Fight Poverty through the Serve America Act!

by Leigh Graham

Published April 21, 2009 @ 11:00AM PT

Today President Obama signs into law the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, a bipartisan bill that pledges more than $5B to increase service and volunteerism among Americans.  Specifically, the bill expands the successful but modest Clinton-era AmeriCorps program from 75,000 to 250,000 slots, in particular targeting low-income youth, seniors, and everyone in between interested in donating their time and skills to the perennial problems of poverty, unequal education and climate change.

In addition, the bill launches a $50M Social Innovation Fund, which will support innovative pilot approaches to tackling "national and local challenges."  I'm really excited about this Fund, as I know from experience that responding successfully to critical social problems is a process of trial and error, and too often philanthropic and government money is allocated for proven, measurable programs where none may yet exist.

This is terrific news.  Read on to learn more about the specific anti-poverty efforts laid out in the bill - and to view more AmeriCorps members in action!

Spotlight on Poverty breaks down in detail the anti-poverty proposals enshrined in the bill.  They include not only service opportunities for all Americans in low-income communities, but specific measures to engage low-income youth in bettering their own lives and their neighborhoods.  For example:

Youth Engagement Zone programs will provide coordinated school and community-based service-learning opportunities for youth who have dropped out of secondary school and students who are at risk of doing the same. Young people who are enrolled in such programs will tackle projects that focus on increasing student engagement, improving area natural resources, enhancing energy efficiency in neighborhood buildings, raising levels of civic engagement and participation, and addressing other challenges particular to the communities in question. Community-based organizations that have proven successful at engaging low-income students in service-learning activities will operate these programs in partnership with local educational agencies and state actors or other community-based groups.

I highly recommend reading the whole thing.

Your fellow members here at Poverty in America launched a pledge to Serve America; I encourage you to sign it and consider applying to the various service corps programs the bill funds.  To raise the stakes for some of you, as a Bostonian, I see NYC's plans to launch an affiliated local volunteer program to be a direct challenge to Boston's leadership on this issue.  For those of you less motivated by competition, consider that AmeriCorps provides an educational stipend.

Whether you're unemployed or just interested in making a difference, there's never been a better time to get involved in anti-poverty work in your own communities and nationwide.

Click on all photos to embiggen.  Photos, in order, are: Hartford AmeriCorps members by laura ouimette, AmeriCorps DC Class 8, and AmeriCorps volunteers planting along the Missouri River in IL - photo by The Confluence.