ServeNext.org Chicago
- Location: Chicago, IL
- Number of Members: 5
About This Group
The Chicago Action Network is gearing up to educate elected leaders about national service during the 2008 Congressional Campaign.
aaron
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DavidNetwork Forum
National Service: a worthwhile expenditure in a slumped economy?
The current desire to expand national service might seem to be coming at a bad time in our country’s economic cycle: our economy is in a slump, the national deficit is deep in the red and the average taxpayer is already stretched to the limit. Now that both presidential candidates support ServeNext’s pledge to expand national service, some may not see this as agreeable when they realize the full cost of such campaign promises to the taxpayer. The National Taxpayers Union Foundation computed the total cost of all campaign promises made by the two candidates, with McCain’s costing an additional $68 billion per year and Obama’s an extra $344 billion per year. Where is the federal government going to come up with this kind of money? The state of Illinois is facing similar problems as the federal government, with one of the worst failing fiscal budgets in the country at this time.
To the Editor:
I recently moved up-state to Chicago for a summer internship, and during my time here, have enjoyed learning about the voluntary citizen service, or national service, opportunities available in the city. National service is the new cause for individuals of my generation, evidenced by an ever-growing number of applicants to programs such as the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps or Teach for America. In a Time magazine article last year dedicated to exploring the movement of national service, Richard Stengel wrote that in the year 2006 alone, more than 61 million Americans dedicated 8.1 billion hours to volunteerism. Sadly, since 2003, the federal budget for national service has been continually cut. In March of this year, the National Service Reauthorization Bill failed to pass in the House by one vote. Why is this a problem and why should you care about preserving AmeriCorps programs?
City Year Chicago Site Visit
Last week, Glenna and I visited the Chicago City Year’s office downtown. We were welcomed by Jessica Herman, the Civic Engagement Manager, into a large office complex, equipped to provide for this year’s graduating class of eighty-seven corps members along with its extensive supporting staff. After visiting other smaller AmeriCorps programs, Glenna and I were impressed by the size of CY and the space it occupies. Jessica gave us the grand tour, showing us posters painted by the children CY serves, large Chicago maps high-lighting participating schools, and various conference rooms, each named after a national service hero of the past. Later, Glenna and I sat down with Jessica and several other staff workers to hear more about the daily operations of CY as well as the personal stories which motivate the staff and the volunteers in their wok. I found it interesting that all of them had started out as corps members where they had had their lives significantly impacted, causing them to choose service as a long-term career.
Letter to the Editor
I just moved to Chicago for the summer for an internship, and already I have seen and learned about the effects of service programs, such as those supported by AmeriCorps, on the citizens of Chicago. These programs benefit people from all backgrounds and lifestyles; without them, who would help all of Chicago’s children, low-income families, homeless, disadvantaged youth, and many more. These programs give opportunities to people that they wouldn’t normally receive, which is a huge benefit to all communities and neighborhoods.
Who is benefiting the most from national service?
Who indeed? Most people would assume that it is the individuals and communities who are being served: the students being tutored, the children being mentored, the unemployed given job skills, the communities given new homes, the natural disaster areas given relief… A recent study published in May of this year by the Corporation for National and Community Service cites the AmeriCorps members themselves as one of the largest beneficiaries of their own service investments. The study, “Still Serving: Measuring the Eight-Year Impact of AmeriCorps on Alumni,” considers the lasting impact which a year of service had upon the 1999-2000 corps members years down the road. Two tests groups, the national and state alumni as well as the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) alumni were compared with a control group, made up of those who had expressed interest in joining AmeriCorps that year but ultimately chose not to.
A Quantitative Study with a Qualitative Message
The Corporation for National and Community Service recently released a study entitled, “Still Serving: Measuring the 8 Year Impact of AmeriCorps on Alumni.” The main goal was to figure out the long term effects of AmeriCorps on alumni in comparison to those who were interested in AmeriCorps, but never joined. Being from a school where we have over 2 years in mandatory research methods courses and taught to make sure all studies are carried out with utmost respect to detail, I was more interested in what measures were statistically significant at first and almost started to analyze graphs when I realized that the report was more interesting just to read.
Reflections on the Impact of 87 Young Adults in Chicago
This afternoon, I attended the Chicago City Year graduation held at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Out of an original one-hundred-person group who started the program back in September 2007, eighty-seven corps members walked the stage today to graduate. Each one of the eighty-seven graduates has now completed one year (a handful had just finished their second) of rigorous and highly demanding training and service. Despite the organization’s vague military characteristics of matching red and kacki uniforms, extreme discipline and obedience to rules, daily corporate calisthenics in public places and position title of “corps” member, the recent graduates seemed anything but militant. The whole assembly room was abuzz with laughter, excitement and passion for doing the work which they love the best: service. More than ever, now that they have finished their 1700+ service hours with City Year, they embody the spirit of selfless service, crying “I am ready, send me.”
ServeNext In Action
Youth, Education & National Service
Road Trip With a Mission: Expanding National Service. AmeriCorps alumni and ServeNext.org members, are traveling the country by bus for the National Service Express Tour, hitting 30 cities in 60 days.
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