Volunteerism and community service
The traditional American values of serving others and making a difference within
communities continue to hold strong. Despite hard economic times, with local
organizations strapped for resources and receiving higher demands for services,
the number of Americans volunteering their time and energy continues to hold
stable at 26%, with millions of Americans serving in all 50 states and in over
200 cities nationwide.
The Corporation for National and Community Service is a national example of
these values of strengthening communities and helping others through service by
providing opportunities for Americans of all ages and backgrounds to serve
through Senior Corps, a mentoring program of adults over 55, AmeriCorps, which
provides opportunities for Americans all ages to serve through partnerships with
local and national nonprofits, and Learn and Serve America, which supports
service-learning for high school students. This federal agency also includes
special initiatives like Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service and President
Obama’s call to volunteer United We Serve, a summer program where people can
create their own service projects and involve their communities in improving
education, health care, and clean energy on a local level, thereby contributing
to national economic recovery and improved living standards for all.
National service has a rich history in the U.S. In the 1930s, President Franklin
D. Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which brought in
young men to restore national parks. The 1960’s "War on Poverty" led President
Lyndon B. Johnson to create VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America). In the
1970s, the National Center for Public Service Internships, the National Student
Volunteer Program, and the Retired Senior Volunteer Program were established. To
further this spirit of volunteerism, President George H.W. Bush created the
Office of National Service in 1989 and signed the National and Community Service
Act of 1990 into law, providing grants to service projects for youth,
nonprofits, and universities throughout the country. Three years later,
President Bill Clinton signed the National and Community Service Trust Act of
1993, creating AmeriCorps and the above-mentioned Corporation for National and
Community Service. And most recently, in April 2009 President Barack Obama
signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act to expand national service
programs and make America stronger by focusing volunteer opportunities on the
social and economic problems we face today.
Sources:
AmeriCorps Nationa Service Timeline
VolunteeringIAmerica, Research Papers