Service Nation

ServiceNation is the name of a organization campaign to increase support for expanding national service programs like the Peace Corps, Americorps, Senior Corps, and through service-learning experiences in schools and colleges. It is supported by many charitable organizations across the nation including the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, and Boys and Girls Clubs.

The ServiceNation campaign is the product of BeTheChange, Inc., a Boston-based non-profit established to promote bringing national service programs "up to scale." Most national service programs were originally designed to offer opportunities to many more volunteers than they currently do--primarily due to federal budget cuts. National service programs like Americorps pay a living stipend and reward volunteers who have completed service with a monetary education award.

According to their web site, "ServiceNation is a campaign for a new America. An America where citizens unite and take responsibility for the nation’s future. An America that restores the great tradition of citizen service, and honors the profound sacrifices made by so many Americans who have passed before, from the small band of Founders to the millions who have fought for equality and justice at home, and defended our freedom abroad. ServiceNation is about an America that is ruggedly idealistic, compassionate, and above all committed to the idea of shared sacrifice in pursuit of America’s boldest promise: liberty and justice for all." [http://www.bethechangeinc.org/servicenation/about_us/vision] "To begin this journey, ServiceNation will unite leaders from every sector of American society with hundreds of thousands of citizens in a national campaign to call on the next President and Congress to enact a new era of service and citizenship in America, an era in which all Americans will work together to try and solve our greatest and most persistent societal challenges. This campaign will launch with a ServiceNation Summit, Sept. 11-12 in New York City, and build with a national grassroots movement aimed at inspiring widespread public support for a new and transformational national service act that will encourage all Americans to step forward and take the lead in bridging our divides, strengthening our communities, and building a more vibrant democracy."

Service Nation is scheduled to host over 900 events nationwide on Saturday, September 27, 2008, in a National Day of Action, to showcase and celebrate the work that national service and other volunteer programs donate to the greater community at large.

Service Nation has been criticized by libertarians [http://volokh.com/posts/1216794178.shtml] [http://www.lewrockwell.com/grigg/grigg-w37.html] , National Review Editor Jonah Goldberg [http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZmYwMzAwNTQ3ZTYyMGJiNmU2ZWVlZmEyMzllZGFmOWU=&w=MA=] , and the John Birch Society [http://www.jbs.org/index.php/family-and-freedom-blog/2301-servicenation-wants-youth] .

Candidates Presidential Forum

Infobox Historical Event
Event_Name =



Image_Caption =
AKA =
Participants = John McCain, Barack Obama

Republican and Democratic
Party Nominees

Location = Columbia University
New York City
Date = September 11, 2008
Result =

Source: [http://www.bethechangeinc.org/servicenation/about_us/sponsors]

Underwritten by

Carnegie Corporation

Presented by

* TIME
* AARP
* Target

Co-sponsors

* Home Depot
* Peter G. Peterson Foundation

Participating sponsors

* Case Foundation
* Illumination Fund
* Bank of America
* Charina Endowment Fund

Media sponsor

* The NonProfit Times

Lead social media partner

* facebook

Organized by

* Be the Change,Inc.
* City Year
* Civic Enterprise, LLC
* Points of Light Institute

Prominent members of the Leadership Council

Source: [http://www.bethechangeinc.org/servicenation/summit/leadership]

Co-chairs

* Vartan Gregorian, President, Carnegie Corporation of New York
* Caroline Kennedy, Vice-Chair, New York City Fund For Public Schools
* Bill Novelli, CEO, AARP
* Alma Powell, Chair, America's Promise Alliance
* Rick Stengel, Managing Editor, TIME Magazine

Council

* Andi Bernstein
* Tom A. Bernstein, President and Co-founder, Chelsea Piers
* Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor, New York, NY; Chairman, National September 11 Memorial and Museum
* Cory Booker, Mayor, Newark, NJ
* Richard H. Brodhead, President, Duke University
* Neil Bush, CEO, Global XS
* Geoffrey Canada, President and CEO, Harlem Children's Zone
* Mortimer Caplin, Former Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service
* Vice Admiral Richard Carmona, Former U.S. Surgeon General
* Jean Case, CEO, The Case Foundation
* Richard Celeste, President, Colorado College
* Ray Chambers, Amelior Foundation
* Richard Cizik, Vice President, National Association of Evangelicals
* Henry Cisneros, Chairman, CityView; Former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
* Glenn Close, Actress
* William Cohen, Former Secretary of Defense; Former U.S. Senator
* Janet Langhart Cohen, Author; Founder, Citizen Patriot Organization
* Scott Cowen, President, Tulane University
* Tom Daschle, Former U.S. Senator
* John J. DeGioia, President, Georgetown University
* Manny Diaz, Mayor, Miami, FL
* John Dilulio, Former Director, Office of Faith*Based and Community Initiatives; Author, The Godly Republic
* Melinda Doolittle, Recording Artist
* Paul Fireman, Founder, Reebok
* Al From, Founder and CEO, Democratic Leadership Council
* Susan Fuhrman, President, Teachers College, Columbia University
* Mark Gearan, President, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
* David Gergen, Professor of Public Service and Director, Center for Public Leadership, Harvard University
* Michael Gerson, Columnist, The Washington Post
* Stephen Goldsmith, Former Mayor, Indianapolis, IN
* Jennifer Granholm, Governor, Michigan
* Rabbi Irving Greenberg, Theologian; Author, The Jewish Way; Founding President, Jewish Life Network
* Amy Gutmann, President, University of Pennsylvania
* Lee Hamilton, Former Congressman; Former Co-chair, 9/11 Commission and Iraq Study Group
* Jenny Chin Hansen, President, AARP
* Gary Hart, Former U.S. Senator
* Mellody Hobson, President, Ariel Investments
* Admiral James R. Hogg, USN (Ret), Director, Strategic Studies Group, Naval War College
* James J. Jensen
* Martin Luther King, III, Chairman, Realizing the Dream
* Joel Klein, Chancellor, New York City Public Schools
* Sherry Lansing, Founder, The Sherry Lansing Foundation
* Jim Leach, Former Congressman; John L. Weinberg Professor of Public and International Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University
* Anthony Marx, President, Amherst College
* Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, Chairman, American Red Cross
* Sam Nunn, Former U.S. Senator
* Michael Nutter, Mayor, Philadelphia, PA
* Martin O'Malley, Governor, Maryland
* Bette Midler, Founder, New York Restoration Project; Performance Artist
* Lt. General Dave R. Palmer, USA (Ret), Former Superintendent, U.S. Military Academy at West Point; Author
* David Paterson, Governor, New York
* Kal Penn, Actor
* Gregg Petersmeyer, Former Assistant to the President; Director, Office of National Service under George H.W. Bush
* Peter G. Peterson, Chairman, Peter G. Peterson Foundation; Co-founder, Blackstone Group Management
* Rob Portman, Former Congressman; Former Director, Office of Management and Budget
* Samantha Power, Anna Lindh Professor of Practice of Global Leadership and Public Policy, Harvard University; Author
* Marc Racicot, Former Governor, Montana
* Susan Rice, Foreign Policy Advisor, Obama for America
* Bill Richardson, Governor, New Mexico
* David Shaw, Managing Partner, Black Point Group
* Rodney Slater, Former Secretary of Transportation; Chair, United Way of America
* Laurie M. Tisch, President, Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund
* Paul Vallas, Superintendent, New Orleans Recovery School District
* David Walker, President and CEO, Peter G. Peterson Foundation
* Silda Wall, Founder, Children For Children
* Rick Warren, Senior Pastor, Saddleback Church; Author, A Purpose Driven Life
* Harris Wofford, Former U.S. Senator; Former CEO, Corporation for National & Community Service

ee also

* Conscription in the United States
* National service

External links

* [http://www.bethechangeinc.org/servicenation/ Service Nation]
* [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0809/11/se.01.html ServiceNation Presidential Candidates Forum (transcript] · [http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/11/candidates.sept11/index.html#cnnSTCVideo video)]