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April 27, 2010

Maybe Woody Allen had it wrong.

Maybe 90 percent of life is NOT just showing up because, every day, in countless ways, individuals, organizations and corporations around this country don't just show up; they show up and give back.

April 18-24 is National Volunteer Week, an apt occasion to pause and celebrate the millions of Americans who have seen the needs in their communities -- financial hardship and poverty, a stubborn high school dropout rate, ongoing threats to our environment -- and asked, "what can I do to help?"

April 23, 2010
Washington D.C. – The Corporation for National and Community Service announced the appointments of three top social sector experts in key positions – Heather Peeler, Chief Strategy Officer; John Gomperts, Director of AmeriCorps; and Nicole Gallant, Director of Learn and Serve America and Strategic Education Advisor.

The appointments come as the Corporation marks the one-year anniversary of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act – landmark legislation that calls for a historic expansion of
April 22, 2010
A giant of the American civil rights movement has passed away. Dorothy I. Height died April 20 at the age of 98. For more than 60 years, she worked tirelessly alongside all the major civil rights leaders, from Eleanor Roosevelt to Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis. From voting rights, through school desegregation, through black feminism, she was a key leader. President Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994; President Obama called her "the godmother of the Civil Rights Movement."
April 15, 2010
(Washington, D.C., April 13, 2010)-Independent Sector announces that the 2009 estimate for the value of a volunteer hour has reached $20.85, an increase from $20.25 per hour in 2008.

The release of this important figure comes just before National Volunteer Week, which takes place April 18 - 24, 2010. This year Independent Sector and Points of Light Institute are partnering to celebrate ordinary people doing extraordinary things to improve communities across the nation.

March 30, 2010
Representatives from GenerationOn visited the NASDAQ MarketSite in Times Square and presided over the NASDAQ Opening Bell.

About GenerationOn:
GenerationOn mobilizes the energy and compassion of young people, beginning at an early age, to discover their power to solve real world challenges. Through volunteering opportunities and education programs that instill a lifelong commitment to service, GenerationOn inspires young people to make their mark on the world.

GenerationOn is the
March 12, 2010
Washington, DC — Four thousand middle school students will participate in service-learning projects this summer, funded by the 2010 Summer of Service grants from Learn and Serve America, a national service program administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The agency awarded grants totaling $2 million to 17 nonprofits, universities and schools to engage at-risk youth in grades 6 through 9 in innovative service projects that address environmental and disaster preparedness issues.

February 15, 2010
Thomas O. Staggs, the Walt Disney Company’s new theme parks chairman, hopped onto a circular stage built to resemble an enormous can of tuna on Thursday. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said to the audience gathered at Epcot in Florida, “the world’s largest structure of canned food!”

With that, a stage hand crawled through some fake fog and pulled a rip cord that sent an enclosure of white balloons skyward. Sure enough, volunteers had arranged over 115,000
February 15, 2010

Washington, DC – The U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Patrick Corvington by unanimous consent today to be the new Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Corvington, a recognized expert on nonprofit management and leadership, joins the agency at a time marked by unprecedented social need and support for national service.

February 12, 2010
The allure of a free ticket to a Disney park has spurred people across Northeast Ohio to sign up for local volunteer activities, bringing a welcome spike in help for a broad range of organizations.

The "Give a Day. Get a Disney Day" program began in January and aims to both celebrate and inspire volunteers by providing a one-day ticket to a Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort theme park to the first million people who sign up and complete a day of volunteer service.

January 25, 2010
University of Mississippi student Sharita Washington decided not to take the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend off.

Instead, Washington, 22, and 26 fellow students from the university's Oxford, Miss., campus joined about 3,000 others for volunteer community service in Chicago. Saturday, they spruced up a South Side elementary school where 97% of the students are low-income, according to Chicago Cares, which coordinated the effort.

January 25, 2010
Many Americans, both young and old alike, will be enjoying a day off today, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

But instead of sleeping in and watching TV reruns the entire day, most folks and schoolchildren will be engaged in some form of volunteer service on this "national day of service," especially in light of Tuesday's catastrophic earthquake in Haiti.

MLK Day wasn't always known as a "day of service." Signed into law by President Reagan in 1983, this federal holiday was originally created to honor King's life. Fast forward
January 18, 2010
Chicago will hire a full-time “chief service officer” to craft a citywide volunteerism plan, in part to help at-risk youth, thanks to a two-year, $200,000 grant awarded today.

Mayor Daley accepted the Rockefeller Foundation grant on the National Service Day created by Congress to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King.

He was joined by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who already has a chief service officer to coordinate disparate groups of volunteers.

January 18, 2010
Today we celebrate the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s contributions to the world with a day of service. Increasingly, millions of Americans view his holiday as “a day on, not a day off” — an occasion to volunteer with a nonprofit, make a New Year’s commitment as a mentor, or create a dialogue around the unfulfilled legacy of King.

A part of King’s dream has been realized with the election of a transformational president and significant progress in our nation’s journey toward true equality of opportunity.
January 18, 2010
For a decade and half, Harris Wofford has taken what Americans do on the national holiday marking the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy personally.

During his single term in the U.S. Senate, Wofford (D-Pa.) partnered with Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) in 1994 to pass the King Holiday and Service Act. Both men, veterans of the civil rights movement who were friends of King, were fed up and disappointed with what the holiday had become. Rather than a day of unity and service as they had
January 17, 2010
As the nation celebrates the 80th birthday of Dr. King and welcomes the historic presidency of Barack Obama, we remember all the acts of change and sacrifice of those who have contributed to our national pilgrimage to a more perfect union. We remember the foot soldiers of the movements for social justice and we celebrate the every day heroes who combat malaria around the world, serve in our military, teach our children, and build homes for those without shelter. It is exciting to see the dream and vision that Coretta

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