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?

In the excitement of last week (preparing for Denver, as well as the Obama acceptance), I didn’t mention an important story - that the Peace Corps is going to cut volunteers in response to budget stress. There’s just not enough money to cover all the costs, especially considering the weak dollar.

The news is particularly poignant in light of the Peace Corps festival that took place in Fort Collins, CO, over the past few days. There were a ton of exciting events, full of enthusiastic retired Peace Corps volunteers and other supporters. And these very capable volunteers aren’t the wide-eyed recent-grads as they’re popularly conceptualized; in most cases, these are capable men and women in several age groups (often recent grads, but there has been a huge surge in retired men and women joining the Corps).

But, optimistically, here’s the last two paragraphs from the WaPo article above:

Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has pledged to double the size of the Peace Corps by 2011. Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), his Republican counterpart, has praised national service and said there should have been a stronger national push to encourage people to join the Peace Corps and other volunteer organizations after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

WSJ is discussing what happens when recent grads hit the slow job market:

Mike Stewart is putting off law school in favor of teaching in Washington, D.C., for the next two years. Katherine Atwill, an Ivy League graduate, stopped interviewing at consulting firms in favor of teaching in the Bronx. Rebecca Graziano, at age 23, quickly gave up looking for work. “There’s nothing out there right now,” says the Emory University graduate. She’s heading to sub-Saharan Africa to work in youth development.

Young people like these are part of the growing ranks of college graduates who, amid a worsening job market, are contributing to a surge in applications and enlistments at public-service agencies like Teach for America and the Peace Corps.

One thing the article doesn’t mention is the selectivity of the organizations. Both the Peace Corps and Teach for America are very picky, and the acceptance process is often long and complex. The article seems to give the impression that because recent graduates can’t get jobs in the private sector, they are easily accepted in the service sector - and that’s not true. It’s competitive. With that clarified, the article is much more a commentary on the economy than service. It also seems the article reduces the choice to the job market - if JP Morgan won’t hire, then everyone will move to the Peace Corps! This idea seems overly simplistic.

But the basic point is clear - the slow market means people look into not-as-traditional alternatives, especially service. Great to see service covered.

Yesterday, Obama spoke about the nature of patriotism and service in Independence, Missouri. He specifically references expanding the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps. Here’s the text, and the video:

And John McCain spoke about his service, as well of the role of service in citizenship, at the Naval Academy on April 2, as part of his “Service to America” campaign. You can read along here, and watch:

A while back, we blogged about a Foreign Policy editorial criticizing the Peace Corps. Well, Peace Corps director Rob Tschetter has responded to the article in a harshly worded letter:

I was greatly disappointed with both the tone and misrepresentations of Robert Strauss’s article (“Think Again: The Peace Corps,” ForeignPolicy.com, April 2008). It is ironic that Strauss is a former Peace Corps country director. Your readers should be aware that the responsibility to monitor the performance and effectiveness of volunteers fell directly into his hands.

As the current worldwide head of the Peace Corps, I can tell you that each of his arguments is false and with all certainty, our agency is thriving. In April, President Bush met with volunteers leaving for Guatemala and said the Peace Corps “really is the best foreign policy America could possibly have.”

After the letter, you can read a brief response by the author of the original article, Robert Strauss. There’s also some discussion on the Foreign Policy blog, Passport. Weigh in there, or let us know what you think in the comments.

Ad Hoc Activism: The Daily Vanguard, newspaper of Portland State University, has an interesting article on trends in volunteering. Basically, lots of volunteers are helping out on special occasions, but not necessaily joining organizations or volunteering regularly.  

“Volunteers might pull an all-nighter for an issue close to their hearts, but don’t ask them to join a subcommittee,” Laura Oppenheimer wrote. “It’s about the experience, not the institution.” “Episodic volunteering,” as the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) calls it, is on the rise.

The article also notes that the rate of volunteering jumped by 20% between 2002 and 2005, and the general growth in volunteering (starting in 1989) is driven in large part by college students.

Clickworthy: TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) started as a conference in 1984 of people with great ideas. Now, they’ve got a cool website (which would be expected, from the first word!) showcasing the talks from the conference and a lot more. Check out the Global issues and the Culture tags; you’ll find a ton of interesting - and inspiring - videos and articles.

Blogging From the Front Lines: Peace Corps Journals has a ton of Peace Corps blogs. You can find them by region and check out what projects folks are working on, what it’s like in the area, and what the Peace Corps is doing. I’m entranced. If you’re interested in or already accepted to the Peace Corps, I also recommend the Peace Corps Wiki, which has a ton of country-specific information. It also has info about Retired PCV associations, if you’ve already been!  There is also an excellent Yahoo group of and about the Peace Corps.

Dodd’s Up: Last week, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT, former presidential candidate AND former Peace Corps volunteer) announced the AmeriCorps Act of 2008. He’s always shown a particular commitment to service, so we’re already fans! Our friends from ServeNext were there to film Dodd’s announcement.

Looking Good: NYT recently ran an op-ed discussing Teach for America and how we’re seeing real results! TFA is working with students who want to succeed, but haven’t had the chance. Check out the study referenced over at the Urban Institute. Slate’s got an article discussing TFA, its effectiveness, and in context of No Child Left Behind (Bush’s education act). Two pages of interesting insight - a must-read.

My Friends: Also in Slate - broadcast your wonkiness to the world by downloading one of Slate’s custom political ringtones. Set includes Obama saying, “Yes, we can”, Hilary laughing, and a McCain “my friends” compilation. Warning: setting the volume too high could precipitate Hardball-style confrontation on public transportation. 

Ouch: Over at Foreign Policy magazine, a retired Peace Corps volunteer / official smacks the Peace Corps aroound a bit. Pretty intense criticism - some valid, some harsh. NPR interviewed the author on Saturday to follow up. It reminds me of a NYT op-ed from January. Any Peace Corps volunteers - or anyone - want to respond / agree / disagree / discuss?

Making a Difference: The coAction Connection is releasing a documentary on youth and racism, filmed at the White Privilege Conference Youth Institute. You can read the press release here at the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation, where we picked up the story. Check out the trailer:

Good Stuff: AmeriCorps may have its critics. But they should all be required to read first-hand testimonials, like this onein Mississippi’s Sun-Herald. This is the stuff that really matters. People write off the “millenials” (those of us born between ‘83 and ‘97) far too often as lazy and self-centered - but many of us (most of us!) - actually prefer reality to reality TV. Tila Tequila and Bret Michaels, eat your heart out!

You’re Never Too Old: We generally think of the Peace Corps as traveling college grads, wearing Birkenstocks and munching on trail mix. But many retirees are also joining. And older Americans usually have specific skills that are particularly useful to the Corps, so Peace Corps wants to raise the number of older volunteers to about 15%. Plus, according to some retired Peace Corps volunteers, older volunteers are more respected by those in the host community. Service isn’t just for young people, and the Peace Corps knows it!

Engine of Growth?: The Urban Institute has released its 2008 nonprofit report. Not only is the nonprofit sector growing faster than the business or public sector, nonprofits are contributing to the economy - over $666 billion in 2006. Individuals have donated over $222 billion and volunteered about 12.9 billion hours (that’s 12,900,000,000 hours). That’s a lot of zeroes and a lot of hours. ServiceNation, of course, wants more.

Ch-ch-ch-changes: Mobilize.org has released its first report on Money in Politics as part of its Democracy 2.0 Entrepreneur Issue Briefs. Mobilize.org, an organization supporting civic engagement in young people (sounds familiar…), works by giving out information and money to spark change.

AmeriCorps in Mississippi: What’s Not To Like?

(PHOTO: JAMES EDWARD BATES/SUN HERALD)

And gives props to the Peace Corps (among others). Plus, the AP’s Ron Fournier ruminates about the meaning and importance of a word too little heard in American politics: sacrifice. Must be something in the air this week. If we knew what it was we could keep spraying it…