YSA's ServiceVote campaign mobilizes and supports young people to be civically engaged as advocates addressing the issues they care about in all areas of civic life.
Semester of Service encourages students, ages 5-25, to develop a semester-long service-learning project that launches on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service (January 19, 2009) and culminates on Global Youth Service Day (April 24-26, 2009.) Semester of Service provides the framework and tools for children and youth from schools, colleges and universities, youth centers, and faith-based organizations to improve their communities. Young people will prepare a plan, take action to implement their solution, reflect on their progress and next steps, and celebrate their success. Semester of Service is one of YSA’s to improve communities by increasing the number and the diversity of young people, ages 5-25, serving in substantive roles. Get involved:
Download the Semester of Service Strategy Guide and other service-learning project planning resources, including the GYSD Service-Learning Curriculum Guide, GYSD Project Planning Toolkit, GYSD Classroom Poster, and more. On the website, you can also request free printed copies of the Strategy Guide and Classroom Poster.
Apply for a UnitedHealth HEROES Service-Learning mini-grant . These grants of up to $1,000 support teachers, service-learning coordinators, and students in the health professions to implement service-learning projects around childhood obesity, while engaging children and youth ages 5 to 25 in youth-led solutions. Grants will support projects in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Tennessee, and in the following specific areas: Florida-selected counties, Illinois-Chicagoland and Peoria; and New York-Long Island, New York City, and Syracuse.
Join us as a partner and help us promote Semester of Service 2009. A press release, one-pager, website/newsletter blurbs, logos, quotes, etc are all available at www.semesterofservice.org
Here are a few opportunities to share your ideas for your community, your state, and your country:
From Change.gov, the official Obama-Biden Presidential Transition website: "This transition is about selecting a new staff and agenda that will help reclaim the American dream and bring about positive lasting change to this country. In order to do that, we want to hear from you. Tell us your story and the issues that matter most to you. Share with us your concerns and hopes. – the policies you want to see carried out in the next four years." http://change.gov/page/content/americanmoment
This week, Change.org launched a project called "Ideas for Change in America," which aims to identify and create momentum around the best ideas for how the Obama administration and 111th Congress can turn the broad call for "change" across the country into specific policies. The competition allows anyone to post an idea of 250 words or less, discuss with others, and vote on the top ideas from around the country. The top 10 rated ideas will be presented to a representative of the Obama Administration around Inauguration Day at an event in Washington, DC. We'll then also announce a formal nonprofit sponsor for each idea and play a supporting role as each organization launches a national campaign to mobilize the millions of people on Change.org, MySpace, and partner organizations to turn each idea into real policy. So if you have an idea for how the Obama administration and Congress should change America, post it right away. It just might ignite a national campaign led by some of the country's top advocacy groups fighting to make it a reality. You can check out the project here: www.change.org/ideas
Policypitch.com is a platform for introducing new ideas and policies at the neighborhood, city, and state level and serves as a utility to make something happen. Create a page with your idea for a new community initiative, change in public policy, local ordinance, state law, or just cause a ruckus about important community issues. You can even raise money for your cause at the same time. Enter your zip code below to rank initiatives in your community, or get started and pitch your own ideas! Visit http://www.policypitch.com/
Youth Service America called on schools and universities, nonprofit organizations, congregations of faith, corporations, and governments to renew their commitment to increase the number and the diversity of children and youth serving in important roles in their communities.
"This election represents a transformational moment in American history, and young people played a significant role in the election of Barack Obama,” said Steven A. Culbertson, President & CEO of Youth Service America. "President-elect Obama made it clear throughout the campaign that he expects the youth of America to play a much larger role in building healthy communities through national and community service. In fact, for the first time in American history, both candidates for the presidency had comprehensive youth service proposals in their campaign platforms."
"Young people today are volunteering at record rates, more than any generation in history. If you are a teenager in 2008, you are 100% more likely to volunteer in your community than teens in 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. In speeches during the campaign, President-elect Obama made it clear that he needs to tap into young people’s energy, commitment, idealism, and creativity like no president before him. The nation’s challenges in health, education, human service, and the environment are unprecedented, and this generation of young Americans is prepared to answer the new president’s call to serve.
President-elect Obama adopted the majority of YSA’s policy recommendations (“Nine for ‘09”) in his presidential platform.
"Children and youth are not the hope of the future," Culbertson said, "They are the hope of today. We need service --linked with learning-- to be part of each student’s experience in every school and university in the country. If President-elect Obama is to be successful, he will need young people across America to study the problems of their communities, find their voices, take action, and have impact."
Medford/Somerville, MA - Preliminary CIRCLE projections show the turnout for young Americans (ages 18-29) is higher than in 2004, a year of significant increase, and is much higher than it was in 2000 and 1996.
CIRCLE estimates youth voting after elections based on several variables, including the total number of ballots counted. Currently, the actual turnout estimate is unclear because of precincts that have not reported and the significant number of Americans who voted absentee; these votes will not be fully counted for some time, affecting the total number of ballots counted. At 12 pm on Nov 5th, about 120 million votes had been counted, but many states are far from reporting 100% of precincts. CIRCLE’s preliminary estimates are based on a range of possible vote counts, from a 120 million to 133 million.
An estimated 21.6 million-23.9 million young Americans voted in Tuesday’s presidential election, an increase of at least 2.2 million compared with 2004, according to national exit polls, demographic data, and projections of total numbers of votes cast. CIRCLE projects the youth voter turnout will be between 49.3% and 54.5%, an increase of 1 to 6 percentage points over CIRCLE’s estimate based on the 2004 exit polls. The 2004 election was a strong one for youth turnout, reversing a long history of decline. If we compare 2008 with 2000, the increase in youth turnout is between 8 and 13 percentage points. CIRCLE will replace projections with actual vote counts once most precincts have reported, including absentee ballots. Depending on the final vote tally, this year’s youth turnout could be the second highest since 1972 (55.4%).
“From a nonpartisan perspective, it is heartening to see young people so motivated and engaged in a national election,” said CIRCLE director Peter Levine. “Young Americans are also involved in community service at record rates. We must build on the momentum from this election to find ways to keep them civically engaged. It is also critical that those who did not vote for Barack Obama, or who did not vote at all, will feel included in politics, government and community affairs.”
SMITH Magazine and the National Constitution Center ask you to help President-elect Obama inspire America. In six words, give him guidance. Or offer ideas for his inaugural address. Or share six memorable words for January 20th and beyond. In six words, a president can say a lot: "Malice toward none, charity for all" (Abraham Lincoln, 1865), "Like a thousand points of light" (George H.W. Bush, 1989). So give your speechwriting a try. Authors of our judges' six favorite submissions will win a six-word memoir book from SMITH Magazine and a year's membership to the National Constitution Center. One grand-prize winner will also win a leather-bound volume of the Constitution.
The Agenda is comprised of an exciting set of recommendations to strengthen democracy in America. We believe the Agenda will build on the incredible participation we have seen during this election season by providing a real voice for every American in our governance process. Together these recommendations will transform the relationship between citizens and their government.
Constitutional Convention: Building Democracy 2.0 gives YOU the opportunity to sustain the election momentum YOU created in the 2008 election to ensure that the civic and political dialogue around major issues affecting YOU continues and results in action that causes systemic and lasting positive change. Compete for funding over the three-day summit, and receive up to $10,000 in grants.
Over the course of the past two months we've watched as Alex Steed has racked up thousands of miles, hundreds of Tweets, and tens of uploaded YouTube videos - all in an effort to better understand the nascent style of Millennial activism. Today he is back east and blogging from the comfort of his home. Read on as Alex makes some predictions for 2009.
There's a spirited, sometimes secretive debate over how to make the best use of the president-elect's broad volunteer network. Not everyone's happy with early hints about the direction.
Beyond the Vote: What's Next?
