Congress Embraces Serve America and Encore Fellowships
 |
The House of Representatives passed the most inclusive and comprehensive national service legislation in a generation, sending the Serve America Act to President Obama for his signature. Obama is expected to sign the legislation when he returns from his eight-day European trip.
The House passed the bill, officially called The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, by a bipartisan majority of 275 to 149, following last week’s 78-20 vote in the Senate.
““This legislation will help create new opportunities for millions of Americans at all stages of their lives,” President Obama said in a statement. “From improving service learning in schools to creating an army of 250,000 volunteers a year dedicated to addressing our nation’s toughest problems. From connecting working Americans to a variety of part-time service opportunities to better utilizing the skills and experience of our retirees and baby boomers.”
Among its innovative provisions, Serve America will establish encore fellowships as a pathway to public service for those who have finished their midlife careers.
“For the first time, federal legislation recognizes that a new stage of life and work follows midlife careers and that people in this stage of life need bridges and pathways to get from one stage to the next,” said John Gomperts, president of Civic Ventures. “Given the problems in our nation right now, we can’t afford to waste their experience. This legislation marks the beginning of a new story about how an aging society can use its experience to make a better society for us all.”
Serve America:
- Establishes Encore Fellowships for Americans age 55 or older in one-year management or leadership positions in nonprofit organizations. There will be a maximum of 10 per state. They will be funded by an $11,000 federal grant, plus matching funds from the organizations that host the fellows.
- Increases the number of AmeriCorps positions to 250,000 (from 75,000 currently) and targets 10 percent of those slots for people age 55 or older.
- Allows AmeriCorps members over 55 to use their education awards for their own retooling for encore careers or transfer the awards — increased to $5,350 — to their children and grandchildren.
- Creates Silver Scholarships that would provide a $1,000 higher education scholarship to people 55 or older who contribute a minimum of 350 volunteer hours a year. Like the education awards, volunteers can use the scholarship for their own education or transfer it to their children, foster children or grandchildren.
“All of these measures will encourage more people over 55 to serve, but more than that, these measures will encourage organizations to recruit more experienced people, create higher-impact volunteer opportunities for people 55+, form multigenerational service teams, and design new programs that take advantage of experience and talent,” said Lester Strong, CEO of Experience Corps. “Today 2000 Experience Corps members in 23 cities help 20,000 young students make dramatic gains in reading achievement. As this legislation shows, legislators have learned to multiply a good thing when they see it.”
Indeed, national service is suddenly hot again. The miserable job market has helped push applications to AmeriCorps to 9,731 in February, more than triple the 3,159 submitted in February 2008. AmeriCorps provides an annual stipend of about $12,000, along with the educational award.
The new legislation identifies five broad target areas for action helping the poor, improving education, encouraging energy efficiency, strengthening access to health care and assisting veterans.
In his statement, President Obama applauded the innovation of community and faith-based organizations. “While our government can provide every opportunity imaginable for us to serve our communities, now it is up to each of us to seize those opportunities. I call on all Americans to stand up and do what they can to serve their communities, shape our history and enrich both their own lives and the lives of others across this country.”
For more details see “A Quick Summary of a Quiet Revolution in National Service.”
Listen to John Gomperts, president of Civic Ventures, answer reporters’ questions about the bill.
- David Bank's blog
- Login or register to post comments
- by David Bank
Interesting article
This article is very interesting. Thank you very much for sharing .
inchirieri auto | fier forjat | cadouri
"Be part of the solution!"
This program is a bold vision giving the older generation an opportunity to give of themselves — their time and energy, knowledge and skills, gifts and abilities — in serving America . . . and provides the financial resources such that someone living a simple and frugal lifestyle can actually dedicate themselves to make a difference, and be part of the solution. Al LePage, Portland, Oregon
I’d like to see the entire
I’d like to see the entire US Congress take a week off every month to work in a soup kitchen or preschool.
Encore Followships
I have been attemping to get information on the Encore Fellowship in North Carolina.
No one seems to have information about the State Committee that must apply for
this. Do you have any idea where I might search or inquire in my State.
Ken
.
How Long Will It Take to Put This Program Together?
There are millions of older workers out of work now, so wondering if anyone at OPM might know of the timeline on this program. Sounds like a wonderful program.
Thanks
Timing of Encore Fellowships
The Serve America Act should be signed by President Obama soon, and then the Corporation for National and Community Service will get busy shaping the program. The first federal Encore Fellowships are expected to be available in 2010.
To stay informed on this program and other opportunities for encore careers, make sure you join Encore.org (it’s free), so you will receive updates.
Ongoing Coverage of Encore Fellowship News
We’ve just launched a new page on Encore.org, where we’ll keep up-to-date on developments around the emerging Encore Fellowships model, including the opportunities created by the Serve America national service legislation, Civic Ventures’ own Silicon Valley Encore Initiative and other promising programs.
It’s at http://www.encore.org/fellowships.
David Bank
Editor, Encore.org
Leg. summary from the Corp for National and Community Service
“The Corporation,” which will administer most of the Serve America provisions, posted this summary.
David Bank
Editor, Encore.org
Federal Government As Encore Employer: We Have An Opportunity
M. John Berry is not a household name. He has been appointed by President Obama to head the Office of Personnel Management—known as OPM in the world of Washington’s alphabet soup. It’s an important post because he heads the agency that has responsibility for the career civil service. It may not be visible, but it is an influential position that can be powerful.
The passage of Serve America will require implementation. At the same time, there is nothing in the legislation that inhibits the federal government from being an Encore employer.
The good news is that at Mr. Berry’s confirmation hearing, he made the following statement to the Committee that clears him for the Senate floor:
…in the next decade there will be a significant increase in the
percentage of those eligible to retire. We need to consider and
craft creative approaches that will allow us to engage the skills
and experience of our retirees and the nation’s aging population.
That gives us all an opportunity to advance the Encore idea still further.
Let’s have our network of experienced civil servants in all levels of government, and those from civil society groups, provide advice to Mr. Berry on how the federal government can serve as a model encore employer.
Law will boost midlife national service opportunities
Nice blog post by Mark Miller, nationally syndicated columnist.
Support from the President
President Obama is speaking our language! Read what he said in an official statement about the Serve America Act:
“I’m so pleased that the Senate overwhelmingly passed the bipartisan Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act – legislation that will usher in a new era of service. I want to applaud all those who have worked so hard to see this bill through, and I am eager to sign it into law.
“This legislation will help create new opportunities for millions of Americans at all stages of their lives. From improving service learning in schools to creating an army of 250,000 volunteers a year dedicated to addressing our nation’s toughest problems. From connecting working Americans to a variety of part-time service opportunities to better utilizing the skills and experience of our retirees and baby boomers. This legislation will help tap the genius of our faith based and community organizations, and it will find the most innovative ideas for addressing our common challenges and helping those ideas grow.
“It is fitting that this legislation is named after Ted Kennedy, a person who has never stopped asking what he could do for his country. This legislation is not just a tribute to the service to which he has dedicated his life, it is a call to action for the rest of us. Our work is not finished when I sign this bill into law – it has just begun. While our government can provide every opportunity imaginable for us to serve our communities, it is up to each of us to seize those opportunities. To do our part to lift up our fellow Americans. To realize our own true potential. I call on all Americans to stand up and do what they can to serve their communities, shape our history and enrich both their own lives and the lives of others across this country.“