from the University of Scranton and Boston College respectively, Tiffany and Pat arrived in Chicago in early June to move into their community on Chicago’s south side.

After completing an intensive summer institute, they both stepped foot in St. Malachy Elementary School to face their new classrooms for the first time. Tiffany is teaching a self-contained second grade class while Pat has a sixth grade homeroom, where he teaches Reading and Religion, as well as instructing sixth through eighth grade Language Arts.

In the midst of classroom setup and the first few days of school, we sat down with these two new teachers to talk about where they are coming from, what’s going on now, and what might be in their future.

Jim: Good morning! Let’s start with something broad. What brought you to the classroom? Continue reading →

08.25.09
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Edward M. Kennedy, 1932-2009

Ted Kennedy

Ted Kennedy

Tonight, Ted Kennedy died at home in Hyannis Port, MA.

The senator from Massachusetts, who’s been suffering from a cancerous brain tumor, was recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States.

He fought hard for national service — most recently on the the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act which was signed into law in April and which had been spearheaded by himself and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT). That Act represents the largest expansion of national service since the start of AmeriCorps in 1993.

Read the Change/Wire tribute to Senator Kennedy, and sign their Condolence Book.

According to CNN.com, the

“longtime Massachusetts senator was considered one of the most effective legislators of the past few decades. Kennedy, who became known as the ‘Lion of the Senate,’ played major roles in passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act and the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, Continue reading →

08.11.09
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Eunice Kennedy Shriver, 1921-2009

Shriver, from her bio page on her website One Woman's Vision

Shriver, from her bio page on her website One Woman's Vision

Early this morning, Eunice Kennedy Shriver passed away. I have been amazed by her infinite capacity to balance work and family — to be a role model to her kids through her tireless work on issues she was passionate about, to be a champion of service, and of people of all abilities.

My condolences to the Shrivers and Kennedys, I know you will miss her so much.

This is a statement from the family on the website Eunice Kennedy Shriver: One Woman’s Vision:

“It’s hard for us to believe: the amazing Eunice Kennedy Shriver went home to God this morning at 2 a.m.

She was the light of our lives, a mother, wife, grandmother, sister and aunt who taught us by example and with passion what it means to live a faith-driven life of love and service to others. For each of us, she often seemed to stop time itself – to run another Special Olympics games, to visit us in our homes, to attend to her own mother, her sisters and brothers, and to sail, tell stories, and laugh and serve her friends. How did she do it all?

Inspired by her love of God, her devotion to her family, and her relentless belief in the dignity and worth of Continue reading →