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Serve America Together campaign kicks off with a challenge to presidential candidates: Release a Plan to Expand National Service

Leading military and civilian service organizations challenge 2020 presidential candidates to prioritize national service & unite a divided America

WASHINGTON, DC (June 26, 2019) – Serve America Together — a campaign to make national service part of growing up in America — kicked off today with a challenge to the 2020 presidential candidates. The campaign is challenging all presidential candidates to commit to make national service a priority in their first 100 days in office and to release bold plans to expand and transform national service in America. Over a dozen leading military and civilian service organizations joined together with campaign co-chairs Gen. Stan McChrystal, Arianna Huffington, Andrew Hauptman, former Gov. Deval Patrick, former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and Laura Lauder to call on the candidates to prioritize national service.

The “secret sauce” of national service is in its ability to prepare and inspire young people to step up and address the many challenges we face. From climate change and food and water scarcity around the globe, to an opioid crisis and homelessness here at home, programs like AmeriCorps, YouthBuild, and Peace Corps give young people across the country an entryway to being part of the solution.

Here’s one big challenge well-suited for service year support. With an aging population in the United States, we need a new generation of leaders ready to provide services for the elderly. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that by 2035, people older than 65 will outnumber those under 18. There is a desperate shortage of professionals able to provide care: by 2030, we’ll need an estimated 3.5 million more healthcare professionals, yet only 4% of social workers, 2% of nurses, and less than 1% of physicians are specializing in geriatrics care -- far below below the predicted need.

The Administration has missed yet another opportunity to bring the country together
and call a generation to service.

WASHINGTON, DC (March 12, 2019) – “We are deeply concerned that, for the third year in a row, President Trump has proposed eliminating the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that oversees AmeriCorps”, says Shirley Sagawa, CEO of Service Year Alliance. “The Peace Corps and YouthBuild are also on the chopping block, with proposed cuts of $14 million and $5 million, respectively. Unfortunately, the Administration has missed yet another opportunity to bring the country together and call a generation to service. The proposed cuts ignore the powerful impact that national service has in communities across the country and the long history of bipartisan support.”

WASHINGTON, DC (January 30, 2019) – Service Year Alliance, a nonprofit with the mission to make a year of service a common expectation and opportunity for all young Americans, announced that its CEO Shirley Sagawa will step down from her role this summer.

Sagawa: “As Service Year Alliance embarks on its fourth year, we are proud of our achievements. We have adopted a new business plan; begun work on a campaign aimed at the Presidential election; held a successful summit on opportunity youth to launch our work on equity and inclusion; built the capacity of ServiceYear.org and our program resources; acquired AmeriCorps Alums; and assembled a high quality team of staff, board members, and volunteers. Now seems like the right time to pave the way for the Service Year Alliance's next leader. I have worked closely with our Board of Directors and Leadership Team to craft a strong succession plan.”

Appalachian Kentucky Service Year Impact Community initiative is one of 21 cradle-to-career partnerships that will advance equity and spread bold strategies to help children and families access opportunity and move up the economic ladder.

BEREA, KENTUCKY — Partners for Education at Berea College, a place-based organization dedicated to ensuring all Appalachian students succeed, has received $150,000 from StriveTogether, a national nonprofit working to bring communities together around data to make decisions and improve results for kids. The Appalachian Kentucky Service Year Impact Community initiative will use its grant award to implement a service year model in rural areas to improve educational outcomes and reduce disparity gaps in southeastern Kentucky.

“We believe the Commission’s mission to foster a greater ethos of military, national, and public service to strengthen American democracy presents a unique opportunity to bridge the civilian-military divide”, said Shirley Sagawa, CEO of Service Year Alliance.

Senator Harris Wofford will be remembered for his extraordinary public service — marching alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., advising President Kennedy on civil rights, leading two colleges, and serving in the Senate. In fact, his own record of service in and outside of government makes it easy to overlook one of his most important legacies: calling other Americans to serve

WASHINGTON, DC (December 11, 2018) – Service Year Alliance announced today the launch of Service+Tech, an initiative aimed at increasing diversity within the technology industry and equipping the next generation of civic and political leaders with entrepreneurial and technical skills.  

Service+Tech was developed with the support of Schmidt Futures, a venture facility for public benefit founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt. Cisco and SAP have also signed on as founding sponsors.

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WASHINGTON, DC (December 3, 2018) – Today, Service Year Alliance convened more than one hundred policy makers, thought leaders, service year employers, and opportunity youth at Busboys and Poets in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, DC for the first-ever Service Year + Opportunity Youth Summit.

Opportunity youth, sometimes referred to as disconnected youth, comprise nearly five million American youth aged 16 – 24 who are neither in school nor employed. The Summit highlighted the role service years play in upskilling and creating career pathways, credentials, and social capital for opportunity youth.