Service Year Alliance is pleased to share the State Innovations in National Service & Volunteering report, co-authored with More Perfect and America’s Service Commissions. This report showcases how state leaders are thinking differently about how they can deploy service as a strategy to meet pressing needs in communities.
“In collaboration with our partners More Perfect and America’s Service Commissions, we are thrilled to lift up these state innovations in service,” said Kristen Bennett, CEO of Service Year Alliance. “This report demonstrates how governors and state legislators can influence, implement, support, and catalyze a wide range of innovations that help meet the unique needs of their states. Whether responding to disasters, improving food security for individuals and families, supporting veterans as they transition to civilian life, or expanding the capacity of nonprofit organizations to meet community needs, states have significant roles in utilizing service as a solution. These are more than examples, they are the inspiration we need to imagine what could be possible if every state and territory took innovative approaches to expanding and improving service years to strengthen communities, transform lives, and fuel civic renewal.”
At Service Year Alliance, we envision a future where a year of paid, full-time service — a service year — is part of growing up in America. We work tirelessly to ensure that a year of service is a common expectation and opportunity for all young Americans. With strong state-level leadership like we see in this report, this vision can become a reality. As governors and state legislators look to expand and improve service years in their states and local communities, Service Year Alliance stands ready to support these efforts and continue to lift up the kinds of exemplary examples we see in this report.
We are grateful to the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Schultz Family Foundation for their support of this report and their unwavering support of service and volunteerism.
