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Service in the News

March 3, 2009

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...the first beneficiaries are ourselves.

Senator Christopher Dodd on Service

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by Brandon Gryde

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS), and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) on February 24, 2009 announced the introduction of their “Service for All Ages” Initiative, a group of four bills that will expand and strengthen opportunities for Americans of all ages to serve their communities. The initiative includes the Semester of Service Act, the Summer of Service Act, the AmeriCorps: Together Improving Our Nation (ACTION) Act, and the Encore Service Act.

The legislators spoke to a crowded room that included former-Senator Harris Wofford and Tim Shriver, leadership from Youth Service America (YSA), and other supporters of the service movement.

Dodd told of his, first inspirational call to serve, first put forward by President John F. Kennedy which prompted him to join the Peace Corps. While these four bills create the architecture and infrastructure for everyone to service, he noted that service is a “personally enriching and gratifying experience” and that the “first beneficiaries are ourselves.”

These comments were echoed by two young women, Latoya Braham and Luz Burgos, representing Our Piece of the Pie in Connecticut – a YSA Lead Agency – as they spoke of how service helped them achieve.

Burgos noted that her academic drive comes from her community service. Coming from a family that had never attended college, Burgos decided to share her passion for learning by tutoring and mentoring younger children who come from a similar background as her own. “Money shouldn’t hinder me from service,” she stated. She went on to say that she developed leadership skills from her community service involvement.

Braham reiterated the idea that service provided her with direction. “I know what I want to do. I know how I want to help, and I owe it all to service.”

The Semester of Service Act is modeled after YSA’s Semester of Service program, a semester-long service experience that culminates on Global Youth Service Day on April 24-26, 2009. This bill, as introduced in the last Congress, will create a competitive grant program that enables school districts, or nonprofits working in partnership with school districts, to teach civic participation skills that help young people see themselves as resources to their communities.

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