President Obama Signs the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act
Innovations in Civic
Participation (ICP) is pleased to
announce that on Tuesday April 21, 2009
President Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy
Serve America Act into law. The signing
ceremony took place at the SEED School of
Washington, DC, a public college preparatory
middle and high school. Video of the event can
be viewed here.
The President was joined by First Lady Michelle
Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Dr, Jill
Biden, former President Bill Clinton, former
First Lady Rosalyn Carter, Congressional
architects of the legislation, and members of
the national service community. Congress moved
swiftly to pass the bill on March 31, 2009
after Barack and Michelle Obama both expressed
their support for the legislation and desire to
see it passed.
President Obama also announced Maria Eitel as his nominee for CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Eitel is the founding president of the Nike Foundation where she has focused on empowering girls as part of an agenda to eradicate global poverty.
The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act reauthorizes and strengthens the programs of the Corporation for National and Community Service and provides funding for new innovative programs. You can read a summary of the legislation here.
In a speech at the signing ceremony President Obama said the legislation "connect[s] deeds to needs." The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act puts AmeriCorps on the path to grow from its current level of 75,000 to 250,000 members per year. The legislation also increases the amount of educational awards received by AmeriCorps members after their term of service and links future award amounts to Pell Grants.
"Because millions of Americans are out of school and out of work," President Obama said, "it creates an Energy Corps that will help people find useful work and gain skills in a growing industry of the future." This new corps was supported by a broad coalition of energy conservation, youth service, and environmental justice organizations, including ICP.
President Obama said, "Programs like these are a force multiplier; they leverage small numbers of members into thousands of volunteers. And we will focus their service toward solving today's most pressing challenges: clean energy, energy efficiency, health care, education, economic opportunity, veterans and military families."
The President continued, "Because we must prepare our young Americans to grow into active citizens, this bill makes new investments in service learning." This includes funding for Summer of Service (SOS) programs.
ICP worked with legislative staff of Senator Dodd and Representative DeLauro to draft the Summer of Service Act of 2007, and continued to help advance support, which led to SOS being included in the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. The Summer of Service Act stemmed from ICP's report written by Shirley Sagawa, Summer of Service: A New American Rite of Passage?, which details the need to engage young people in constructive opportunities during the summer months, particularly in the transition from middle to high school. The report also highlights existing initiatives of the type this legislation supports.
The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act includes $10 million in funds for SOS demonstration programs and $10 million for $500 educational award grants for students who complete 100 hours of service through SOS programs. ICP promotes SOS as a "rite of passage" from middle to high school. This legislation makes SOS funding available for programs that serve students in both middle and high school, but prioritizes those programs that enroll students in grades six through nine.
"I commend Congress and the President for their leadership in passing the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act," said Susan Stroud, Executive Director of ICP. "This historic legislation plays a crucial role in ushering in a new era of service by creating programs and funding for thousands of Americans who want to serve. ICP is especially excited about the inclusion of funds for Summer of Service, an innovative program we incubated. We hope that this initial funding for demonstration programs will be expanded over time to provide opportunities for millions of middle school students to develop important academic, professional and civic skills while contributing to their communities."
President Obama also announced Maria Eitel as his nominee for CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Eitel is the founding president of the Nike Foundation where she has focused on empowering girls as part of an agenda to eradicate global poverty.
The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act reauthorizes and strengthens the programs of the Corporation for National and Community Service and provides funding for new innovative programs. You can read a summary of the legislation here.
In a speech at the signing ceremony President Obama said the legislation "connect[s] deeds to needs." The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act puts AmeriCorps on the path to grow from its current level of 75,000 to 250,000 members per year. The legislation also increases the amount of educational awards received by AmeriCorps members after their term of service and links future award amounts to Pell Grants.
"Because millions of Americans are out of school and out of work," President Obama said, "it creates an Energy Corps that will help people find useful work and gain skills in a growing industry of the future." This new corps was supported by a broad coalition of energy conservation, youth service, and environmental justice organizations, including ICP.
President Obama said, "Programs like these are a force multiplier; they leverage small numbers of members into thousands of volunteers. And we will focus their service toward solving today's most pressing challenges: clean energy, energy efficiency, health care, education, economic opportunity, veterans and military families."
The President continued, "Because we must prepare our young Americans to grow into active citizens, this bill makes new investments in service learning." This includes funding for Summer of Service (SOS) programs.
ICP worked with legislative staff of Senator Dodd and Representative DeLauro to draft the Summer of Service Act of 2007, and continued to help advance support, which led to SOS being included in the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. The Summer of Service Act stemmed from ICP's report written by Shirley Sagawa, Summer of Service: A New American Rite of Passage?, which details the need to engage young people in constructive opportunities during the summer months, particularly in the transition from middle to high school. The report also highlights existing initiatives of the type this legislation supports.
The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act includes $10 million in funds for SOS demonstration programs and $10 million for $500 educational award grants for students who complete 100 hours of service through SOS programs. ICP promotes SOS as a "rite of passage" from middle to high school. This legislation makes SOS funding available for programs that serve students in both middle and high school, but prioritizes those programs that enroll students in grades six through nine.
"I commend Congress and the President for their leadership in passing the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act," said Susan Stroud, Executive Director of ICP. "This historic legislation plays a crucial role in ushering in a new era of service by creating programs and funding for thousands of Americans who want to serve. ICP is especially excited about the inclusion of funds for Summer of Service, an innovative program we incubated. We hope that this initial funding for demonstration programs will be expanded over time to provide opportunities for millions of middle school students to develop important academic, professional and civic skills while contributing to their communities."