USAservice.gov and the National Day of Service

Barack Obama epitomizes a new spirit of service, to the country, to each other. His presidency, the day before Inauguration, Martin Luther King Day, is a national call to service. This combines traditional public service, including military and Peace Corps, with volunteerism, a sort of craigslist for service. That is, service is top-down and also grassroots.

If you’re reading this, you get the idea. What’s new is that the incipient administration is getting its act together on this.

Unlike past calls to service, President-elect Obama is asking you to do more than just offer a single day of service. At this national moment of urgency, he is asking you to summon a new spirit of service and make an ongoing commitment to make better the lives of others in our communities, cities and neighborhoods.

Check out USAservice.org, which has the info on the national day of service. It already lists around 5,000 volunteer events for the day of service.

It’s all just a start. We need to make service maybe trendy, even expected, for everyone with the time and/or cash to contribute.