Category Archives: Service News

03.18.09
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With Bipartisan Support, the House Passes GIVE Act

Update, April 21, 2009: President Obama signs the Serve America Act into law. To take effect October 1, 2009.

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a major overhaul and expansion of national service.

The House passed H.R. 1388, the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act bill by strong bipartisan vote of 321 to 105. According to Alan Khazei, the founder of the Service Nation movement, this represents a 75% super-majority and broad bi-partisan support.

The vote came after a floor discussion where both Democratic and Republican Members of Congress cited numerous examples of volunteers and national service participants helping Americans in need through mentoring at-risk youth, building homes, teaching in under-served schools, caring for veterans and seniors, and helping survivors of Hurricane Katrina and other disasters.

According to Voices for National Service, here are some amendments to the legislation:

Amendment offered by Rep. Hill (D-IN) to make sending care packages to soldiers Continue reading →

03.17.09
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Lawmakers, Volunteers to Hold Press Conference to Urge Passage of Service Legislation

Update, April 21, 2009: President Obama signs the Serve America Act into law. To take effect October 1, 2009.

U.S. people of all ages who serve and volunteer will join members of the Congress for a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, March 18, at 10:30 am EST.

The House of Representatives will consider H.R. 1388, the GIVE Act, on the floor Wednesday, March 18th. You can watch the voting take place on C-SPAN.

The Congress members and volunteers will urge the House to pass the legislation that aims to “launch a new era of national service to help the nation get through the economic crisis.”

The bill will significantly expand national service (if enacted). Read more (PDF) about the bill. Follow the progress of the bill on Open Congress.

People to appear at the press conference include volunteers and national service participants; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer; U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman House Education and Labor Committee and co-sponsor of legislation; U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), cosponsor of legislation; U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV); and Capt. Scott Quilty, U.S. program manager, Survivor Corps.

The Senate is expected to consider similar legislation soon.

03.14.09
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Music National Service Initiative Looking for Interns

picture-31People eager to support national service and music can contribute as interns for the Music National Service Initiative (MNSi).

Kiff Gallagher’s Music National Service Initiative has recently launched three new internships in Idealist.org.

MNSi is looking for self starters who will be critical players in MNSi’s fundraising and community-building strategy, who love project management, have an eye for detail and who will follow through. The “Musical Peace Corps” is looking for:

Campus and Community Organizer who will strengthen and expand the volunteer base for Music National Service Continue reading →

03.13.09
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AmeriCorps VISTAs Reflect on their Service through “V is For ____”

AmeriCorps VISTAs and alums reflect on their service through the “V is For _” Campaign.

V is for ideas + action = making visions happen.

V is for ideas + action = making visions happen.

“V is For__” is a Campaign on Flickr that allows AmeriCorps VISTAs and alumni to post a photo of themselves, ostensibly holding up the V sign with their fingers, and saying something meaningful. Since several of us involved with Idealist.org are also AmeriCorps VISTA Alumnae, we thought we’d contribute!

Our Grad School Blog Project Blogger Eileen Gallagher served as an AmeriCorps VISTA and then VISTA Leader before heading to grad school at Brandeis’s Heller School. As a VISTA, she served at the Center for Experiential Learning at Allegheny College, her alma mater. She worked with students to plan service events, ran a tutoring program in local elementary schools and functioned as part of the college’s student affairs staff.

As a Leader, Eileen helped run the program and learned a lot about management. She knew that she loved the students, their idealism to create change, the community that she Continue reading →

03.13.09
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Peace Corps Volunteers in Madagascar Are All Safe

Madagascar is the island off the southeast coast of Africa

Madagascar is the island off the southeast coast of Africa

To add to recent unsettling news for the Peace Corps community, Peace Corps’s Madagascar program has been suspended due to political strife in the country. Peace Corps’s top priority is the health and safety of it Volunteers who yearly practice safety drills in case evacuation becomes necessary.

The unstable political situation in Madagascar has prompted Peace Corps to issue a statement confirming that its Volunteers serving there are safe:

“WASHINGTON, D.C., March 11, 2009 – The situation in Madagascar was tense today due to an ongoing political standoff between the President and the former mayor of Antananarivo, resulting in looting and anti-government Continue reading →