Pictured above from left to right: General (Ret) Stanley A. McChrystal (Service Year Alliance Board Chairman), Rob Gordon (President of Be the Change, Inc.), Shirley Sagawa (CEO Service Year Alliance), Congressman John Lewis, Congresswoman Doris Matsui, Congressman Joe Kennedy III, AnnMaura Connolly (President of Voices for National Service) and Congressman John B. Larson
For immediate release - May 25, 2017
WASHINGTON, DC - "Service Year Alliance applauds Rep. John Larson and Rep. John Lewis for their leadership making a year of service a common expectation and opportunity. The ACTION for National Service Act marks an important contribution to this goal", says Shirley Sagawa, CEO of the Service Year Alliance.
Service Year Alliance Board Chairman (Ret.) General Stanley McChrystal: "You don’t have to wear a uniform to serve your country. America is about all kinds of service, whatever is required. Service makes America great. Because everyone who serves comes out a little bit better. And if everyone comes out a little bit better, the whole country will become better.”
Sagawa: "As we’re nearing President Kennedy’s 100th Birthday, it is time for us to renew the bipartisan commitment to national service: It all began with Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps. President Lyndon B. Johnson founded VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America). President George H. W. Bush created the Office of National Service in the White House and the Points of Light Foundation. President Bill Clinton signed the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 (creating AmeriCorps and the Corporation for National and Community Service - CNCS). President George W. Bush created the USA Freedom Corps and President Barack Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.”
Sagawa: “You have to give young people the chance to be great. Given the recent dramatic proposed budget cuts--which would eliminate AmeriCorps totally and marks the deepest cut proposed by a president to the Peace Corps in over 40 years--Service Year Alliance calls on members of both parties to expand national service instead of eliminating it. National service plays a unique role bridging divides, by connecting people from different races, religions, and regions in common purpose. Through this experience, they build ties and understanding that most other institutions do not foster.
The ACTION for National Service Act legislation could help make our vision to make a year of service a common expectation and opportunity for every young American a reality by building the essential pieces of providing money for college, expanding service year opportunities, and raising the importance of national service by making CNCS a cabinet agency.”
