A WEEKLY PUBLICATION OF
Published for the Service and Service-Learning Field Since 1994
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June 24, 2010 - Volume 17 #25 - Circulation: 37,000
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10 WAYS TO
 THIS SUMMER Ask your friends and family to help you set up a lemonade stand
and donate the money you make to Alex's Lemonade Stand.
Ask your neighbor if they're going on vacation this summer and offer to pet-sit for free. If you are a certified lifeguard, offer to volunteer at your local
YMCA a few days a week.
Hurricane season begins this month. Research information about
disaster relief and preparedness and share it with people in your life.
If you live in an area that experiences hurricanes, make a disaster
relief kit or make sure you have everything you need in the one you
already have.
If you are at least 17 years-old, donate blood. Get World Cup Fever! Support your city's homeless street soccer
team by cheering them on and preparing them for the Street Soccer USA
Cup (July 30 - August 1). If you have any elderly neighbors, offer to mow their lawn, help
them with their gardening, or help them during their next trip to the
grocery store. It's warm, so people will be wearing open toed shoes and they want
to have pretty toes. Give pedicures to residents at a nursing home or
shelter. When you pull out your warm-weather clothes, donate items that
don't fit you anymore to your local Goodwill or Salvation Army.
Help promote literacy and Summer reading! Find an organization in
your community that would like to receive books donations. Register the
organization with First Book, an organization that provides books to
children in need.
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NEWS FROM THE FIELD
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Vice President Biden and Secretary of Education Duncan Honor PARADE's All America
Service Team Award
Fifteen high school students from across the nation received the awards for their outstanding
service contributions to their communities. PARADE partnered with the national youth-service
organization The LEAGUE to select the All America Service Team members, who were nominated in five
categories: economics, the environment, education, community, and health.
Vice President Joseph Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan honored PARADE's All America
Service Team Award winners during a private reception Wednesday at the White House. Learn more, watch a video of Vice President Biden's remarks, and learn more about the 15 students who were honored on PARADE's website: www.parade.com/news/all-america/2010/0623-vice-president-joseph-biden-honors-all-america-service-team.html
News from the Corporation for National & Community Service It's been a very busy couple of weeks at the Corporation for National and Community Service. Some highlights of major news from CNCS:
President Obama Announces Intent to Nominate New National Service Board Members - President Obama announced his intention to nominate seven members to
the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community
Service today. The nominees include Rick Christman, Jane Hartley, Marguerite W.
Kondracke, Matthew McCabe, John Podesta, Lisa Quiroz, and Phyllis N.
Segal. National Service Agency Announces Grants to Engage Seniors in Service - CNCS has awarded 48
organizations grants under its Senior Corps Retired and Senior
Volunteer Program (RSVP) to engage seniors in service projects that
address national problems facing local communities.
National Service Agency Invests in Service as Solution In Native American Communities- CNCS recently announced
more than $3 million in new grants to support Native American
communities in using national service as a solution to tackle social
and economic challenges.
New Father's Day Tradition: Change Lives by Volunteering With Your Children - In a special Father's Day video, Patrick Corvington, CEO of the
Corporation for National and Community Service, joined by four U.S.
Secretaries, encourages fathers to celebrate the holiday by
volunteering with their children to help others.
First Lady Announces Foundation Commitments to Invest in Innovative Community Solutions- First Lady Michelle Obama and Corporation for National and Community
Service CEO Patrick Corvington announced the initial phase of
philanthropic commitments totaling $50 million to match Social
Innovation Fund (SIF) grants and to invest in other innovative
community solutions. International Volunteer Service: Global Development from the Ground Up
President Obama's emphasis on "smart power" diplomacy has thrust the
need for international volunteer service into the global spotlight. On June 23,
Global Economy and Development at Brookings and Washington University's
Center for Social Development (CSD) hosted a forum examining how
international volunteer service can address multiple global challenges
simultaneously and build international cooperation. Highlights of the forum included an address by Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, who leads the Department of State's Global Partnerships Initiative, a panel on Peace Corps outcome data, and a policy plenary introducing and discussing the Service World policy platform. Learn more about these international service initiatives - and several related research studies at: www.brookings.edu/opinions/2010/0621_volunteering_caprara.aspx
Additional information about the upcoming Service World advocacy campaign is available at: http://buildingbridgescoalition.ning.com/page/serviceworld-1 |
SPECIAL FEATURE: NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON VOLUNTEERING AND SERVICE
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The 2010 National Conference on Volunteering and Service held in New
York City
on June 28-30 kicks off at a time of great need for the country and opportunity
for the service movement. Convened
by the Corporation for National and Community Service and Points of Light
Institute, the annual conference is the world's largest gathering of service and
volunteer leaders. The conference will focus on ways the service movement
can better target resources toward pressing social problems and measure
impact; expand opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to serve;
build the capacity of individuals, nonprofit organizations, and communities to
address social challenges; and embrace innovation by expanding what works and
seeding new ideas. Highlights, many of which will be webcast live, include:MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' To Feature Service, Hosts to Emcee Opening PlenaryMonday, June 28 @ 1:30pm
To
help kick off the three-day event, MSNBC's Morning Joe will dedicate
part of its Monday, June 28 program to citizen service, featuring a
number of the conference's biggest names, and the show's hosts Joe
Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski will emcee the conference's opening
plenary on June 28 at 1:30 pm
(ET) at Radio City Music Hall. Featured speakers include
Patrick Corvington, Michelle Nunn, Governor Paterson, Mayor Bloomberg,
Laysha Ward, Jamie Dimon, and more. The opening session will be webcast
live on the conference website at VolunteeringandService.org."Here's To YOU" Event at Radio City Music Hall
Monday, June 28 @ 8:30pm
The "Here's
To YOU" Inspiration Event
on June 28 at 8:30 pm (ET) at Radio City Music Hall will be hosted by "The Daily Show's"
John Oliver. Incredible volunteers from across the evening
will be honored with awards and recognition at this spectacular evening event.
New York Broadway shows, West Side
Story, In the Heights and Million Dollar Quartet will perform
during the evening. Special
presentations by Ruby Dee, actress,
poet,
playwright,
screenwriter,
and journalist
and a
special presentation by Jeff Parness, founder of The New York Says Thank You
Foundation accompanied by FDNY firefighters Brian Fitzpatrick and James
Sands.
The inspiration event will be webcast live on the conference website at VolunteeringandService.org.
Tuesday, June 29 @ 7pm ET
MTV, TeenNick, The Corporation for National and Community Service, and
Shell will team up to spotlight the extraordinary
efforts of our nation's youth service leaders in the "It's Up to Us!
2010 NCVS Youth Forum" on Tuesday, June 29, 2010. The two-hour summit will give over 150 young people a platform
alongside leaders from the national service movement and the Obama and
Bloomberg administrations, to connect, discuss and generate new ideas
to expand the youth service movement. The youth forum is part of a long-term collaboration between MTV and
the Corporation to raise awareness about the transformative powers of
volunteering on the nation's youth and the communities that they serve. To find simple ways to get involved, users can head to
Serve.MTV.com.
National Service Town HallTuesday, June 29 @ 12:45pm ET
Corporation for National and Community Service CEO Patrick Corvington will share
his vision, answer questions, and celebrate AmeriCorps VISTA's and Foster
Grandparents' anniversaries during this interactive session. The town hall will
be webcast live on the conference website at VolunteeringandService.org.The Role of Service in Remaking American EducationWednesday, June 30 @ 10:30am ET
More
than 1,000 attendees are expected to attend the Education Plenary on Wednesday morning where Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will
examine The Role of Service in Remaking American
Education. Joining him will be Joel Klein, Chancellor of the New
York City Department of Education; Ronjanett Taylor, Director of America
Reads in Mississippi; Bob Moritz, Chairman and Senior Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, which is sponsoring this micro-plenary, and
Anthony Salcito, VP of Worldwide Education for Microsoft. Free registration for this one special session is available to non-Conference
attendees by clicking here. |
GRANTS & AWARDS
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| STEMester of Service Grants (Deadline: July 15)
Youth Service America is accepting applications for the second year of STEMester
of Service. Funded by Learn and Serve America, a program of the Corporation
for National and Community Service, STEMester of Service incorporates YSA's
semester-long service-learning framework to engage educators and students in
addressing critical environmental needs and connecting them to STEM (science,
technology, engineering, and math) curricula. YSA is seeking middle
schools with large populations of disadvantaged youth; STEM schools must be located in one of the 19
states with highest dropout rates (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia,
Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wyoming). The $5,000 grant (that includes travel and training at
YSA's Youth Service Institute in Detroit in October) supports teachers as they
engage local partners and guide students in addressing local needs through
planning and implementing sustainable service projects that launch on Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day of Service (January 17, 2011) and culminate on Global Youth
Service Day (April 15-17, 2011). www.ysa.org/grants/stem
NEW ELIGIBLE STATES: The STEMester of Service grant program targets states with the highest dropout rates. Based on the most recent dropout rate data released last week, YSA has added 7 states to the list of eligible states, including: the District of Columbia, California, Hawaii, Michigan, Montana, Rhode Island, and Wyoming. Middle schools in these states, in addition to those in the original 12 states, are eligible.
Disney
Friends for Change Grants (Deadline: July 15)
Disney's
Friends for Change grants encourage kids
everywhere to take steps together with their friends to help the planet.
YSA
will award 75 $500 grants to youth-led service initiatives around the
world
that demonstrate youth leadership and the commitment to making a
positive
impact on the environment. Eligible applicants will be asked to implement their projects between
September and November and to connect their projects to International
Coastal Cleanup Day, National Public Lands Day (both September 25), or
other environmentally-focused days of service.. Disney Friends for Change
Grants are
open to schools, organizations, and individuals planning service
projects.
Applications submitted by younger children aged 5-14 are especially
welcome.
The goal of the grant is to inspire children to join their friends and
families, schools, and communities to address critical environmental
needs as
"friends for change" at the local, national, and/or global levels.
Grant applications are due Thursday, July 15, 2010. Learn more at: www.ysa.org/grants/announcements/friendsforchange2010
APPLICATION TRAINING: YSA will host two application training webinars, June 29 at 3:00 pm EST and July
6, 12:00 pm EST, for applicants to learn more about developing a successful
service project. To register, please email sguy@ysa.org.
2011 Global Youth
Service Day Lead Agency Grants (Deadline: July 15)
Lead Agencies are local, regional, or statewide organizations across the United
States, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario, or New Brunswick that
increase the scale, visibility, and impact of Global Youth Service Day by
leading GYSD in their city, region, or state. Lead Agencies convene a planning
coalition of at least 10 partner organizations that collectively engage at least
600 youth volunteers in service on GYSD, engage local media and elected
officials, and plan a high profile signature project or celebration of service.
Lead Agencies receive a $2,000 GYSD planning grant sponsored by State Farm
Companies Foundation, travel support to attend the Youth Service Institute, and
ongoing training and technical assistance from Youth Service America to ensure a
successful Global Youth Service Day. Past Lead Agencies have leveraged their
position as a GYSD Lead Agency to strengthen their programs, form new
partnerships, expand their volunteer base, garner media attention, gain support
from local public officials, and secure additional funding. Learn more and
access the application at: www.GYSD.org/content/2011GYSDleadagency |
PROFILES IN SERVICE
GET UR GOOD ON MEMBER
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Spartan Sparkles - Bettendorf, IA
Last summer, Sarah Cronk uploaded a video about her
cheerleading squad, the Spartan Sparkles, on GetUrGoodOn.org. The video tells the story of
how the Sparkles were your average high school cheerleading squad until they
invited children with special needs to cheer with them. They now practice and
cheer with 10 girls with special needs at games twice a week.
Get Ur Good On founder, Miley Cyrus, saw their video and was
so impressed, she wanted to surprise them with tickets to one of her concerts.
The entire surprise and a special mention of Get Ur Good On were featured on an
episode of Oprah last October.
The Spartan Sparkles were recently awarded
a $25,000 Pepsi Refresh grant and are being featured in a national commercial this month.
The Sparkles still receive encouragement from the Get Ur Good On users, and the video Sarah uploaded
continues to be one of the most popular videos on GetUrGoodOn.org. For more information
about the grant and what they will do with the funds, please visit the Pepsi
Refresh site: www.refresheverything.com/sparkleeffect
View the video Sarah uploaded on GetUrGoodOn.org here: www.geturgoodon.org/video/sparkleseffectmovie-1
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TOOLS, TRAINING, RESOURCES & RESEARCH
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| Mobile Volunteerism: How Mobile Apps Are Enabling Macro, Micro, and Indirect Volunteering
Dale Zak, a mobile software developer based in Saskatoon, Canada, recently spoke about mobile volunteerism at Mobile Tech Training during Net Change Week in Toronto. In his talk, he shared some examples of how mobiles are aiding traditional
volunteerism, are allowing new forms of micro-volunteerism as well as a
few interesting ways devices are being used to indirectly volunteer for
a cause. The content of his presentation is featured on his blog at: www.dalezak.ca/2010/06/mobile-volunteerism.html Impacts of International Service on Volunteers
International volunteer service is defined as an organized period of
engagement and contribution to society by individuals who volunteer
across an international border. In the
United States, more than one million Americans reported volunteering
abroad in 2008. Studies suggest that
international service develops skills, mindsets, behaviors and networks
that prepare volunteers for living and working in a knowledge-based
global economy. Washington University's CSD has studied international service over the
last decade. The current research, first in a series from the
quasi-experimental study, compares international volunteers' perceived
outcomes to a matched group who did not volunteer internationally:
volunteers are more likely to report increased international awareness,
international social capital, and international career intentions. Learn more and download the report at: www.brookings.edu/reports/2010/0621_volunteering_mcbride.aspx
Ten Suggestions for
Effective Activism
Effective activism's
a long-haul process, not "save the earth in 30 days, ask me how." But there are
some principles that seem to reoccur for people addressing every kind of
challenge from the Gulf Oil spill to inadequate funding for urban schools to how
to deal with Afghanistan and Iraq. When Paul Loeb was updating Soul of a Citizen, someone suggested that he gather together the "Ten Commandments" for
effective citizen engagement, so he drew together ten suggestions that can make engagement
more fruitful. Read Paul Loeb's 10 suggestions for effective activism at: www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-loeb/soul-of-a-citizen-want-to_b_614880.html |
SERVICE CALENDARS
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| Conferences & Events
U.S. Public Service Academy National Youth Conference
July 14-16
Washington, DC
Mark your calendars for July 14-16, 2010: The U.S. Public Service
Academy will host a three-day, two-night youth conference in
Washington, D.C., to generate enthusiasm and mobilize support for the
Academy initiative. We will bring dozens of student supporters to the
nation's capital to learn more about the Public Service Academy,
develop citizenship skills, and advocate for our cause.
This will be an intensive, action-oriented conference where students will have the opportunity to:
- Listen to inspiring speakers - Learn about the legislative process and the techniques of advocacy - Get hands-on experience talking with members of Congress about the Academy - Meet other young leaders of the Public Service Academy movement
Learn more and register at: http://uspublicserviceacademy.org/events/
Conference Calendar: www.servicewire.org/conferences
If
you'd like your 2010 conference or event to be included, please e-mail
the name, date, and location (city, state) of the conference to
dmiranda@ysa.org with the subject line "NSB Conference." Include a
short blurb/description of the conference and the website you want
people to be directed to.Seasons of Service
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
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"I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to
produce more leaders, not more followers."
- Ralph
Nader
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Connect to Youth Service America
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