On September 12, 2008, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) jointly introduced the Serve America Act. This comprehensive bill supports the expansion of new and existing national and international service and service-learning programs. Within the bill is an initiative that allows for the awarding of grants to 30 colleges and universities honored as ‘Campuses of Service.’ For more information about this section, please see the links below.
Senator Hatch and Senator Kennedy’s niece, Caroline, announced the bill during the ServiceNation Summit in New York City on September 12. The Summit brought together 500 leaders of all ages and from every sector of American life — from universities and foundations, to business and politics — to celebrate the power and potential of citizen service, and lay out a bold policy blueprint for addressing America’s greatest social challenges through expanded opportunities for volunteer and national service. (Information from the ServiceNation website; see link below)
Campus Compact was an original member of the Summit planning committee, and helped to draft a comprehensive policy paper for the Summit. The ‘Campuses of Service’ program included in the Serve America Act was inspired by the Summit policy paper.
Read a summary of the Serve America Act written by the Corporation for National and Community Service.
View the full text of the bill from GovTrack
To get involved in the ServiceNation movement, visit Be the Change
