Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve.... You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love."
Building upon that truth, New Yorkers have begun to serve one another. The New York Times reports:
Mr. Miller described that effort and the resulting bill in his guest commentary on Saturday in the Contra Costa Times:
Building upon that truth, New Yorkers have begun to serve one another. The New York Times reports:
Since April, they have spruced up a dozen city blocks, helped give 164,000 flu vaccinations and installed 178,000 compact fluorescent bulbs in public housing. They are volunteers, part of an ambitious New York effort to tap unpaid workers as a permanent, strategic element in solving city problems. Their work, city officials say, has resulted in 18,000 new volunteers serving 67,000 New Yorkers.Responding to this new generation of American volunteers, Chairman George Miller worked closely with Senator Edward Kennedy to craft the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.
Mr. Miller described that effort and the resulting bill in his guest commentary on Saturday in the Contra Costa Times:
Last April, our legislation was enacted with bipartisan support as the aptly named Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.Chairman Miller continues:
Our law answers Obama's call to make Americans part of the solution to the many challenges we face by increasing the number of participants in organizations like AmeriCorps, Teacher for America and others from 75,000 to 250,000. It increases the education award these volunteers can receive to pay for college or pay down their student debt. And it encourages social entrepreneurs to create innovative opportunities to help communities.
These men and women, along with millions of others, are doing just what our law hopes to build on: harnessing their talent and skills to rebuild our economy, prepare workers for jobs, and green our communities.The Committee would love to hear what you did on MLK day to honor the memory of Dr. King and Sen. Kennedy. Let us know in the comments.
On the day before his historic inauguration last year, Obama encouraged Americans to observe MLK Day as a national day of service. Already this year, hundreds of thousands of Americans have signed up to volunteer.
If you haven't already, join them. Become part of the movement to harvest change, person by person, from the ground up. There's no better way to follow the lead of Dr. King and Sen. Kennedy and transform America.
