Richard Stengel, Time magazine’s managing editor, kicked off a recent issue with a note to readers announcing a service “summit” in New York City on September 12.

“It is a unique moment for the idea of national service,” Stengel wrote. “You have two presidential candidates who believe deeply in service and who have made it part of their core message to voters. You have millions of Americans who are yearning to be more involved in the world and in their communities. You have corporations and businesses that are making civic engagement a key part of their mission.”

The September summit will bring together hundreds of people to lay out a bold blueprint for citizen service and kickoff ServiceNation, a national campaign of more than 100 organizations—ranging from AARP to the National Council of La Raza and Habitat for Humanity—that represent some 100 million Americans.

As part of its broader call to action, the Service Nation coalition is putting new emphasis on service by older adults. Among the proposals:

• An Encore Service Corps would provide opportunities in education, youth development, family and aging services, community and economic development, public health, and safety and environment.
• For the most committed, a new federal Encore Fellows program would provide vouchers to support full-time placements in programs that provide skills, knowledge and experience in public service.

The summit, co-sponsored by Carnegie Corporation, AARP and Target will be co-chaired by Alma Powell, Caroline Kennedy, Carnegie president Vartan Gregorian and AARP CEO Bill Novelli. New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg will open the session and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will close it. Senators John McCain and Barack Obama have both been invited to a presidential forum to discuss their views on citizenship and sketch out their ideas for the role of service in America.

ServiceNation also is working with Senators Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch on legislation designed to expand opportunities for volunteering and national service and will urge the next President and Congress to enact that legislation by Sept. 11, 2009.

Two weeks after the summit, ServiceNation will engage tens of thousands of Americans in hundreds of events across the country in a national Day of Action to highlight the benefits and goals of citizen service.