Junior Achievement USA recently agreed to be part of ServiceNation, a national one-year campaign to promote volunteerism and service. This opportunity not only has high potential to yield awareness and resources, it also gives JA a seat at the table with some impressive individuals and organizations.
Service organizations, citizens and leaders from every sector of American life are joining forces to convince the next president and Congress to dramatically expand the role of national service in our democracy. The goal is the creation of a system of universal, voluntary national service that provides meaningful service opportunities for Americans at every life stage from elementary school through retirement, and engages one million Americans a year in full-time service by 2020. This presents a wonderful opportunity for JA to be part of a major national volunteer recruiting campaign.
Innovative organizations and programs have demonstrated that by engaging citizens in service, not only do we begin to address some of our society’s most pressing problems in tangible and effective ways, but we build an active citizenry who is prepared and motivated to play a vital role in our democracy.
ServiceNation is a campaign to bring national service in America to scale. The campaign goals are to:
- Establish service as a universal American ethic, providing opportunities for Americans to serve at every life stage to address critical issues facing our country.
- Lead to the passage of a comprehensive national service act passed by Congress and signed into law by the president in the first year of the next administration.
The power of a democracy lies in the hands of the people. Through this grassroots campaign, we will mobilize communities of citizens to call upon their legislators and the president to make lasting change by passing new national service legislation. At the same time, we will launch a “grasstops” campaign to draw national attention to the ServiceNation platform.
ServiceNation has three primary components. These events build a campaign that will continue until new legislation is passed by Congress and signed by the president.
- Presidential Forum: September 11, 2008, New York City
Supported by 9/11 advocacy groups, sponsored by Time and broadcast by CNN, the presidential candidates will be interviewed about their service platforms by Rick Stengel, managing editor of Time magazine.
- Summit: September 12, 2008, New York City
A gathering of leaders representing many sectors of American life will convene to ratify a Declaration of Service and draw national attention to the platform of ServiceNation.
- Days of Action: September 26 - 28, 2008, across the country
An opportunity to engage and mobilize citizens around the country in events that will highlight the need for national service and launch a 12-month grassroots campaign.
The local JA is part of the Days of Action—specifically, the 5th annual eServ ePrix Go-Kart Race, which will be held at eServ on Allen Road in Peoria. Whether a spectator, volunteer or driver, you’ll be part of an event that includes hundreds of racers, scores of volunteers and $30,000 in funding for Junior Achievement programs.
Junior Achievement is part of an organizing committee of more than 100 national organizations and associations who collectively reach over 80 million Americans! To learn more, visit www.servicenation.org. iBi