The ServiceNation Summit in NYC Sept. 11-12 was an extraordinary gathering, and our only regret is that not everyone who loves and supports service could be there (we would have needed Yankee Stadium AND the Meadowlands!). But we have been doing our best to recreate the Summit online, and will keep working at it until everything that went on is easily accessible to anyone with a computer and an internet connection. So far, we have posted lots of videos here, and lots of photos here, and you can also browse easily on our custom photo and video players here. But just to make sure that you catch all the highlights, we will start posting some of our favorite moments here on Change/Wire. And since it is Friday, I want to have some fun and kick this feature off with the fabulous Alicia Keyes, who brought the house down with an awe-inspiring version of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.” Take it away, Alicia….
The beauty of the internet is that you can now carry on (or listen to) a coherent discussion by mulitple experts who aren’t even in the same place…or city…or continent. Or even commenting at the same time. Taking advantage of this most excellent possibility is a website called NewTalk, which brings together experts to rip into difficult topics for the benefit of the rest of us out here in internet-land. And they do it in a very refreshing way. Here is how NewTalk describes what it is all about:
At a time when politicians are mired in shallow, partisan debate, NewTalk asks the hard questions to build an honest and informed dialogue that can lead to real progress. We’re not afraid to confront issues where the current systems are failing and fundamental reform may be needed. Our approach calls for a clean slate. If we’re going to make America better, we need to face up to the tough trade-offs and question our most basic assumptions.
Now that’s an approach that’s pretty hard to find flaw with. And next week, from Oct. 14-16, NewTalk will address the following critical question: “What Should Universal National Service look Like?” The NewTalk lineup is all-star when it comes to this subject, and if you are going to have an all-star lineup to talk about service you of course have to include Alan Khazei and John Bridgeland, two of the leading lights in our very own ServiceNation movement. Go here to check out all the details, and make sure you follow along next week (just have that “boss button” ready!).
Old School: “Why are we all sitting around this table? Shouldn’t we be, like, on the internet?”
It’s not often that our fearless leader, Be the Change, Inc. CEO and Founder Alan Khazei, shows up in the same paragraph as Paul Revere and Edwin Land (inventor of the Polaroid camera). But Ira Jackson, dean of the Drucker School of Management, manages to pull it off in a thoughtful Boston Globe op-ed titled “What Makles Boston In A League Of Its Own”.
Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, was the first to understand that we live in a knowledge economy. Drucker might have seen Boston today as the equivalent of a factory of the future, where smart people use their minds, fueled by investors who match ideas with market needs, producing green, clean, and sustainable products for the world.
Drucker also said that “the best way to predict the future is to create it.” Boston’s been creating the future for four centuries. The Legatum Center at MIT, founded by Iqbal Quadir, a former investment banker turned social entrepreneur, is just the latest version and incarnation of Edwin Land (Polaroid) or Paul Revere (patriot, who also was the first public health commissioner in America) or Alan Khazei (who co-founded City Year). Dreamers and doers, pioneers and inventors, taking risks, sounding the alarm, harnessing technology - and potentially changing the world.
In the piece, Jackson tries to figure out why Boston is so exceptional when it comes to producing pioneering ideas and personalities. His least convincing (tongue-in-cheek) theory is that there is something in the soil. But the rest of his ideas are well worth considering as the United States faces a period of time in which we all need to be thinking carefully about the catalysts of innovation, creativity and success.
Earlier today, we posted (see below) on Caitlin Sullivan’s essay encouraging Princeton grads to consider public service in lieu of shrinking opportunities on Wall Street and in the private sector.
Here’s another angle to consider. The financial meltdown and lack of budget dollars will tempt many to argue that federal funding for service programs needs to be trimmed. But Chuck Slocum, President of The Williston Group, a management consulting firm in Minnesota, makes the opposite–and correct–argument: that during the tough economic times which America is just beginning to endure, the safety net provided by service programs will be more important than ever. Here’s the point Williston made in a post to MinnPost.com, following a day on Capitol Hill organized by Voices For National Service:
Whatever the final outcome of the federal plans to shore up ailing financial markets, the volunteer advocates told members and staffs of the U.S. House and Senate on Sept. 25 that, in the coming months and years, more and more fellow citizens would need the social “safety net” fortified by the national service movement.
Williston then went on to detail how service programs in Minnesota (including one of our ServiceNation coalition partners, Admission Possible), are making a real difference in improving literacy, delivering return on investment, and leveraging private dollars:
The reading corps currently in the field in Minnesota is helping in the effort to close the so-called “achievement gap” with a two-year initiative that is reaching 15,000 youngsters with necessary literacy skill development. Minnesotans offered the 10-member Congressional delegation information about the kids selected, the sites served in each of the state’s eight districts, the public-private $15 million funding streams, the one-on-one methodology applied to each child and the 80 percent success rate.
In AmeriCorps programs funded in Minnesota through its oversight group, ServeMinnesota, some $10 million was leveraged last year, the fourth-highest in the national competition, involving 800 in the field and trained AmeriCorps members working on a dozen projects including Admission Possible, the Minnesota Math Corps and the Community Technology Empowerment Project. By emphasizing “innovation, investment and alignment,” the organization has directed money and people power to programs that serve as community catalysts for positive social change.
These are the sorts of arguments we all need to be making forcefully, clearly, and with good data. Nice work, Chuck!
The financial meltdown is undoubtedly affecting the number of traditional private sector job opportunities for the college class of ‘09. But Princeton ‘07 grad Caitlin Sullivan, currently the program manager at the innovative CityBridge Foundation in Washington, DC, discourages her fellow Princetonians from moping around. Instead, in a very nice piece in the Daily Princetonian, Sullivan declares:
I write now to challenge the Class of 2009 to turn this economic constraint into professional liberation. My proposition: The Class of 2009 launches more careers in public service than any class in Princeton’s history.
I remember clearly what senior fall is like. Recruiters clamoring at FitzRandolph Gate, classmates ducking out of classes in business attire to make an inconveniently timed interview, the pressure (and, with an offer, relief!) of knowing what the future holds as soon as possible. My message today, delivered with the humility of a young alumna who is only a step removed from your position, is that pursuing a job in the public interest, a decision that may look risky, unorthodox and unpredictable, is actually quite the opposite under the Princeton umbrella.
Now that’s the kind of challenge we here at ServiceNation love to see. And Sullivan goes on to detail some of the ways that Princeton helps graduates connect with public service, and how that led to her current work at CityBridge. Princeton is a leader when it comes to encouraging its students to engage in public service, and Sullivan is a perfect example.
Caitlin Sullivan: There is life beyond Wall Street….
On Monday, I told you about a new book, The Green Collar Economy by Van Jones.
To follow-up - the book is doing fantastically!
#1 Bestseller at Powell’s
#17 Bestseller on Amazon
#88 bestseller at Barnes & Noble
That’s incredible! Every day, dozens and dozens of new books come out. For a new book to get so high after it’s just published - well, that’s very promising!
Have you donated a year to service? Are you thinking about serving for a year? It’s an attractive option for me personally (as I’m graduating in…7 months, a year ahead of schedule! more scary than exciting…), and many recent grads find themselves with the compulsion to do something. We’ll try to start putting together a solid list of resources, but for now, here’s a few programs to look into:
City Year - Give a year to work with kids in cities across the US. If you’ve ever met a City Year volunteer or alum, you’ll know it; not only do they have a distinctive uniform, they’ve got enthusiasm beyond belief.
AmeriCorps offers thousands of domestic opportunities, depending on what you want to do. There are teams all over the country, and a few different “subprograms” - VISTA, NCCC, and State/National.
The Peace Corps sends Americans abroad for two years to teach, help, and be a part of local communities. We’ve posted before about their funding difficulties this year, though - like most organizations, there are too many good-hearted, capable people for far too few slots.
Teach for America sends new teachers to needy schools for a two-year term. An extremely competitive program, TfA has made spectacular impacts.
MATCH Corps brings recent graduates to a charter public school in Boston for a year. They aren’t teachers, but tutors, and generally work for two hours a day with each of their students.
Here’s Idealist’s list of Term of Service Programs.
So now - an open call to readers and everyone. What other resources are there to help connect those who want to serve with year-long opportunities?
The blog The New Service has some sage advice for any corps member or prospective corps member suffering from anxiety in this unstable economic climate. The website also lays out some useful links. My favorite suggestion they provide:
5. Live simply. Here are some of the biggies: live with roommates; borrow books and movies from the library; ride a bike whenever possible — going car free saves a lot of money; cook at home and have friends over for pot-luck dinners; forgo internet access and cable television at home; shop at thrift stores and swap clothes with friends; cut down on expensive drinks like beer; reuse, reduce, recycle.
The New Service doesn’t sugarcoat when talking to future corps members, but interested parties should pay attention to the advice:
If you haven’t yet joined a corps, have confidence that hundreds of thousands of people have participated in service corps and made it financially.
That said, do take a hard look at the numbers and make sure you can afford to live on a stipend. Take into consideration student loans (qualified loans can be deferred or put into forbearance during the term), child care expenses, rent/mortgage payments, car payments, etc. Service Corps programs, local nonprofits and government agencies may be able to offer help with certain expenses, so be sure to ask. It’s not impossible to thrive on the stipend, but a term of service isn’t worth ruining your credit history or incurring deep debt.
Visit The New Service for the entire post.
WASHINGTON — In the wake of John McCain and Barak Obama’s unified call for an increase in public service and volunteerism last week at the Service Nation Summit in New York, the focus now shifts to Washington, where former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor will address leaders of the country’s major volunteer and civic organizations as they convene at the annual National Conference on Citizenship on September 22 to discuss ways to continue civic involvement after Election Day.
The National Conference on Citizenship just released its third report on America’s civic health. There’s 38 pages full of readable, nuanced information, including, “The 2008 survey finds that Americans are actively engaged with this year’s presidential election; however, not many people expect to work on the issues raised in the campaign after Election Day.”
Download the report here to read it all.
Brian Meshkin, of Meshkin Ventures, attended a Day of Action event in Maryland, and wrote a fantastic blog about it:
Emily Dickinson once penned, “If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain. If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin. Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.” Truly, these volunteers did not live that Friday evening and Saturday morning in vain.
From this experience, I learned something important. I need to do a better job of incorporating service into everything I do.
