by Amy Potthast

The Signing of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act

Today President Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act into law. It will take affect October 1 of this year. Read more about the Act.

During one of the most exciting National Volunteer Weeks in recent memory, President Obama and national service supporters gathered today at the SEED School in Washington, D.C., an academic and boarding charter school.

At the signing, Obama said, our “government cannot do everything alone,” but needs the help of citizens in local communities everywhere. And national service isn’t just for recent college graduates (watch news footage from AARP.) Sounding Whitman-esque, he called people every where to “Put your shoulder to the wheel” of service — and if you do, you can look back on the “moment when your own story and the American story converged.”

Michelle Obama and Bill Clinton He also recognized Bill Clinton for launching AmeriCorps during his administration, and the First Lady Michelle Obama who was the founding executive director of Public Allies Chicago, a national service program.

Obama went on to talk about the long legacy of service contributed by the Kennedy family including Ted Kennedy, for whom the legislation is now named.

He also introduced Maria Eitel his nominee for the new chief executive post at the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and Acting C.E.O. Nicola Goren.

The bill re-authorizes CNCS and its programs through 2014, and authorizes sweeping expansion of national service (with a nod Continue reading →

04.01.09

by Amy Potthast

How to Apply to AmeriCorps

To clear up some confusion about how you get into AmeriCorps.

AmeriCorps is a network of programs throughout the United States (and its territories — yes, you can serve in Puerto Rico!) that provide the chance for you to serve in your community full-time for a year on a range of critical issue areas.

Programs also allow nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and schools to host you — in order to extend their capacity to fulfill their mission, and so you can initiate and run new projects that they haven’t been able to get off the ground, and/or to leverage the support of community volunteers whom you recruit and engage.

When do AmeriCorps applications come open?

The short answer is, it’s not too late to apply now and in the coming months.

Because AmeriCorps is a network of programs, the longer answer is that application dates vary by program. Different programs operate on different cycles, with new AmeriCorps members starting at different times.

Most programs that I know of open up their application process in spring and early summer; and incoming AmeriCorps members start in the fall (usually starting sometime between August and October).

Of course some programs, like City Year and Teach For America, offer many deadlines throughout the school year. Continue reading →

03.24.09

by Amy Potthast

Answering the Call from Citizens Who Want to Serve

These days the fate of national service seems tied more than ever to the greater economic struggles our nation is facing. Citizens want to serve in their communities, and this week the Senate is debating legislation that would make it possible for more people to serve than ever before.

September 11th and 12th of last year, the Service Nation Summit convened hundreds of leaders, service corps alumni, and celebrities to talk about the need for expanded national service opportunities, to meet the growing demand among people of all ages to serve full-time in their communities.

While Summit participants were still returning home in the glow of that inspiring event, Lehman Brothers—just blocks from where the Summit took place in mid-town Manhattan—crumbled, and the bottom began to fall out of the economy.

This week, the U.S. Senate will take a hard look at the Serve America Act, a piece of legislation announced at the Service Nation Summit by Senator Orrin Hatch (while his partner Sen. Edward Kennedy, convalescing at home, joined him in spirit).

Little known in September was just how desperately needed this legislation would become by the time it saw the floor of the Continue reading →

03.09.09

by Amy Potthast

Marketplace on NPR Looking for Stories from Teach For America Alums

Sharon McNary of Marketplace, the business show on public radio, has questions about people’s experiences with Teach For America.

The personal finance show Marketplace Money is exploring how Teach For America changes the lives and earning potential of the people who participate as teachers. She is looking for former corps members, relatives of corps members, or people at the schools who host TFA teachers. If you fit in any of these categories, please click here to share your TFA story with Marketplace. They want to know:

How competitive it was to enter the program
How it helped or changed the participant’s career options
How you view the opportunity cost of being part of TFA, that is, what might you have been doing if you were not in the program
How do you see the program changing in the recession and how might it change under President Obama call out for Americans to do more public service.

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