United We Serve

Dear Colleagues,

As you may know, President Obama recently launched a summer call to service via You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E5OnQ2FUPQ. The White House administration along with the Corporation for National & Community Service has taken this call to service to our local communities, grantees and citizens alike to renew America’s passion for service.

Many of you are doing great things in your communities this summer, whether it is a new or existing program, and CNCS would like to encourage you to list these projects on the www.serve.gov website. The site will make volunteer opportunities from around the country available in one easy place for interested citizens to go find volunteer projects to meet their personal needs. United We Serve is the launch for summer service, but the hope is to instill a dedication to service that will continue far beyond the summer months.

Please go to www.serve.gov TODAY and list any project opportunities you have for volunteers to serve. We are counting on you, local citizens and organizations to post listings and get individuals involved in a lifetime love of service and volunteering. We are attaching a story template, so that you may send us the exciting things taking place across our great nation, so please begin sending stories of service and you may be one of the organizations highlighted by the President and the White House!

If you need assistance with uploaded a large number of projects at once, please contact field outreach staff Kara Klein kklein@cns.gov or 414-297-1118 x 12 for assistance.

As of July 6, 2009, we do not have even half of our CNCS grantees listed on the site and would love to have every project and every state listed on the website. Please make this a priority and contact the field outreach staff if you have questions or require assistance. A guide on how to post your listings will be available by the end of the week.

On Thursday July 9, we will be having a conference call for grantees and other partners to hear updates, ask questions and provide feedback about this program. Information for the call is as follows:

Call date: JUL-09-2009(Thursday)

Call time: 03:00 PM EASTERN TIME

Call in #: 888-730-9139

Pass Code:  9858689

Thank you for your continued dedication to your organizations and communities.

Sincerely,

Elson Nash, Acting Director, Learn and Serve America

Kara Klein, State Program Specialist, CNCS Wisconsin State Office