ServiceNation Announces Historic Campaign to Make National Service a Way of Life

WASHINGTON, April 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- During a week that marks the fourth anniversary of the Serve America Act, ServiceNation is launching a new campaign to promote national service as a way of life. The campaign aims to inspire millions of Americans to serve by enlisting the voices of prominent leaders from both political parties, the entertainment industry, leading nonprofits, and former AmeriCorps members. The ultimate goal is simple but ambitious:  we envision a day when young Americans turn to each other and ask, "Where will your year of national service be?"

This week, leading Americans like General Stanley McChrystal, Governors Haley Barbour and Ed Rendell, and combat veteran and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, and others are speaking out about the urgency of enlisting more Americans to serve their country.   

The Promise. Four Years ago, President Obama signed the Serve America Act, a bipartisan law sponsored by Senators Ted Kennedy, John McCain and Orrin Hatch. The act aims to more than triple AmeriCorps to 250,000 annual positions so more Americans have the opportunity to serve their country for a year.

The Challenge. Last year, more Americans applied for national service than ever before, but 85% of the 500,000+ applicants were turned away because funding for the bipartisan Serve America Act has not kept pace with American's desire to serve.  

The Opportunity. With budget cuts and belt-tightening, an army of trained AmeriCorps members could make all the difference in overcrowded classrooms, understaffed health clinics, after school programs that keep kids safe, tutoring programs that lowers dropout rates, or disaster relief efforts to rebuild communities after a deadly storm. The small living stipend offered to AmeriCorps members costs this country far less than the price of a teenager who drops out of school, a patient who can't get the medical care she needs, or the billions we spend on disaster relief every year.  An AmeriCorps member who earns a year's worth of real-life skills and experience that businesses need costs America far less than a graduate who becomes virtually unemployable after a year without a job.

About ServiceNation. This campaign will build on the work ServiceNation has done over the last five years. With a coalition of nearly 400 organizations, a membership of 140,000 individuals, and a cohort of field organizers, ServiceNation seeks to take the national service movement to the next level through an unprecedented cultural campaign that will inspire Americans and expand opportunities for Americans in national service.

ServiceNation is partnering with Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor and Ben Schwerin at Fenway Strategies to develop and implement its communications strategy, and with the social impact agency Propper Daley, to coordinate efforts within the entertainment industry.

If you would like to learn more or get involved, visit ServiceNation at www.ServiceNation.org.   

CONTACT: Ian Crawford, [email protected], (202) 644-8414

SOURCE ServiceNation