FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Jesse Colvin joins Service Year Alliance as new CEO

A veteran and former congressional candidate, Colvin brings a dedication to service and a strategic mindset to the service year movement. 

WASHINGTON, DC (September 3, 2019) – Today, Jesse Colvin officially joins Service Year Alliance as the organization’s next CEO. An Army Ranger, intelligence officer, business leader, and former congressional candidate, Colvin brings both military and public service experience to the role at a deciding moment for national service.

SAN JOSE, Calif. and DENVER – Aug. 28, 2019 – Silvernest and Service Year Alliance are partnering on a homesharing pilot designed to bring more affordable housing options to service year corps members committed to serving full-time for a year in San Jose, California. Through the Silvernest homesharing platform, service year corps members will be matched with homeowners in the area – many of them boomers – who are open to rent out their unused rooms at a discounted rate.

San Jose is a notoriously expensive city with some of the highest rent prices in the nation. A one-bedroom apartment rents for an average of $2,563 a month, making it difficult for service year corps members to live there on their modest monthly stipend. At the same time, census data shows that 70% of Californians over the age of 60 are homeowners, and many have empty rooms that could be rented out.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

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