Thursday, November 14, 2013

AmeriCorps Alums meet Chelsea Clinton... and Pitch Hollywood on National Service Storylines

Ely Flores, AmeriCorps Alum and an Alums National Advisory Council Member, was introduced by Chelsea Clinton for a speech that addressed his transformation through service. The Hollywood event, co-hosted by the Clinton Foundation, ServiceNation and Next Generation, brought together the entertainment industry, including content creators and executives who have a particular interest in service.  At the event, Chelsea explained, national service programs like AmeriCorps is "fundamentally about our future".  Ely's full speech is below, and more details about the event are ithe Hollywood Reporter in the Variety article Hillary Clinton Helps Pitch Hollywood on Early Childhood, Public Service Storylines
(Left to Right: Zach Maurin, Chelsea Clinton, Ely Flores, Mary Bruce) 
Ely’s speech -
Community service has been part a part of life for a long time. As a child it was instilled in me, as a teen it was forced on me as punishment, as a young adult it became my passion.
I am born and raised in Los Angeles, CA; Mother is from Guatemala and Father from El Salvador. My Father was a Christian Pastor so I understood at an early age about service to God and the Church. But at the age of 8, my father abandoned the church and abandoned my family and I didn’t see or speak to him until 9 years later. My mother was forced to raise two boys and one girl, on a minimum wage salary, 10 to 12 hours a day. You can imagine all the trouble kids can get into with so many hours on their hands.
Ely-Flores-with-Hilary-Clinton-Image
Because of the lifestyle I chose during my teen years, I ran into the law, or the law ran into me. I don’t recall the details but you understand where I am coming from. Community service was re-introduced to me as a punishment which still happens to a lot of young people today. I did everything from working in a retirement home to cleaning/landscaping freeways to washing underwear in juvenile hall. So you can see, I was not fond of community service.
Then at 17, I was at a crossroads. Either I was going to continue in the lifestyle that had forced me into community service, house arrest, and vacations in confined environments, or choose an AmeriCorps program called YouthBuild that also talked about community service but rather used the term community building.
The year of national service and leadership with YouthBuild not only helped put my education back on track, put money in pocket, and ultimately helped me shape the foundation of social justice I stand on, but it completely transformed my view of service and is the reason why I refer to it as community building. 
I helped build community with other young people and families that were affected by the issues of incarceration. I helped retrofit affordable housing units and elementary schools that were in desperate need of resources. Most importantly I became an advocate for people from my community who were affected by the same issues I was. I became a community builder.
To make this very long story short, I continued my community service/building career through:
• Public Allies Los Angeles, AmeriCorps program

• I did community organizing for a couple of years around issues of incarceration

• Started my own youth leadership program and in 2010. It became its own organization called Leadership through Empowerment, Action, and Dialogue Inc.

• For the last 4 years I have been working with GRID Alternatives Greater Los Angeles and have brought over 500 solar panel systems to low-income families for free in Los Angeles, Ventura, and Orange County.

• For that last 2 years I have traveled to El Salvador and have helped 8 organizations improve their youth leadership programs that target some of the toughest communities in the country by way of YouthBuild International.

• In addition to El Salvador, I have been fortunate to build youth leadership in Israel/Palestine and Bosnia I Herzegovina by way of Realizing the Dream and Communities Without Boundaries.

• I will open up my own YouthBuild Program next year in North East Los Angeles.
I am only 26 years of age.
Imagine if at that crossroads at 17, I would have taken the other road. With the drive and passion that I put into everything else I do, I could have been a serious problem to my community, my city, and my country. But because I found a year of national service in YouthBuild AmeriCorps, instead I took the road of social justice and community building. So now I dedicate myself to solving and challenging social problems. But beyond, imagine if we could instill early in inner city young people the idea of a year of service and community building. Our communities would look a lot different and our nation would be transformed.





Tuesday, October 22, 2013

American Graduate: It's Happening

It's been an honor to work with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting on their American Graduate Campaign --- and I was thrilled to see their press release today announcing the results of their work. More below and at http://americangraduate.org/hopkins-evaluation 

-- American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen Initiative Achieves Success
In Partnership with Over 1000 National and Local Organizations --
  
OCTOBER 22, 2013, WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) today released a new report from the Everyone Graduates Center at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education confirming the impact that public media stations continue to have in helping to improve high school graduation rates. Through American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen initiative, stations have engaged over 1,000 partnerships with businesses, schools, faith-based and other nonprofits working together to help young people stay on the path to a high school diploma and graduate with their peers.

“Public broadcasting stations set the stage for long-term commitments to improving the educational and life outcomes for youth at risk of dropping out,” said Dr. Robert Balfanz, co-director of the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University School of Education. “The true power of public media to improve civic life lies in their unique assets combined with their national reach and community relationships.”

Over the past three years, American Graduate has demonstrated public media’s commitment to education and its deep roots in every community it serves. Through programming that educates, informs, and inspires, public radio and television stations — locally owned and operated — are an important resource in helping to address critical community issues, such as the dropout rate.

Over 1700 hours of national and local content, including American Graduate Day, have brought disparate organizations together and inspired local citizens to become American Graduate Champions, donating time and other resources. As part of a survey among American Graduate community partners conducted by the Everyone Graduates Center, respondents confirmed that public media stations told the story of the dropout crisis in a way that enabled more people to get involved. 

“Public media has achieved this success by raising awareness and building knowledge of the issue, highlighting proven solutions, and fostering community action toward common goals – key strategies identified by education experts as essential for progress,” said John Bridgeland, CEO, Civic Enterprises, and co-author of Building a Grad Nation report.

Further, in addition to national partnerships with Alma and Colin Powell’s America’s Promise Alliance, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and many others, more than 75 public radio and television stations in over 30 states have launched on-the-ground efforts working with community and at risk youth to keep students on-track to success. Through forums and screenings, teacher professional development and parenting workshops, youth media training and film festivals, public broadcasting stations have also worked directly with 120,000 parents, students, teachers, community leaders as part of American Graduate. Community partners reported that public media facilitated greater focus and collaboration among community organizations and that students’ participation in American Graduate programs resulted in their increased commitment to school, to graduating, and to preparing for their future.

“The accomplishments of the American Graduate initiative on behalf of the nation’s youth could not have been realized without the service and dedication of public media stations, the guidance from John Bridgeland and Dr. Bob Balfanz, and the partnerships with America’s Promise Alliance and over 1000 other national and local organizations,” said Pat Harrison, President and CEO, CPB. “We are pleased that this report affirms public media’s impact and look forward to continued progress for the country in collaboration with our stations, producers and communities.”

Monday, September 23, 2013

AmeriCorps Alums: The Return on Your Investment

Originally published in the HuffingtonPost. Sept 20, 2013.
by Ben Duda and Mary Bruce

Since the founding of AmeriCorps 20 years ago, 800,000 Americans have contributed 1 billion hours of service at 15,000 community-based organizations. And, after 20 years of testing, we know the AmeriCorps experiment worked. Our communities are stronger because of it. During their term of service, AmeriCorps members address our nation's biggest challenges - helping to turnaround our toughest schools, supporting our veterans transitioning home, and providing critical emergency response supports after natural disasters.
But the legacy of AmeriCorps extends beyond a single year of service or a single member. The legacy lives on in the more than 800,000 AmeriCorps Alums who continue to tackle national problems as leaders, from classrooms to boardrooms - and even in the halls of Congress. Our shared investment in AmeriCorps includes $500MM in private funding and in-kind contributions each year, which have been leveraged to support AmeriCorps' impact, and an additional $2.4 billion in Eli Segal education scholarship awards to defray the costs of higher education for those who served. This investment in AmeriCorps and its members is a down payment on a pipeline of leadership in the nonprofit, public, and social sectors -- as evidenced through the successes of AmeriCorps Alums.
Investment in this leadership pipeline is critical, as leadership gaps exist in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors. At a White House Convening on nonprofit leadership, the President's then Domestic Policy Advisor Melody Barnes said, "because we have historically undervalued and underinvested in nonprofit talent and leadership, these areas represent some of the greatest untapped potential for increasing the capacity of the sector. We can only succeed by ensuring that we have the right leaders in the right roles, and that those individuals are properly trained, managed, and supported." Similarly, a recent Atlantic Monthly article, "The Outsiders: How Can Millennials Change Washington If They Hate It?" showed that just 6 percent of college students plan to work for public sector institutions, and only 2.3 percent want to work at the federal level - which will not fill the gap produced by retiring Baby Boomers.
AmeriCorps alums - who have demonstrated dedication and learned key skills - are poised to fill these leadership gaps - and many already are in these positions.
For example, before Dhriti Pandaya was leading local fundraising for a national nonprofit, she was an AmeriCorps member at the Volunteer Center of North Texas, where she managed volunteers, worked with young-people and initiated the Volunteer Center's first STEM-based service-learning program. There, Dhriti's passion for youth engagement was ignited, and her skills grew. As a result of this experience, Dhriti is now a Senior Development Manager with Junior Achievement in Dallas, where talented corporate and community volunteers advance work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy for over 40,000 students in K-12 classrooms. Dhriti was made in AmeriCorps - and the legacy of our investment in her endures first, at the Volunteer Center where she served, and then through Dhriti's efforts to scale her organization's impact and reach more students in the Dallas area.
Likewise, before Shawnice Jackson was named to the National Council of Young Leaders, she was an AmeriCorps member with Maryland Public Allies program building volunteer recruitment capacity for Big Brothers Big Sister of the Greater Chesapeake. As a result of this apprenticeship within a local organization and building her outreach and community engagement skills, Shawnice, born and raised in Baltimore City, beat the odds. Unlike the majority of her peers, she graduated from high school and is on track to graduate college this May. Shawnice is a leader and advocate on two national councils that advise policy makers and funders on issues affecting low-income youth and their communities. Shawnice was made in AmeriCorps - and the legacy of our investment in her endures first though her service with Public Allies, and then through her own ongoing work improving policies and programs that support opportunity youth.
Dhriti, Shawnice, and thousands of other alums are continuing to strengthen our communities and our country. The legacy of their service endures - in the communities they serve, and in their own careers as principals in our nation's toughest schools, experts in green energy, and leaders across the social sector. So, in honor of the 20th Anniversary of the signing of the legislation that created AmeriCorps, AmeriCorps Alums (the nonprofit national alumni organization dedicated to serving this alumni community) is launching a "Return on Investment" campaign." This campaign will celebrate the legacy of AmeriCorps, as demonstrated through alumni whose experience in AmeriCorps significantly shaped their professional trajectory and continues to make a stronger and more vibrant America. Please share your story with me at ben@americorpsalums.org and register at americorpsalums.org to follow along and join us in celebrating!
This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post and the Franklin Project at the Aspen Institute to recognize the power of national service, in conjunction with the National Day of Service and Remembrance on September 11th and the 20th anniversary of the signing of the AmeriCorps legislation on September 20th. The Franklin Project is a policy program at the Aspen Institute working to create a 21st century national service system that challenges all young people to give at least one year of full-time service to their country. To see all the posts in this series, click here. To learn more about the Franklin Project, click here.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

White House Panel on Sustaining the Dream through Education

Hugh Price, former head of the Urban League and civil rights luminary (and a professor of mine from graduate school) explained yesterday at a White House Panel on Sustaining the Dream through Education that "schools can not do it alone and should not go it alone." A part of the ongoing celebration in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, Price was joined by Jim Shelton (Acting Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Education), David Johns (Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Education Excellence for African Americans), Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell (Director of the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the US Department of Education), and other leaders from the White House, Department of Education, and the civil rights community. I was honored to be among them.

Mrs. Dorothy Height


Both Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell and Hugh Price remembered leaders of the past, while calling on leaders of the future. They paraphrased the words of Dorothy Height (the only woman to be on the stage during King's "I Have a Dream" speech) that "the table is big enough," and it's up to us to make sure community leaders have a seat at that decision-making table. Rev. Girton-Mitchell recalled the moment she met Height --- though the leader of a large organization, she was licking stamps for a mailing. Height explained she wouldn't ask others to do any work she wasn't willing to do herself. 

I had the honor of meeting Height when I was a student at the University of Virginia. I was on the leadership of the University's Minority Rights Coalition (representing the National Organization for Women, and later, serving as chair of the MRC). She was sitting in a chair, and I remember kneeling down next to her. She placed her hand on mine, looked me in the eyes, and encouraged us to keep working for equity. Likewise, yesterday, Price reminded us all that 50 years after the March on Washington, there is "urgent and unfinished business to do." According to the most recent data available, today in America, about half of African American males (52%) do not graduate from high school on time -- but that's a 10 percentage point increase from 10 years prior. So, while that's encouraging news, and success is more common than failure, there is much work to do. As he said, schools can't do it alone, so we must all continue to step up, and step in.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

New Feeder Pattern Guide for Schools & Communities!

Over the past few months, I worked with the team at Civic Enterprises, the Everyone Graduates Center at JHU, and United Way to produce a feeder pattern guide for schools and communities. This guide builds on the commitments made by leaders of United Way at the previous Grad Nation Summits in Washington D.C. to help drive improvements in graduation rates. The guide provides valuable information to help identify the schools where additional adult and community support for students are most needed -- which in turn will help keep students in school and on-track to graduation.  More from United Way below. 

###

Early Intervention Drives Graduation Success

The path to dropout starts early. So the earlier a struggling student is identified, ideally before they enter high school, the better the chances in shifting the odds for success in school, work and life.  But that identification must be based on the right data.  One effective starting point is identifying the middle and elementary schools that “feed” into the  lowest-performing high schools.

United Way Worldwide, Civic Enterprises, and Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University have developed a guide to help you and your community partners identify school feeder patterns – and help your community begin the critical discussion on using that data to boost graduation rates. 

This Guide can help you and your community partners:

·         Understand the graduation crisis and effectively convey the rationale for identifying and using school feeder pattern data
·         Understand your community’s education landscape
·         Find out where to access key education national, state, and local information and data
·         Know how graduation rates are calculated and determine your community’s graduation rates
·         Identify feeder school patterns in your community
·         Use school feeder pattern data for greater impact in your community

Download the guide here, and use these tips and this flyer with your board, key volunteers who care about education, partners, funded agencies, and other community stakeholders.  If you missed the April 24th webinar focused on school feeder patterns and featuring Bob Balfanz, the nation’s premier researcher on high school dropout on this topic, click here to view the archived Webinar.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Judith O’Connor Memorial Scholarship

BoardSource, the leading national provider of resources related to exceptional nonprofit boards, is proud to announce that I have been selected as one of 15 national 2013 Judith O’Connor Scholars!  More from their press release, below.


The Judith O’Connor scholarships enable emerging nonprofit leaders to participate in the annual BoardSource Leadership Forum. The Forum, November 7-8, 2013, in Los Angeles, provides the Scholars with opportunities to advance their leadership skills, learn about progressive practices in good governance, and interact with nonprofit sector leaders from across the country. 

The Judith O’Connor Memorial Fund was created to honor the legacy of the late Judith O’Connor, former BoardSource president and chief executive officer. Judy firmly believed that citizens working together to address community issues are the very essence of a vibrant, democratic society. She was committed to strengthening the ability of the nonprofit sector to serve as a vehicle for engaging all citizens in civic life. Her passionate advocacy for building effective nonprofit boards touched nonprofit leaders around the world.

“We were pleased with the extremely competitive pool of applicants this year,” said Anne Wallestad, BoardSource president and chief executive officer. “I know Judy would be honored to have her legacy live on through the outstanding achievements and backgrounds of this year’s Scholars.”

The BoardSource Leadership Forum is the only national conference focused on the impact of nonprofit boards and the unique role they play in advancing the public good. Every year, approximately 700 nonprofit leaders from around the world gather with an impressive array of experts to discuss the newest thinking and practices in nonprofit governance and solutions to current leadership issues.

Chronic Absenteeism - It Adds Up


Guest Blog by Alison Courtney.  Alison was a summer 2013 education fellow at Civic Enterprises and is a Master of Public Policy candidate at the College of William and Mary.  She can be reached at macourtney@email.wm.edu.

September is just around the corner, which means it’s back to school for about 215 million students across the country.[i] Imagine what the month of September could look like for them, with school experiences as diverse as they are.  I’m thinking of  John, a math-loving 5th grader.  During the first week of September, John has an afternoon doctor’s appointment so his mom will take him out of class for half the day.  Mom’s not too concerned; John will have an excused absence so he won’t get in trouble…and he needs to stay healthy, right?  The following week, John’s dad’s car breaks will break down on the way to school, so John will spend the morning with him at the mechanics before getting to school for the afternoon.  The last week of the month, John and his family will take off Friday to enjoy a long weekend visiting John’s grandparents.  That will be a whole month of school, and only a few excused absences along the way.

Now let’s apply some math that John will be learning in his 5th grade class.  There are 4 school weeks in the month and 5 school days each week, totaling 20 school days in September.  With the half-day lost for the doctor’s appointment, half-day lost for the car problem, and a full day lost for the family vacation, John will miss a total of 2 days of school.  Not bad, you might think.  In actuality, it is bad.  John will miss 10 percent of in-school time, including access to academic, social, and emotional learning opportunities.

Missing 10 percent or more of school for any reason—excused or unexcused—is actually an indication that a student is academically at risk.[ii] And, important for John’s little sisters and brothers, chronic absence linked to academic trouble isn’t just a secondary school problem—it can start as early as kindergarten and pre-kindergarten.[iii]

Now, John may have family members, friends, or mentors who will make sure he reads or does math problems while in the doctor’s waiting room, at the mechanics, or on his Grandpa’s lap, but even if that is the case, chronic absenteeism is a strong indication that a student will experience academic trouble and eventually drop out of high school.[iv]

Nationwide, as many as 10-15 percent of students (7.5 million) miss nearly a month of school every year.[v]  That’s 135 million days of lost time in the classroom.  In some cities, as many as 1 in 4 students are missing that much school.[vi]  For students without strong out-of-school academic supports, those who miss 10 percent face even greater risk of falling off the track to graduate.  They may be more likely to miss additional days of school due to barriers such as lack of access to health care, poor transportation, or not having a safe path to school.

This September, things could be different for John and the millions of other students across the country who are chronically absent.  The first-ever Attendance Awareness Month, sponsored by Attendance Works in partnership with America’s Promise Alliance, the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, Civic Enterprises, Points of Light and is supported by a growing list of other national partners, aims to rally communities around the importance of attendance and its role in academic achievement.  People are sharing their activities on Attendance Works’ Community Action Map as well as running PSA’s, writing op-eds, and posting on social media sites.  The Count Us In! Toolkit is a great resource, providing ideas for getting involved in Attendance Awareness Month.  For example, students at a school in Oakland, California created a video about how students can achieve their goals tomorrow if they attend school today.  In New York City, Mayor Bloomberg launched an attendance initiative in 2010 that has already significantly reduced chronic absence in its pilot schools.  The initiative, Every Student, Every Day, relies on data tracking, school attendance committees and Success Mentors who work with students at risk of dropping out.[vii]    

This September, help John and other chronically absent students achieve in school by spreading the word about the importance of attending school every day!  You can learn more at Attendance Works, or visit BoostUp to use a new tool that allows you to chart the effect of missing school.  




[i] United States Census Bureau (2011, October). School Enrollment. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/hhes/school/data/cps/2011/tables.html
[ii] Balfanz, R., Byrnes, V. (2012, May). The Importance of Being in School: A Report on Absenteeism in the Nation’s Public Schools. Retrieved from http://new.every1graduates.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/FINALChronicAbsenteeismReport_May16.pdf and Chang, H., Leong, C. (2013, May 24). Early Intervention Matters: How Addressing Chronic Absence Can Reduce Dropout Rates. Retrieved from http://www.attendanceworks.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Early-Intervention-NDPC-SD-webinar-FINAL-5-24-13.pdf
[iii] Chang
[iv] Balfanz
[v] Balfanz
[vi] Chang
[vii] Attendance Works, America’s Promise Alliance, Civic Enterprises, Points of Light, and the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (2013, July). Count Us In! Working Together to Show That Every School Day Matters. Retrieved from http://www.attendanceworks.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/AAM-toolkit-2.0-FINAL.pdf


Monday, July 8, 2013

A Stronger Grad Nation


Originally published on July 3, 2013 in the Huffington PostCo-authored by John Bridgeland and Mary Bruce

As another graduation season comes to a close, there is cause for celebration. The most recent graduation data show that for the first time the nation is on pace to reach a 90 percent high school graduation rate by the Class of 2020. This is a goal four U.S. presidents have set and three have missed, so far. While we have not achieved this milestone, this recent progress has put us on a course to do so and, as a result, future graduation seasons can be even better.
More impressive, the pace of progress in boosting high school graduation rates increased in the second half of the last decade, right at a time when graduating from high school was becoming more challenging. This is good news and cause for hope as Common Core State Standards start to take hold in America's classrooms.
But our challenges haven't disappeared. If anything, they've become more urgent, and if not addressed, will affect millions of young people, society, and our economy. Today in America,nearly one million school-aged children are not finishing high school with their peers. For African-American, Hispanic and limited English proficient students, as well as students with disabilities, the challenge is even greater, with many states graduating only 66 percent of students or less each year. In some states, the graduation gaps between students of different backgrounds can be as large as 50 percentage points.
With more than half of all new jobs in the next decade requiring some post-secondary education, getting a high school diploma is a minimal requirement for a successful and productive life. Yet, this summer, between 10 and 20 percent of American high school students planning on attending college won't make it to campus in the fall. Of those who do, one in three will require remedial courses and of those who enrolled in a four-year institution, only three in five will complete a degree within six years.
Commencement season is the perfect time to celebrate how far we've come, while still recognizing how much further we have to go. We know what to do, and we know where to focus. We have examples of schools, districts, and states that are making tremendous gains. Evidence-based solutions exist to keep students on track to graduate from high school with the academic and social and emotional skills to succeed in college, work, and civic life. Especially within the dropout factory schools, data systems are helping identify which students need which types of targeted interventions to get back on track to graduate -- so that these students get the supports they need, when they need them. We need more schools and districts to adopt this framework.
With a continued commitment to increasing high school graduation rates and preparing students for future success, we not only pave the way for future generations, but honor current graduates and the communities that supported them to success.
John Bridgeland, CEO of Civic Enterprises, and Mary Bruce, Senior Policy Advisor at Civic Enterprises are co-authors of the 2013 annual report "Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Ending the High School Dropout Epidemic" along with Robert Balfanz and Joanna Hornig Fox of the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University School of Education.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

EXTRA! EXTRA! National Service News Roundup


There's been a lot in the news lately about national service.  Here's a research, report, and news roundup.  Thanks to Diana Epstein of the AmeriCorps Alums National Advisory Council for putting it together.

Research and reports:
(1) CNCS study on volunteering and employment: http://www.cns.gov/impact-our-nation/research-and-reports/volunteering-pathway-employment-report
(2) Franklin Project Plan of Action: http://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/21st-century-national-service-system-plan-action
(3) Voters' perspectives on national service: http://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/voters-national-service-perspectives-american-voters-large-scale-national-service

News stories:
(4) Ben Duda and Mary Bruce in HuffPo on AmeriCorps Alums: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ben-duda/lets-leverage-our-nationa_b_3511258.html
(5) Rick Stengel in TIME - Service is a Silver Bullet: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2145991,00.html#ixzz2WqUd4exs
(6) Joe Klein in TIME - Can Service Save Us?: http://nation.time.com/2013/06/20/can-service-save-us/
(7) Michael Gerson in Washington Post - National Service Can Heal a Divided Nation: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/michael-gerson-national-service-can-heal-a-divided-nation/2013/06/24/e1bbc470-dce4-11e2-9218-bc2ac7cd44e2_story.html
(8) Bridgeland and Khazei in Politico- National Service is Key to National Strength: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/national-service-is-key-to-national-strength-93069.html#ixzz2WsTH98NT
(9) Arianna Huffington in HuffPo - National Service, the Ultimate Shovel-Ready Infrastructure Project:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/franklin-project-national-service_b_3492226.html
(10) More Franklin news pieces listed here: http://www.aspeninstitute.org/node/13623

Monday, July 1, 2013

Let's Leverage Our National Investment in AmeriCorps to Build Civic Leadership


Originally published on the Huffington Post on July 1, 2013. 
by Ben Duda and Mary Bruce

Since AmeriCorps was launched 20 years ago, nearly 1 million Americans have served, working to address our nation's most pressing challenges. They've tutored in our toughest schools, provided emergency relief services after tornadoes and hurricanes and helped veterans get connected to employment opportunities.
Many of these AmeriCorps members directly link their success today with their service experience. Kellie managed volunteers during a disaster and now works on a global crisis management team for a major retailer. Traymone was a wildlands firefighter while in AmeriCorps and uses those same teamwork and leadership skills in managing military veterans in service. And Katie tutored young people and is now working in corporate philanthropy, guiding a Silicon Valley technology firms' employee volunteering program.

These individuals were "made in AmeriCorps" and, each day, they continue to make America stronger.
Sadly, their experience is not universal. Many AmeriCorps alums are having a tough time finding a job. One alum served a successful term with a small town mayor, increasing resource allocations to communities in need. He's now working shifts at a pizza joint. Another, who managed teams of volunteers retrofitting homes to higher energy efficiency standards, has been searching for a job for more than six months.

These individuals were "made in AmeriCorps," too, but they're not making it. They have skills that employers say they want but can't find - in problem solving, teamwork and project management - and yet they can't find a job.

McKinsey survey of 2,000 U.S. companies found that two-thirds report difficulty in filling job vacancies because applicants have unsuitable work habits or insufficient experience. AmeriCorps alums - who have demonstrated dedication, commitment and skills - could help fill this gap. Yet there is no system connecting national service alumni with employers most in need of new talent.

We at AmeriCorps Alums are working toward a solution by launching bold new partnerships and programs to strengthen the pipeline of leadership. We're making increased investments in professional development initiatives for alums, including adding a career coach to the national team.
We recently launched an "Employers of Service" campaign to celebrate public, private and nonprofit employers that actively support the recruitment, hiring and professional development of AmeriCorps Alums.
We announced a partnership this week with BoardSource to target and train women and people of color as prospective board members for local nonprofits.
We're also calling on the federal government to extend hiring preferences to all full-time national service members. And, to help Alums continue to develop their skills, we're calling on institutions of higher education to join the more than 100 colleges that already match the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award that all alums receive.
AmeriCorps Alums isn't in this alone. The Peace Corps recently launched Career Link, a job board that carries on the proud, 50-year tradition of connecting returned Peace Corps volunteers with post-service career and education opportunities. New Politics (founded by an AmeriCorps alum) is working to elevate national service alums to political office, and the Veteran's Campaign (founded by a veteran) is a similar initiative focused on veterans.

The nearly 1 million AmeriCorps alums nationwide are uniquely positioned to be the nation's 21st century civic leaders. They've demonstrated their commitment. They've cultivated their talents. They're hungry to lead. Now we must leverage our investment to pave the way for continued service to community and country.
Ben Duda is executive director of AmeriCorps Alums. He is a two-term AmeriCorps alum. Mary Bruce is chair of the AmeriCorps Alums National Advisory Council. She is an alum of both AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps.
This post is part of a collaboration between The Huffington Post and The Aspen Institute, in which a variety of thinkers, writers and experts will explore the most pressing issues of our time. For more posts from this partnership, click here. For more information on The Aspen Institute, click here.

Friday, June 21, 2013

From Service to Politics


This past Tuesday, I was thrilled to welcome fellow Returned Peace Corps volunteer Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III to speak at “From Service to Politics.” Hosted by Service Nation, New Politics, AmeriCorps Alums, and George Washington University's Center for Second Service, this event brought together service veterans from the civilian and military sectors to ignite a discussion about transitioning from service to elected office. My welcoming remarks from this inspiring event are below.



I’m pleased to introduce fellow Returned Peace Corps volunteer, Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy III.  Following in the footsteps of my father, all four of my uncles, & cousin who were all in the military, I chose to serve our country with AmeriCorps in the D.C. public schools. I took the AmeriCorps pledge seriously, service “this year & beyond.” So, I later joined the PeaceCorps in Morocco, and served in the youth development sector.  I now work as Senior Education Advisor at Civic Enterprises and serve as Chair of the AmeriCorps Alums National Advisory Council. I truly believe in the power of national service - the power of those who serve - to strengthen their communities, the nation, the world - this year & beyond. Which is why I'm so pleased to introduce the Congressman, who represents Massachusetts’ 4th Congressional District. 

I actually just learned that the Congressman and I served at the same time, from 2004 to 2006. So, while I was in Morocco, the Congressman served with the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic doing community development work which led to more jobs, better wages, and higher safety and environmental standards.

What’s so remarkable to me is that the Congressman’s service neither started, nor ended in that rural village. In law school --  he's a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law -- he volunteered with legal aid.  He worked to improve the living conditions of low-income tenants in the Boston area.  He served as Assistant District Attorney in MA.  During his campaign, he actually coordinated service projects throughout his district.  This week, his offices hosted a Service Academy Night for all 4th District high school rising seniors to learn about a pathway to service through the military. 

In his speech at a City Year event earlier this year, the Congressman explained, one person can make a difference -  not just through the big heroic things, but the small constant commitments. 

Congressman Kennedy, you are making a difference - through the big heroic things, and the small constant commitments.  You're a hero, every day, through your work as a Congressman, but also a leader & a model of a national service alum who chose politics as a critical path to strengthen communities, our nation, and our world.  As we say in Morocco, shurkran bsaf, marhaba. Thank you, and welcome Congressman Kennedy!