I wrote on The New Service blog today that national service is a popular way to give back. More than that, it is effective and cost-efficient. It's expanding the human resource capacity of nonprofits, and providing many people with much needed bridges into meaningful career paths. To find out if your senator agrees, read the list of Senators who voted to allow discussion on the Serve America Act.The Serve America Act, a piece of legislation introduced by Senators Hatch and Kennedy last fall, is under close scrutiny on the Senate floor this week. If it passes, the bill will:
Create 175,000 new service opportunities "many of them full-time" in areas of national need, including education, health, poverty and clean energy, building on the success of AmeriCorps
Link the full-time education award to the maximum Pell Grant award amount in order to keep up with the rising cost of college
Create a Veterans Service Corps to provide additional support to returning vets and engage them in service
Provide Encore Fellowships for retirees who commit to longer-term service, building on the model of the Senior Corps Programs
Create opportunities for young people in low-income, high-need communities to volunteer to improve their own communities
And take several more steps to allow organizations, social entrepreneurs, and volunteers to meet growing needs in effective ways. If you want to contact your Senator in support of the Act but are unsure how to do it, head over to this Senate.gov directory .(via Idealist.org)
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