Building on the grassroots organizing power of his campaign – and the formative work of his time as a community activist – President Obama on Wednesday announced the launching of United We Serve, an initiative to encourage and empower volunteering and service projects around the country.
The initiative stands on the shoulders of the Corporation for National Service (CNS), the federal agency created by President Clinton that launched AmeriCorps and Senior Corps. At the website Serv.gov, citizens are invited to find a volunteer opportunity or to register their own projects to recruit others.
First lady Michelle Obama echoed the president’s calls for service at a speech on Tuesday at the Greater DC Cares Annual Business and Nonprofit Philanthropy Summit, where she thanked community leaders for their hard work.
Despite the unprecedented challenges of the moment – rising joblessness, home foreclosures, lack of affordable healthcare and quality education – now is a unique time in American history, she said.
“I’m feeling it as I’m traveling not just around D.C. but around the country. But people really want to get involved. They really want to. They’re looking for a way to turn their frustration, excitement, anxiety into action,” Mrs. Obama said.
With new funding authorized under the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, CNS will expand AmeriCorps from 75,000 to 250,000 positions over the next eight years, while increasing opportunities for students and older Americans to serve.
The law is also designed to strengthen the management, cost-effectiveness and accountability of national service programs by increasing flexibility, consolidating funding streams and introducing more competition.
United We Serve is a summer-long campaign running from June 22 through September 11, which the Serve America Act designated as an annually recognized national day of service and remembrance.
