National Service
National service is a movement with a long history in the United States dating back to the 1930s when Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The program provided opportunities for millions of young men to serve 6-18 months to help restore the nation's parks, revitalize the economy, and support their families and themselves. Later in the 1960s, several new programs were created including the VISTA program (Volunteers in Service to America) and demonstration projects which later came to be known as the programs that now make up the Senior Corps (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, Senior Companion Program, and Foster Grandparents Program).
The 1990s brought the creation of AmeriCorps and what is now known as Learn and Serve America. Most recently in August of 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which re-authorized and expands the National Service programs administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).
National Service provides opportunities for all Americans to engage in service to their communities. Led by CNCS, current national service programs include:
- AmeriCorps, a national network of programs that engage individuals in a year of intensive service;
- Senior Corps, programs that specifically engage individuals 55 and older in service; and
- Learn and Serve America, a program focused on engaging youth from kindergarten through college in service-learning activities.
Combined, these programs engage more than 1.5 million individuals annually in service to communities. For more information on national service across the United States, please visit the CNCS website.
For an overview of National Service in Massachusetts, click here.
Some information adapted from the Corporation for National and Community Service, 11/23/10.
"One starts an action simply because one must do something." -T. S. Eliot