Make it a Semester of Service! Youth Service America and the Corporation for National and Community Service are encouraging students, ages 5-25, to develop a 14-week service-learning project that launches on the Martin Luther King Day of Service, January 21, 2008, and culminates on the weekend of Global Youth Service Day, April 25-27, 2008.

“Recent research has shown that projects must be of sufficient duration, typically at least a semester of 70 hours long to have an impact on students,” says Dr. Shelley Billig, Unpacking What Works in Service Learning. “Fewer hours simply do not give the students enough time to grapple with difficult issues or to have a deep enough experience to make the learning endure,” Billig adds.

“Martin Luther King was interested in big results not the short-term,” says Senator Harris Wofford, colleague and lawyer for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “So, the idea of King Day being the signal for a long-term commitment by millions of students, during or after-school, over a semester would have warmed his heart. Martin always asked us to do more than we were doing because the Road ahead was still so long…the Mountain to climb was still so tall. The Semester of Service is just that opportunity to do more,” Wofford adds.

The Semester of Service is a new, public-private strategy to help young people find their voice, take action, and have impact on the most critical problems facing the world, such as climate change, hunger, homelessness, malaria, water scarcity, disaster preparation, aging, violence, and literacy. The Semester of Service will link each event’s existing partnerships, create a quantum leap in the number of children and youth engaged in service, and advance bold quantitative goals that the Corporation and YSA have both set to expand the American youth service movement.

Projects will take place in classrooms as part of the academic curriculum; in schools as part of the extra-curricular activities of student councils, honor societies, student clubs, and sports teams; in congregations of faith; and in youth development groups in neighborhoods across the United States. Resources for teachers, youth development leaders, and students are available at: www.YSA.org/semester. The Semester of Service Strategy Guide and other content include information about Civic Engagement & Outcomes; Connecting to Academic Standards; Rethinking the Teacher’s Role; Curriculum Outline; and a 2008 Season of Service Calendar January to June.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. sought to forge the common ground on which people from all walks of life could join together to address important community issues. On January 21st, 2008, millions of Americans across the country will once again honor his legacy by taking part in a wide range of service projects—conducting food drives, painting schools and community centers, recruiting mentors for needy youth, and bringing meals to homebound neighbors, to name but a few. For more information: http://www.mlkday.gov.

Global Youth Service Day is the largest service event in the world. Global Youth Service Day is a year-round effort to expand the impact of the youth service movement. The initiative launches new service organizations, policy changes, and sustainable service programs to create a culture of engaged youth. State Farm Companies Foundation is the presenting sponsor. More than 120 national partners and 75 lead agencies throughout the United States organize campaigns. Overseas, national lead agencies in more than 100 countries participate.

The Corporation for National and Community Service improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. Providing service opportunities for millions of Americans of all ages and backgrounds, Corporation programs include Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America. For more information, visit nationalservice.gov.

Youth Service America is a national nonprofit resource center that partners with thousands of organizations in more than 100 countries and is committed to increasing the quality and quantity of volunteer opportunities for young people ages 5-25, to serve locally, nationally, and globally. Founded in 1986, Youth Service America’s mission is to expand the impact of the youth service movement with communities, schools, corporations, and governments. For more information: http://www.ysa.org.