Take a few minutes and check out all of the incredible ways that service year corps members are making an impact as we kick off 2017. They continue to show how young people address our communities' most pressing challenges -- from preserving conservation areas in heavy snow and repairing flood-damaged homes, to organizing incredible MLK Day of Service activities in communities.
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Before we sign off for the holidays, we pulled together some of the most powerful service year stories from the past few weeks that paint an amazing picture of what service year corps members are up to this holiday season. So, as you hop in the car to travel home for the holidays or wait in line at airport security, take a few minutes and check out all of the incredible ways that service year corps members are bringing joy to local communities.
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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.
The 114th Congress is coming to an end in a few weeks, and while the new Congress will bring new champions for the service year movement, it also means that our movement is losing one of our most ardent supporters.
Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) — the Godmother of National Service — is retiring at the end of the year.
Growing service years is a key component of our strategic plan at Service Year Alliance, and one way we'll be doing that is by increasing the number of international service year opportunities. We were proud to be able to present the first Service Year Award at the Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance's International Volunteer Day Forum on December 5th to Peter Ter, returned Peace Corps volunteer who has done multiple service years in Azerbaijan, China, and Georgia.
Service Year Alliance's launch event featured a video from Launch Chair and Airbnb Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, Joe Gebbia calling on the tech community to embrace a service year.