Welcome to Citizen Service for Obama

President Obama Awards Citizen Service Heroes with Medal of Honor

Washington, DC—Patrick A. Corvington, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, joined President Obama today as he awarded 13 Americans the 2010 Citizens Medal, the nation's second-highest civilian honor, for their exemplary acts of service.

“We salute these outstanding Americans for their selfless contributions toward addressing persistent national problems,” said Corvington. “They are proof that there is no limit to the impact of American generosity and exemplify the essence of the spirit that has driven change, innovation and progress in this nation for decades.”

This year's recipients are powerful reminders of the impact individuals can have on their community: a Chicago nurse and childcare professional who opened a live-in resource center to mentor hundreds of pregnant teenagers; a school bus driver who delivers hot meals and coffee to New York City's homeless daily; and a paralyzed woman who founded Kids' Food Basket, which provides meals to thousands of needy children in Grand Rapids, Michigan. These everyday heroes join more than 63 million Americans who commit their time and talents to transform lives and communities across the nation. Last year, Americans contributed more than 8.1 billion volunteer hours, worth an estimated $169 billion in services to address homelessness, illiteracy, skyrocketing dropout rates, and other pervasive problems facing local communities. Click here to learn more about the awardees and visitVolunteeringInAmerica.gov to find more information about the nation's volunteer rate.

President Obama has called on all Americans to make a difference in their communities and help move the needle on our toughest national challenges by volunteering. The Corporation, which leads the President's United We Service initiative, is working to expand opportunities for individuals to serve, generate innovative solutions that deliver greater measurable results and develop better strategies that leverage citizen service to tackle deeply entrenched social problems. To decrease the barriers to service and volunteering, the agency launched Serve.gov, which allows individuals to search for volunteer opportunities using their zip code, as well as create service projects and invite their friends to participate through social networking sites.

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America and leads President Obama's national call to service initiative, United We Serve.For more information, visit NationalService.gov.

National Day of Service

National Day of Service - September 27, 2008

Are you fired up and want to show it? The National Day of Service is the perfect solution.

Many service organizations have picked Saturday, September 27, 2008 as a National Day of Service. If you are a supporter of Barack Obama and want to demonstrate how powerful citizen service can be, sign up for one of the many projects - even create your own - and show that Barack supporters mean business.

The National Day of Service is a great opportunity to:

Represent Barack Obama and the Campaign - let everyone know why you are there; that Obama supporters do more than just talk
Get Signups for the Campaign - collect names for the Obama Campaign (see below for details)
Let Everyone Know What Barack has Planned - use campaign material to educate yourself on the issues that are important for the event and be able to communicate it to the other participants. (see below for details)

Find out what events are being planned.

There are many events around the country which are tied to the National Day of Service. Check out the listing at the right under Saturday, September 27 Events. Another good place to find events is on ServiceNation.org. They have the most complete listing of events for that day. Also check out National Public Lands Day. But don't stop there. Do some research online to find other events in your area. Or plan your own.

Spread the word.

Once you have identified a cause and an event, let other people know. Take our your address book and email lists and let everyone know what you are doing. Invite them to join you. Some will be Obama supporters, but even if they aren't most people want to do something for their community.

Make your participation part of the Obama Campaign.

Doing something positive for your community is always a good thing. But we want to encourage you to let everyone know that your participation is part of your commitment to the Obama campaign. You can do this by wearing your Obama gear, letting the organizers know why you are joining, and encouraging all of your fellow Obama supporters to do the same. If you don't have any Obama gear, you can buy it from the Campaign Store or it is available at most local campaign offices.

Gather Sign up Information.

Movements are built one person at a time. Once you bring a new supporter into the movement, have them fill out a supporter card. You can download one here and print it out to bring to the event. Make plenty. You can enter data online or you can turn them in at your local field office. Click here to find your closest one.

Educate Yourself and Others.

If you are going to an event which is geared to helping the enviroment, then you will want to know Obama's plans are for the environment. That way you can talk intelligently to others and know the facts. You can find flyers on most subjects on the Obama website. Click here to go to the Downloads section, find the link for Flyers and Documents under Select a Category and under Flyer Templates you will be able to print them out.

McCain, Obama find common ground on national service

WASHINGTON (CNN)-- Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama showed Thursday night that they have more common ground than differences when it comes to making national service a priority in their presidential administrations.

The presidential canidates put aside partisan politics as the nation remembers the terrorist attacks.

The presidential candidates took the stage separately in a forum sponsored by TIME at Columbia University in New York.

A coin toss determined who took questions first from moderators TIME Managing Editor Rick Stengel and PBS's Judy Woodruff.

Asked why it seems the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, are "fading" in the minds of many Americans, McCain said:

"We needed at that time [September 11, 2001] to take advantage of the unity in the United States of America."

McCaincriticized the Bush administration for not taking advantage of that sense of unity and instead imploring the American public to live their lives as usual and "go shopping."

"I would have called them to serve," said McCain.

The GOP candidate said he suspects people feel uninspired by leaders in Washington and that Americans want "change" in federal government.

"They understand the challenges that we have in this world. They see the Russian invasion of the little country called Georgia. They see the problems in Afghanistan growing larger. They see a whole lot of things happening in the world that's going to require us to serve, and that opportunity has to be provided to them."

Obama Volunteers for Citizen Service

“Your own story and the American story are not separate — they are shared. And they will both be enriched if we stand up together, and answer a new call to service to meet the challenges of our new century … I won't just ask for your vote as a candidate; I will ask for your service and your active citizenship when I am president of the United States. This will not be a call issued in one speech or program; this will be a cause of my presidency.”

— Barack Obama, Speech in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, December 5, 2007

Barack Obama knows how volunteer service can change America and how it can change Americans. Remembering the values of empathy and service that his mother taught him, Barack put law school and corporate life on hold after college and moved to Chicago in 1985, where he became a community organizer with a church-based group seeking to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods plagued with crime and high unemployment.

The Obama Campaign has energized Americans from all walks of life to become involved in the campaign. That same energy can be put to use to improve the lives of Americans right here at home.

The mission of Citizen Service for Obama is to provide information and generate excitement for supporters to participate in volunteer opportunities across the country.

We are not talking about taking political action, but by helping other Americans in all types of activities, Obama supporters will demonstrate how the spirit of citizen service can be used to make peoples’ lives better. This service will show what can happen when people take the initiative and interest in helping others. The service nation that Senator Obama talks about for America doesn’t come from Washington – or any other government power – it comes from individuals like you who want to make a difference.

Now is the time for everyone to get involved. By providing citizen service to the country, you will be helping Barack Obama become the next President of the United States.

Get fired up now!

Obama and McCain to Participate in National Service Forum

Obama and McCain

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES BARACK OBAMA AND JOHN MCCAIN TO PARTICIPATE IN FORUM ON SERVICE AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT ON SEPT. 11 IN NEW YORK CITY

FIRST JOINT APPEARANCE OF PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEES FOLLOWING THE PARTY CONVENTIONS

FORUM KICKS OFF HISTORIC SEPT. 11-12 SERVICENATION SUMMIT

August 21, 2008 [New York, NY] – Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain will discuss in depth their views on service and civic engagement in the post-9/11 world during a primetime forum on the evening of September 11 in New York City.