Stories From The Field from the National Service Briefing

Earlier this week, President Obama sent his Fiscal Year 2011 budget request to Congress, including proposed funding for the Corporation for National and Community Service and its programs. The Corporation's FY 2011 budget request of $1.4 billion will strengthen our nation's volunteer sector, foster innovation and civic engagement, and mobilize more than six million Americans to solve critical problems through national service. This is an increase of $266 million over last year, including a $216 million increase for AmeriCorps programs.

Mobilize.org has partnered with the Goldhirsh Foundation, MTV, the McCormick Foundation, and ServiceNation: Mission Serve to explore the unique issues facing our returning Millennial veteran population. Mobilize.org will hold a summit in Los Angeles on April 1 - 3, and bring together 100 returning Millennial veterans to use interactive keypad voting technology to debate, discuss and work collaboratively to propose veteran-led, veteran benefited projects in our communities and on our campuses.

The Rutgers-Newark School of Public Affairs and Administration has recently launched new online resources for students and professionals dedicated to public service:

The Alliance for Public Service website contains up-to-date information on public service news, events, organizations, research, publications, and more. The website also contains career information such as professional development and internship opportunities. It is located at: http://publicservice.newark.rutgers.edu

Hundreds of schools and organizations across the United States launched youth-led service-learning initiatives last week. Youth Service America & State Farm Companies Foundation awarded $100,000 to support 100 youth-led service projects across the United States and Youth Service America & UnitedHealth Group provided 265 grants worth more than $180,000 to support youth-led projects responding to escalating childhood obesity crisis.

Change.org has launched the second annual Ideas for Change in America competition, an initiative to empower citizens to identify and build momentum behind the country's best ideas for addressing the major challenges we face. You can check out the site at www.change.org/ideas, where you can submit any idea you want to see implemented, discuss ideas with others, and vote on the top ideas from across the country. Ideas can be submitted within any one of 20 issue categories, ranging from the environment to homelessness to education.

In 2007, ICP published an issue of our Service as a Strategy series that examined the potential for engaging young people in post-conflict reconstruction efforts. Then, as now, we argue that young people are a powerful resource for rebuilding their communities following the cessation of conflict and in peace building efforts. Structured service opportunities represent a unique venue for reintegrating young people in war-torn communities, and for teaching them valuable educational and employment skills that they are too often deprived of learning due to the disruption of conflict settings.

Best Buy's @15 Big Give competition and virtual philanthropy initiative ends on January 30. That means teens, ages 13-18, only have nine more days to earn points and donate them Youth Service America. As a Lead Agency, grantee, teacher, youth, NSB reader, or someone who just loves YSA, this is a great opportunity to help us make $250,000 that we will use to engage children and youth all over the world in service and service-learning initiatives. To earn points and vote, you must be a teenager. Currently, YSA is in third place and we have a long way to go before we reach number one.