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Transforming Our Rivers and Our Communities
Posted by on January 13, 2012 at 3:00 PM EDT
Secretary Salazar joins friend and colleague Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to celebrate the partnerships that are making the Los Angeles Riverfront a better place to live, work, and visit. January 13, 2012. (by DOI photo by Tami A. Heilemann)
Ed. Note: Cross-posted from the Department of the Interior.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of joining my friend and colleague Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to celebrate the partnerships that are making the Los Angeles Riverfront a better place to live, work, and visit.
Identified twice as a priority project by the Obama Administration under the America’s Great Outdoors initiative and the Urban Waters Federal Partnership, the restoration and revitalization of the Los Angeles River Watershed is a huge undertaking, but has enough support behind it to make it a reality.
Learn more about Energy and EnvironmentIt’s Cold Outside … and I’m Thinking of Summer (Jobs)
Posted by on January 12, 2012 at 4:18 PM EDTLast week, President Obama and Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis announced the Summer Jobs+ Initiative, a call-to-action for American business, nonprofits, and government to provide pathways to employment for low-income and disconnected youth in the summer of 2012.
The goal is to make provide 250,000 summer jobs opportunities for American’s youth. Over 180,000 commitments have been made to date by our partners– more than doubling the commitments made in 2011.
Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis discusses the Obama Administration's Summer Jobs+ initiative and reflects on her own summer job experiences.
Ed. Note: This piece is cross-posted on the Department of Labor's Official Blog.
This week in Washington, we got our first taste of snow and sub-freezing temperatures of the New Year. As a California native, I admit my thoughts instinctively turned to the summer. I can’t help it. It’s in my DNA.
But I’m in good company because President Obama has been thinking about the summer, too. He started planning last fall to create summer job opportunities for America’s youth in 2012.
Today, I joined the President at the White House to issue a call to action to American businesses, nonprofits and government entities to put our young people to work this summer. In the first two years of this administration, we saw the benefits of a society that is willing to invest in its youth. More than 367,000 young people found summer work opportunities in 2009 and 2010 because of the Recovery Act.
President Obama announces Summer Jobs+, a call to action to American businesses, nonprofits and government entities to put young people to work in summer 2012 (Photo courtesy of the Department of Labor). January 5, 2012. (by Department of Labor)
Readout of the President’s Call with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel
Posted by on January 12, 2012 at 3:32 PM EDTToday, as a part of their regular communication and cooperation on bilateral and regional issues, President Obama spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel. The readout of the President's call is below:
They reviewed the recent meetings between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Amman and the President reaffirmed his commitment to the goal of a comprehensive and lasting peace in the region. The two leaders also discussed recent Iran-related developments, including the international community’s efforts to hold Iran accountable for its failures to meet its international obligations. The President reiterated his unshakable commitment to Israel’s security, and the President and the Prime Minister promised to stay in touch in the coming weeks on these and other issues of mutual concern.
Jarrod Bernstein is the Director of Jewish Outreach in the Office of Public Engagement.
Learn more about , Foreign PolicyCritical Literacy Development in Children of African Descent
Posted by on January 12, 2012 at 2:00 PM EDT
Some of the members of our community who intimately know Gevonee’s work thought it would be appropriate for us to write a community blog because Gevonee embodies the spirit of our entire community. Gevonee has been a champion in Minnesota due to his advocacy for our children’s literacy development and is at the forefront of progressive education.In the early 1990’s, our community had an initiative called the Cultural Beginnings Project, which Gevonee directed and which engaged in inquiry about the early childhood development of Black children. We were a collaborative partnership between parents, childcare workers, youth, government agency representatives, and community elders. Through our inquiry we began to understand the importance of African culture and identity development in our children as they were being prepared to venture out into the world. Out of our work in Cultural Beginnings there began to emerge a community vision of the cultural education our children would need to not only be successful, but also to be community minded as they grew. Gevonee emerged as a guardian of this vision; someone who would consistently remind our community of what we wanted for our children
Learn more about ServiceActively Serving Neighborhoods in Need
Posted by on January 12, 2012 at 2:00 PM EDT
I can’t remember a time in my career that I haven’t mentored someone or have been mentored.
Now, 30 years later, I’m still looking for those we’ve lost.
When I was a teenager, I was involved in a botched drive-by -- simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It scared me right off the mean streets of Philly and into the world of writing where I found my gift for the craft.
Writing led to journalism. Journalism led to advertising. Advertising led me to start my own ad agency. Ownership led to the broader responsibility of making an impact in the community where it all began in the first place.
Within the first twelve months of opening my first agency, we hired interns from my old neighborhood. When starting my second agency, we launched a program called, “The Big Pitch” that exposed inner city high school students to careers in advertising. A competition was held where kids learned advertising principles to create campaigns that addressed issues in their communities. After only two years, the program enrolled hundreds of students and inspired a few creative geniuses along the way -- the ad agency also picked up a few prestigious awards for the trophy shelf. And even now, I’m proud to serve as a VP with United Healthcare – one of the biggest health insurance companies in the country – where we take care of millions of people every day so they can, in turn, take care of what matters most to them in their individual lives.
I've always thought that if you were making a profit but not making a difference, you weren’t making progress. So being part of organizations that follow this credo – whether they’re national giants like United or small but mighty -- companies built by my own hands has been at the foundation of my personal pursuit of happiness.
Now, I’m here in the White House being honored as a “Champion of Change” as our country prepares to observe the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday. Since it was established, I’ve commemorated the day by performing a service project somewhere – anywhere in a neighborhood of need.
Learn more about ServiceHarness the Power of Service to Address Community Concerns
Posted by on January 12, 2012 at 2:00 PM EDT
Dr. King once wrote in his collection of speeches and sermons, The Strength to Love, that “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy.” During what has been one of the most challenging economic times for our country since the Great Depression, I have been inspired by and honored to work with some 3,000-plus project organizers across Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware to coordinate what has become our nation’s largest Martin Luther King Day of Service event. Despite budget cuts and waning resources, these coordinators have been steadfast in their commitment to the principles of Dr. King and have shown, through the results of their King Day projects, that service is a vital tool which provides citizens with the power to address real-life community problems.This past September, the Corporation for National and Community Service released its Civic Life in America report, its research demonstrating that between 2008 and 2010, more and more Americans were turning to service to solve problems in their communities. As Outreach and Programs Manager at Global Citizen, I have enjoyed, in my own small way, being a facilitator of this trend. For the past four years, I have worked with nonprofit professionals, corporate volunteers, employees of city agencies and many others to conduct community needs assessments and develop King Day of Service projects to address community concerns. At Global Citizen, we use the King Day of Service to initiate or strengthen year-round partnerships with agencies that focus upon a wide variety of issues, including, but not limited to, hunger, education and the environment. Throughout the King Day planning process, I help project organizers determine how the service activities they coordinate on King Day could fit into larger, strategic goals, in this, allowing organizers to identify how their King Day projects could evolve into quarterly or even monthly efforts that address or alleviate ongoing needs.
For the 2012 King Day of Service, we anticipate another record turnout, with over 85,000 participants to be engaged in 1,300 projects. In the weeks following King Day, I will work with coordinators to collect outcomes and chart the impact of their projects. As part of the 2011 King Day of Service, 70,822 individuals benefited from or were impacted by the 1,200 projects that took place. 26,786 meals were prepared and served to the homeless. 22,917 items of food were donated and distributed to families facing food insecurity. 12,175 coats were donated, sorted and distributed to those in need.
These metrics, revolving around only a single day of service, not only illustrate the legitimate value of service in its ability to address needs, but also speak to the value of programs and organizations whose missions are to carry out service. AmeriCorps is one of our nation’s most valuable, yet perhaps least-known, resources. AmeriCorps programs have not only been instrumental in delivering services to some of our country’s most vulnerable citizens at a minimal cost, but have also played a crucial role in helping young professionals develop job skills and launch their careers. After completing AmeriCorps, many alumni, like me, move on to full-time careers in public service where they continue their work as civic leaders. As we work through this time of economic challenge, it is important that we stand together to make sure that programs like AmeriCorps continue to receive the support and funding they deserve. I am deeply humbled to be honored as a Champion of Change for my work on the Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service and look forward to continuing my career in service, helping others uncover and harness the great power that lies within civic engagement.
Rachel Turner is the Outreach & Programs Manager at Global Citizen, the Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization that coordinates the Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service, the country’s largest King Day of Service event
Learn more about ServiceProtecting a National Hero
Posted by on January 12, 2012 at 2:00 PM EDTEdwin Fizer enlisted in the Marines in July 15, 1942. He had just turned 17 on July 1, 1942. Mr. Fizer was a native of New Orleans. He became a member of an elite group known as the Montford Point Marines.
The 51st Composite Defense Battalion was formed at Camp Lejune. Eventually, in 1944, the entire 52nd Battalion shipped out, making their first landing at the Marshall Islands, and later the Mariana Islands, which consisted of Guam, Tinian, Saipan and Okinawa-about 400 miles from Japan.
Fizeer vividly recalls the many racial indignities he and his Black comrades were subjected to throughout his entire term of service.
The war ended in 1945 and Fizer was Honorably discharged. He returned to New Orleans where Jim Crowe remained alive and well.
Shortly after discharge with the help of the GI Bill he completed his training at the Illinois College of Optometry. Searching for what he called the "unknown”, his career began to evolve. He joined the Chicago Police Department where he was assigned to a detail that protected Dr. Martin Luther King when he was in Chicago.
Edwin Fizer has been a Senior Companion with the Suburban Cook County Senior Companion program since August 2008.
Learn more about ServiceService as a Life and Legacy
Posted by on January 12, 2012 at 2:00 PM EDT
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. challenged us to be responsible for one another, be engaged in our communities, and empower each other to create change. It is an honor to be recognized as a Champion of Change the week before millions of American’s honor Dr. King’s legacy on a national day of service and answer Dr. King’s question, “What are you doing for others?”Since The Campus Kitchens Project (CKP) committed to participating nationally in MLK Day of Service, thanks to funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service, we have helped organizations from California to Vermont pick up rakes, paint brushes, garbage bags and wooden spoons to create a lasting impact in their communities. Over three years, more than 11,000 volunteers have completed over 600 service projects on MLK Day to honor Dr. King’s legacy. Projects include resume building workshops for unemployed men and women, disaster relief in the face of tornado and wildfire damage, and creating a community garden that has gone on to provide fresh, organic produce for low income children.
But service is not something we should only do on a designated day in January. Every day student volunteers across the country come to work at a Campus Kitchen and help their neighbors in need. With the mission of using service as a tool to strengthen bodies, empower minds, and build communities, The Campus Kitchens Project (CKP) is a student-powered hunger relief organization hard at work on 31 high school and college campuses. We are working to evaluate community needs, promote access to healthy food, and most importantly, develop the next generation of leaders across the country.
Since 2001, CKP volunteers have recovered more that 2 million pounds of food from dining halls and employed idle kitchens to serve 250,000 meals annually. Volunteers deliver these meals to local agencies saving community organizations money and ensuring quality nutrition for clients. But meals are not all that a Campus Kitchen dishes up. Students act as mentors and tutor youth, provide nutrition education for families, cultivate community gardens and teach culinary job training classes for unemployed adults. Many Campus Kitchens have begun SNAP outreach programs to ensure those eligible are receiving benefits, others work with local farmer’s markets to promote the use of EBT cards to make fresh, local produce more available; and still other kitchens have established on-campus markets to promote sustainable food resources and economic development opportunities for local farmers. Student service is creating real impact on the economy, the environment and in the lives of those being served.
When we choose to serve one another we begin to cultivate a shared vision of what life could be like no matter the economic hardships, natural disasters, wars or hunger that we face. Service connects friends and neighbors and empowers both those serving and those being served to create lasting change in their lives and communities. Civil rights, economic and educational equality and service are the hallmarks of Dr. King’s life and legacy. I like to think Campus Kitchens strive to achieve those same values everyday and I am proud to represent them.
Maureen Roche serves as the director of The Campus Kitchens Project, the national program of DC Central Kitchen
Learn more about Service
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