On Tuesday, April 21, President Obama signed into law the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which will expand opportunities for Americans of all ages to participate in national service, including strengthening programs for Americans to volunteer overseas.
During the signing ceremony on Tuesday, President Obama called on every American to serve his or her community and country in any way possible. He said,
All that’s required on your part is a willingness to make a difference. That is, after all, the beauty of service. Anyone can do it. You don’t need to be a community organizer, or a Senator – or a Kennedy – or even a President to bring change to people’s lives…
…We need your service, right now, at this moment in history. I’m not going to tell you what your role should be; that’s for you to discover. But I’m asking you to stand up and play your part. I’m asking you to help change history’s course. Put your shoulder up against the wheel. And if you do, I promise you – your life will be richer, our country will be stronger, and someday, years from now, you may remember it as the moment when your own story and the American story converged, when they came together, and we met the challenges of our new century.
The White House will be collecting and sharing stories from Americans all across the country. How do you plan to serve? Through study abroad? By hosting international students? Tell the president how your work in international education serves the global community. Submit your story now.
Are you looking for ideas on how to serve? Read NAFSA’s Renewing America’s Global Leadership paper to see how international education and NAFSA’s mission support President Obama’s call to service. You can also visit www.serve.gov, a comprehensive clearinghouse of volunteer opportunities across the country and around the world. At www.serve.gov, you can easily search for volunteer opportunities by zip code, and then sort them by the amount of time you can commit and where you would like to volunteer, whether in your own community or in another country.
You can also register your own events and service projects on www.serve.gov to share with others. The Web site has partnered with numerous organizations, including the Peace Corps and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. All of these partnerships, as the president explained, “connect deeds to needs” and are “just the beginning of a sustained, collaborative and focused effort to involve our greatest resource — our citizens — in the work of remaking this nation.”
I am the Director of Community Outreach at Keystone College, which is located in northeastern PA. I supervise the Scholars in Service to PA Program, which is the part-time AmeriCorps Program. My students visited Washington, D. C. and we helped at the Community for Creative Non-Violence during our Alternative Spring Break. My students help at senior centers. at Big Brothers/Big Sisters, at the Shade Tree Commission and the Countryside Conservancy, at after school tutoring and clubs, sports programs and much more.
We are very thankful that President Obama is supporting this initiative. We will continue to work closely within our communities to build a stronger and healthier world.
We are very concerned about one of our sites. We have been helping at the Scranton State School for the Deaf. It is the only public school from kindergarten through twelfth grade in the entire state of PA. It is in grave danger of closing. We know that Vice President Biden, Hillary Clinton and Senator Casey all have roots in Scranton. We are asking for your help and support for the Scranton School for the Deaf. It is internationally recognized as one of the best schools for the deaf. Recently, a freshman girl named Kayla Miller won first place in a national science competition in Rochester, NY. We are asking you to help this school to stay where it is in our community. It has been in operation in Scranton since the early 1900′s. Thanks for your response to my plea.
You have inspired me. Thank you very much. Good luck with your site