| |
CWLA Supports the President's Call to Service
For more information, contact
Linda Spears
Phone: 703/412-3165
E-mail: lspears@cwla.org
June 29, 2009, Arlington, VA -- United We Serve, President Obama's national call to service, kicked off June 22 when First Lady Michelle Obama and Cabinet secretaries participated in community service projects around the United States. Terri Braxton, CWLA's Vice President of Business Development, attended an event with Mrs. Obama on May 20 to launch the initiative.
"This summer, the President and I are asking you to make time and do your part," Mrs. Obama said in a video message released last week. "Wherever your interests lie, whether it's working with young people or caring for the sick and elderly in our hospitals, or helping to make the homes in your neighborhood more energy efficient, or any other issue, the most important thing is for you to get involved."
More than a dozen Cabinet members participated in service events on June 22, including HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. The initiative, led by the Corporation for National and Community Service, will culminate with a National Day of Service and Remembrance on September 11, 2009, to recognize the summer's accomplishments, honor those who died on September 11, 2001, and encourage Americans to make an ongoing commitment to service.
"The President and Mrs. Obama both know first-hand the power of service to transform lives and communities," said Corporation Board Chair Alan Solomont in a June 22 press release. "Through United We Serve, they are asking all Americans to join in our country's economic and social renewal."
This initiative is partly a result of the recently passed legislation, the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which will set AmeriCorps on a path to increase from 75,000 to 250,000 members by 2017. The ongoing national service initiative will be a sustained focused effort to meet community needs in education, the environment, public safety, disaster response, and other critical areas. In addition the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Obama in February provided $200 million to support 13,000 AmeriCorps members serving in distressed communities.
To learn more about the service programs and opportunities to volunteer visit www.serve.gov or call 202-606-5000.
To read the Corporation for National and Community Service's press release, visit http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/newsroom/releases_detail.asp?tbl_pr_id=1382.
"United We Serve" initiate meeting - Terri Braxton, CWLA's Vice President of Business Development, attending an event with Mrs. Obama on May 20 to launch the initiative.
Since 1920, CWLA has been the nation's preeminent membership-based organization dedicated to ensuring that disadvantaged and vulnerable children are protected from harm and have the tools and resources they need to grow into healthy and happy adults. CWLA is the trusted authority for professionals who work with children and the only national organization with public and private member agencies working across all sectors of the children's services field.
 Back to Top  Printer-friendly Page  Contact Us
|
|
