Anna Dinces

From:

Be the Change, Inc. Tim Zimmermann (703) 850-0735 [email protected]

Additional Contacts: Rubenstein Communications, Inc. Germaine Febles (212) 843-8031 [email protected] Anna Dinces (212) 843-9253 [email protected] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------For Immediate Release

SERVICENATION ANNOUNCES SEPT. 27 “DAY OF ACTION” ACROSS THE COUNTRY *** National Call to Service Follows Historic Sept. 11-12 ServiceNation Summit Featuring Forum with Senators John McCain and Barack Obama on September 11 August 28, 2008 [New York, NY] – On September 27, ServiceNation (http://www.servicenation.org), a dynamic new coalition of 110 organizations dedicated to strengthening our democracy and solving problems through civic engagement and service, will organize a national Day of Action to engage tens of thousands of Americans in events across the country that will showcase the impact of service. The events will follow the ServiceNation Summit taking place in New York City September 11-12, which will kickoff with a primetime forum the evening of Sept. 11 featuring Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain discussing in depth their views on service and civic engagement in the post-9/11 world. To date, more than 1,000 Sept. 27 Day of Action events have been organized in 50 states. The public can sign up to host an event, or find events to attend, at http://events.servicenation.org. The September 27th Day of Action will illustrate how service transforms our communities while simultaneously transforming citizens. This day supports ServiceNation’s vision of an America in which, by 2020, 100 million citizens will volunteer time in schools, workplaces, and faith-based and community institutions each and every year (up from 61 million today), and that increasing numbers of Americans annually will choose to commit a year of their lives to national service. “The ServiceNation Day of Action is all about inspiring ordinary people to do extraordinary things, and demonstrate the kind of America we could live in if we all did what we could to volunteer and work together to build stronger communities,” said Emily Cherniack, Director of Organizing at Be The Change, Inc., one of the four organizations-along with City Year, Civic Enterprises and Points of Light Institute--that are helping to coordinate the ServiceNation effort. Thousands of people of all ages have mobilized in every state on September 27 to organize events that demonstrate the impact that service has upon our country and the

power of citizens to create large-scale change. A sampling of ServiceNation Sept. 27 Day Of Action events includes: •

In Miami, Florida, volunteers will rally to clean up the beaches of Pelican Harbor Island, a critical pelican rookery and habitat.

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In Long Beach, California, residents of a gang and crime-ridden neighborhood will organize a “Taking Back the Streets Event,” which will bring together members of the police and fire departments, as well as city representatives and neighborhood groups, to do a neighborhood cleanup and join in a block party that will feature information booths on health, safety and Neighborhood Watch.

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In Gresham, Oregon, volunteers from dozens of churches will work with the city to organize a “Graffiti Wipeout.”

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In Beaumont, Texas, residents will throw a “Party With A Purpose” that will offer free health screenings on blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, and HIV, as well as chiropractic consultations.

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In Salt Lake, Utah, volunteers will help the Community Food Co-op distribute food to more than 6,000 residents.

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In Topeka, Kansas, volunteers will spend the day reading to kids at the public library.

To browse all events, or search for events by zip code, please visit: http://events.servicenation.org/. Sept. 27 Day of Action events will also be listed and promoted on Facebook, the lead Social Media Partner for the ServiceNation campaign. Background on ServiceNation and the Summit: The goal of ServiceNation (www.servicenation.org), which currently includes 110 organizations who collectively reach some 100 million Americans, is to mobilize a grassroots movement that will inspire America’s leaders to expand voluntary community and national service opportunities, target America’s greatest societal challenges with proven service strategies, and promote voluntary service as a core ideal in our democracy. A full list of ServiceNation coalition members can be found at: http://www.bethechangeinc.org/servicenation/about_us/organizing. The ServiceNation campaign will launch with a bipartisan September 11-12 ServiceNation Summit that will convene more than 500 distinguished leaders from American business, government and leading non-profit institutions to celebrate the ideal and power of service, and lay out a bold policy blueprint for addressing America’s greatest social challenges through expanded opportunities for voluntary community and

national service. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will welcome the Summit attendees on September 12th, following the Presidential candidates Forum on September 11th. The summit will conclude with a keynote address by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who earlier this year became the first governor to create a cabinet post dedicated to service and volunteering. The ServiceNation Summit is being co-chaired by Caroline Kennedy; Alma Powell, Chair of America’s Promise Alliance; Richard Stengel, Managing Editor, TIME; Vartan Gregorian, President of Carnegie Corporation of New York; Bill Novelli, CEO of AARP; and Laysha Ward, President, Community Relations and Target Foundation. It is convened and underwritten by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York and Presented by TIME, AARP and Target. The recording artist, Usher, serves as the Youth Chair for the Summit. ServiceNation’s bipartisan Summit Leadership Council includes mayors, governors, former Senators and leaders from every sector of American society (full list is available at http://tinyurl.com/6l7vju). Major supporters—in addition to AARP, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Target and TIME—include the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, The Home Depot Foundation, Bank Of America, Case Foundation, Charina Endowment Fund, The Jenesis Group, the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund and Goldman Sachs. NOTE TO THE MEDIA: To request media credentials for the Forum and the Summit on September 11 & 12, 2008, please contact Rubenstein Communications, Inc. at [email protected] ###