Clinton Proposes new National Service Reserve…
… as part of her larger national service platform, Hillary Clinton announced her plan to create a new National Service Reserve that will expand ways for young Americans to serve their communities and their country. The Reserve will provide a vehicle for the sense of civic ownership and responsibility that Clinton has felt throughout her life, bringing Americans from all backgrounds together in common cause to make a difference where they live. Anyone can sign up to join the Reserve, and national and local leaders can call upon Reserve members to take part in projects of all types — from natural disasters in places like Baton Rouge or emergency relief in places like Flint, MI to addressing the epidemic of addiction in places like New Hampshire. Clinton set a goal of enlisting 5 million Americans, with a special focus on people between the ages of 18 and 30, in the new Reserve.
Studies have shown that millennials are particularly interested in volunteerism and are contributing to their communities in a variety of ways, setting new expectations for social impact as individuals, employees, founders and consumers. Their impact is evident on existing programs, too: AmeriCorps is receiving five times more applications than it has spots to fill, and the Peace Corps has seen a 32% increase in applications compared to the previous year. Additionally, national service provides important job training opportunities especially for non-college youth, and helps Americans pay for college, repay student debt and build skills and that are attractive to employers. Read More
Walk For Peace
US News and World Report covers Peace Corps Anniversary
Peace Corps volunteer Michael Abkin, then and more recently
What is your favorite memory from your time in the Peace Corps?
From 1966 to 1968, I taught French at Ondo Boys’ High School, in the town of Ondo, in what was then Nigeria’s Western Region. There were many expatriates in Ondo at the time, mainly Brits and Israelis building the new roads from Ile‐Ife to Ondo and from Ondo to Ilorin, as well as Peace Corps and Voluntary Service Overseas (British) volunteers and a smattering of business people.
When the Eastern Region of Nigeria seceded in 1967 and the civil war broke out, many of the Ibos in Ondo fled in fear of reprisals. One of them had tended the town’s cold store, a general store with refrigerated and frozen items. He just locked it up and disappeared. This left the town, mainly its expatriates, without a ready source of the canned and other imported food items they liked that were not otherwise available in the local markets. Read More about Michael
