City Year Co-Founder Praises President Obama's Plans to Expand National Service Opportunities for Americans

BOSTON, July 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Michael Brown, the co-founder of City Year, a national education-focused organization that unites young AmeriCorps members for a year of service in high-need schools, issued the following statement today in response to President Barack Obama's plans to establish an interagency task force to develop strategies to expand national service to meet our country's needs:

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"Today, at a White House event honoring Former President George H. W. Bush for his exemplary lifetime of public service and his contributions to volunteerism -- including the creation of the Points of Light movement -- President Barack Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum establishing a Task Force led by the Corporation for National and Community Service to develop strategies to expand national service through collaboration with other Federal agencies and the private sector.

As CEO and Co-Founder of City Year, which taps the idealism, energy and talents of young adults for a year of full-time national service helping students in high poverty schools succeed, I believe strongly that we need to expand opportunities for Americans to engage in meaningful, impact-driven service.  This memo and the Task Force it establishes will not only help more Americans to serve, but will also enhance federal agencies' capacities to achieve their missions while using tax dollars efficiently.  All of us at City Year applaud President Obama for this exciting initiative to advance service opportunities in America and congratulate President George H. W. Bush for a richly deserved honor.

As the memo states: 'By creating new partnerships between agencies and CNCS that expand national service opportunities in areas aligned with agency missions, we can utilize the American spirit of service to improve lives and communities, expand economic and educational opportunities, enhance agencies' capacity to achieve their missions, efficiently use tax dollars, help individuals develop skills that will enable them to prepare for long-term careers, and build a pipeline to employment inside and outside the Federal Government.'

Today's news is an important step forward for our country, putting us closer to path with more service opportunities for the hundreds of thousands of Americans wanting to serve.  It also continues a long-standing tradition of bipartisan support for national service and its potential to help solve some of nation's most pressing problems."  

About City Year: City Year is an education-focused, nonprofit organization founded in 1988 that partners with public schools and teachers to help keep students in school and on track to succeed.  In 25 communities across the United States and through two international affiliates, this innovative public-private partnership brings together teams of young AmeriCorps members who commit to a year of full-time service in schools. Corps members provide individual support to students who need extra care and attention, focusing on attendance, behavior, and course performance through in-class tutoring, mentoring, and after school programs.

SOURCE City Year