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Aug 04, 2008 Posted by Elysabeth Hahm

The Young and the Restless
It seems as if the most recent buzz around the web is the restlessness and consistent activism among today’s generation. The New Republic’s “The Engaged Generation”baffles at the high voter turnout for young Americans.

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Random Acts of Kindness

Jul 31, 2008 Posted by Kathy Obuszewski

While reading the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, it was hard to find articles related to National Service going on here in Pittsburgh. But in the process of the research, I did discover something that I did see to be a nice thing for a large city paper to do. That was the section called Random Acts of Kindness.

Random Acts of Kindness is a neat little section where people write in and talk about how someone from the Pittsburgh area did something kind or just plain neat. It’s a way for people to publicly thank and recognize efforts of people.  It’s the whole idea of paying it forward and showing thanks.

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U.S. Public Service Academy

Jul 30, 2008 Posted by Elysabeth Hahm

The need for more public service appears more urgent than ever. As co-founder of the U.S. Public Service Academy, Chris Myers Asch, puts it, “It is absolutely necessary that Americans understand that we cannot neglect the public sector, especially after Hurricane Katrina.” And that is where the Academy comes in.

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U.S. Public Service Academy, Asch (all tags)

New Money For Community Projects

Jul 25, 2008 Posted by Kathy Obuszewski

I was reading various local articles from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette over the past few days, I was happy to see a break in the negative news to see how PNC has loaned $5 million to the Pittsburgh Urban Economic Loan Fund (part of the Landmarks Community Capital Corp Landmarks). This is an exciting addition to the fund since it loans money to help improve neighborhoods. Plus this huge amount of money is going to be distributed pretty quickly. They want to give out the loans to the neighborhoods in the next few months. It won’t be money just sitting in the back or not being used.

One of the exciting things about this fund is that it going to help the Hill District. The Hill District has made their voice heard rather loud lately during the negotiations for the new Penguins Stadium. The Penguins Stadium negotiation included the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA). This CBA left the Hill District without the grocery store that they really wanted. But by increasing the Urban Economic Loan Fund, there is new hope for the grocery store in the Hill District (that is if the deal with Save-A-Lot falls through.

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Millennials...and Others

Jul 24, 2008 Posted by Elysabeth Hahm

         Huffington Post’s writer, Tanene Allison, tackles the ever-growing question: Can today’s Millennial Generation be engaged in communities and the country while spending massive amounts of time being digitally connected? Speaking as a Millennial herself, Allison emphasizes the versatility and unprecedented activism in today’s generation.

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Around the Web

Jul 24, 2008 Posted by Elysabeth Hahm

Please Don’t Stop the Music!
The Huffington Post reports that MusicianCorps—piloted by the Music National Service Initiative (MNSi)—dedicated to public schools and underserved communities will sharpen critical skills a child needs to succeed in the creative economy and “solve our greatest future challenges.”

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Sevice as a Strategy: Wisconsin's Emergency Volunteer Initiative

Jul 23, 2008 Posted by Reilly Goodwin

Over the past few months central Wisconsin has received record rainfall, resulting in enormous floods destroying homes, businesses and entire towns.  Because of this rain Lake Delton, located in the tourist destination of the Wisconsin Dells, essentially exploded.  The dam at Lake Delton held so well, that it forced the rising waters out, through a roadway destroying many homes and  spewing its more than 600 million gallons of water into the neighboring Wisconsin River.  What had once been Lake Delton is now nothing more than puddles and mud, Lake Delton no longer exists.  There are plans to rebuild the lake, but for now the businesses that relied on the lake for tourism and visitors must find other ways to survive the summer.

Within this disaster a movement of volunteerism was found, Wisconsin’s Emergency Volunteer Initiative.  WeVolunteer worked within the aftermath of the flooding to provide shelters, food, cleaning supplies, safety patrols and counseling help.  WeVolunteer is an organization that was formed across the state of Wisconsin to integrate all volunteer organizations into emergency response plans.  Volunteer groups and individuals are trained in emergency response scenarios, so that should a disaster like Lake Delton occur, volunteers can provide aid to professional first responders and other citizens.

WeVolunteer has established an online registry of volunteer organizations from which municipalities or other agencies including the American Red Cross needing emergency volunteers can find contact information.  WeVolunteer is hoping to ensure that all volunteers are placed with an organization that fits their skills, helping both the volunteer and the coordinating organization.

WeVolunteer is evidence of the need for service and volunteerism.  Service can act not only as a way for citizens to get involved in their communities, but also can provide solutions to many problems facing society today.  What if there had been some sort of WeVolunteer response program in New Orleans during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina?  The possible solutions provided by national service are endless.  As citizens we need to change our perspective on service from one in which it is viewed as a duty, to one in which it as viewed as a solution, as a strategy.

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Wisconsin, National Service, WeVolunteer (all tags)

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