United in Education and Service

by Chris Golden & Nick Troiano
co-Founders, myImpact.org

Last month, First Lady Michelle Obama formally kicked off United We Serve, a 12-week summer service initiative focused on key areas of the Administration’s economic recovery agenda and aimed both at engaging Americans in service and increasing the capacity of community organizations. This week, the focus of the initiative turns to education, a sector critical to the future of our country.

Americans give back to support our students and schools every day. Whether it is the parent donating classroom supplies because of reduced school district budgets, those who volunteer time to read at their local library or community center or the young college graduate who serves as part of national programs like AmeriCorps, City Year or Teach for America. Applications for these positions are at all-time highs; with Teach for America admitting 4,100 recruits this year out from over 35,000 applications.

Within our schools, the Learn and Serve America program, administered nationally by the Corporation for National & Community Service, utilizes a service-learning curriculum designed to encourage young people to identify and address immediate community needs while strengthening the capacity of their communities to address long-term challenges. During this summer of service, it is imperative that Congress realizes the need to fully fund the recently passed Serve America Act, which will allow programs like Learn & Serve to be scaled to reach even more young people.

We believe in the power of service, the timeless American tradition of giving back to our communities and country, as the basis for sustained solutions to the most pressing crises we face, including education and the rising high school dropout rate. (A student drops out of a public high school, on average, every 26 seconds. More than 1.2 million dropped out last year).

Further, we believe that the Millennial Generation, those younger than age 28, are uniquely positioned to utilize new technological tools to enhance and extend traditional service. As an emerging Millennial-led organization dedicated to expanding the reach of service to all Americans, we know the power and potential that social media and social networking can have to increasing citizen participation and civic engagement.

Through the online community we established at united.myImpact.org, organizations and individuals who are answering the call to serve are sharing their stories. The purpose of the community is not just for personal fulfillment, it is meant to inspire more Americans to give back.

A recent study showed that reading to a young person at least three times a week made that person twice as likely to score in the top 25% on standardized reading tests. Yet, the challenges go beyond finding the time to serve because another report recently found that in low-income neighborhoods there is an average one book for every 300 children.

A commitment to service and engagement will not end with the United We Serve initiative but this summer, and this week, is a reminder that despite the challenging times we live in, each person can do their part to give back and truly make a difference. We invite you to join this effort and then share your story with us—maybe it will inspire someone else and, together, we can all unite in service.

Chris Golden and Nick Troiano are the co-founders of myImpact.org, an emerging online platform for young Americans in full and part time national and community service programs.

To join the Online Community of United We Serve, visit united.myImpact.org.