Imagine the power of service years scaled across a city, town, or high-need neighborhood working day after day to address community challenges. The Institute for Emerging Issues (IEI) at North Carolina State University, a non-partisan public policy organization, and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation recognized the potential for service year opportunities to bring forward an engaged citizenry, foster a sense of collective responsibility, and address enormous challenges facing North Carolina.
Together they partnered with Service Year Alliance to launch the Service Year NC Initiative.
Through Service Year NC, IEI will help up to five communities elevate and expand service years locally. Each Service Year NC community will be included in an IEI-supported statewide learning network and receive a small amount of financial support to assist their expansion efforts. Service Year NC will work to double the number of service years across the state, and aims to make NC a model for others across the county.
Service Year Alliance is excited by the leadership and commitment made by IEI and the investment made by Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. Service Year Alliance will work with IEI to make service years a common expectation and opportunity for more young Americans—especially more North Carolinians.
The communities working with IEI will also be encouraged to become a Service Year Impact Community, a national initiative, where they can join other communities from across the country who have pledged to develop a growth plan. Service Year Alliance will support this network of communities through technical assistance and other services.
Thanks again to IEI and Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation for joining the movement and working to make North Carolina a leader in the service year field.
