Introduction
The 2009 National Service-Learning Conference is right around the corner. This event promises to be the largest gathering of service-learning practitioners from throughout the country, if not the world. Join thousands of service-learning practitioners of all ages and experience to learn about the latest happenings in the field, attend high-quality professional development workshops, and as a young professional, meet like-minded, aspiring peers at our events and gatherings.

As SLYPN gears up for Nashville, we invite you to join us for the many gatherings that we will be hosting at the National Conference. In the works are a reception that will bring together young professionals (like ourselves) and seasoned service-learning practitioners and leaders such as Mark Batenburg of Youth Service California, Wokie Weah of the National Youth Leadership Council, and Nelda Brown of the National Service-Learning Partnership; a networking lunch of young service-learning professionals; and much more. Come meet potential mentors and connect with peers. Visit the conference website for more information.

Issue Areas

Advocacy
Commentary by Kelly Nuxoll

Only 600,000 people live in Washington, DC, but the Monday before inauguration the city swelled to over 2 million. At least two dozen of them were walking up and down my block. At first I thought they were tourists searching the sidewalk for a good square on which to camp, but on second thought I saw they were my neighbors, picking up trash. By late afternoon, they'd collected six garbage bags of cigarette butts alone.

Although Obama's call to service on Martin Luther King Day was eclipsed by his swearing-in the following day, it may have already established the theme of his presidency. The throngs of people on the National Mall and along the parade route came out not only to see an historic event, but to enjoy what former Pennsylvania senator Harris Wofford calls "public happiness." Vendors selling t-shirts danced; strangers helped moms carry baby strollers down the steps; an elderly African-American woman said she couldn't see and the crowd parted so she could make her way to the front. Around the city, schools gleamed with new coats of paint and care packages were loaded on the back of a plane headed to soldiers in Iraq.

If the goodwill and the sense of community over inauguration weekend is any indication, than the Obama administration may have a chance to do what previous administrations have not: extend the political discourse around education not only to learning, but to service.

Communications and Visibility
The Service-Learning Young Professionals Network will be hosting a reception and networking lunch for all of its members at the 2009 National Service Learning Conference in Nashville, TN.

Reception: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 @ 8:00-10:00 PM, Location Renaissance Nashville #2304

Come mingle with current SLYPN members and veterans. Meet the SLYPN managers and Regional Leads!

Please RSVP with Christina Kwon at ckwon@aed.org.

Networking Lunch: Friday, March 20, 2009 @ 12:15 PM, Location Convention Center Room 209.

Constituency Building
Support for the U.S. Public Service Academy

Since the founding of the initiative to build the U.S. Public Service Academy, national newspapers and trade magazines have spotlighted the plan.  The plan started in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when, according to the website, “the American people witnessed serious failures of public leadership at all levels of government.”  The Academy will be a four year, undergraduate institution with the focus on developing civilian leaders for the public sector and is billed as the “West Point” for service. Like the military academies, the Academy will offer four years of tuition-free education in exchange for five years of civilian service following graduation.

Since the start of the initiative in 2006, the Academy has garnered support and endorsements from many prominent individuals.  Learn more about the U.S. Public Service Academy.

Diversity
By Sher Moua, Youth Service California

The Changing Face of California: Youth Service Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond

The above title was the theme for the 2009 California Service-Learning Leadership Institute, a three-day professional development conference featuring workshops for beginning and advanced service-learning practitioners. Unlike years past, this year’s Institute was held against the backdrop of a state budget crisis not seen in years, an alarming high school dropout rate, and a changing demographic.

California faces an estimated budget deficit in excess of $40 billion over the next two years, and in spite of spending almost half of our budget on education, nearly 1 in 3 of our students fail to graduate from high school. In low-income rural and urban communities, the dropout rate amongst Latino, African-American, Native American, and Southeast Asian students is closer to 1 in 2. At the same time, we are grappling with the changing demographics of our state.

Today, a majority of the students enrolled in our public school system are Latino. This majority is only expected to grow as population projections show that by the year 2020, the majority of Californians under the age of 25 will be Latino. While the United States may not realize this shift until the year 2050 (where projections show that there will be more school-age Hispanic children than school-age non-Hispanic white children), these youth hold the future of California and America in their hands.

So what are we doing about it? At this year’s Institute, we focused on expanding service in schools and communities because research shows that that service has the power to motivate students from all levels of ability and social backgrounds to graduate from high school. We know that service-learning can meet the challenges of the changing face of California but we have much work to do. Perhaps then, the proper question may be, will you join us in this work.

Interested in this topic? Join the online discussion on the SLYPN website to share your own thoughts, questions, or ideas.

Research
Student Service on the Rise, but Less Connected to Learning

New report shows fewer schools using effective education strategy. The Corporation for National and Community Service released a report showing that community service in America’s schools has reached a new peak, with 68 percent of all K-12 schools offering or recognizing service opportunities for their students. While school-based community-service has remained robust, the percentage of schools with service-learning declined from 32 percent in 1999 to 24 percent in 2008.

The report provides an in-depth look at the prevalence of community service and service-learning in public schools and provides insight into recent trends.  It is the result of a survey of a national sample of more than 2,000 K-12 public school principals across America conducted by the Corporation in partnership with the independent research firm Westat.  The results were released today at a meeting of several hundred educators, youth advocates, and policymakers at the Academy for Education Development.  

View the full report.

Higher Ed
2008 Honor Roll Announced

Six colleges and universities received top honors among the 635 institutions of higher learning named on January 19th to the 2008 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. The six were recognized during the American Council on Education Annual Conference in Washington, February 8-9.

Congratulations to the following Presidential Awardees:

California State University, Fresno (Fresno, California)

Brookhaven College (Farmers Branch, Texas)

Emory University (Atlanta, Georgia)

Duke University (Durham, North Carolina)

Michigan State University (East Lansing, Michigan)

University of Missouri-Kansas City (Kansas City, Missouri)

Are you interested in connecting to other service-learning young professionals working in higher education? Visit the SLYPN website to join an online affinity group today.

State Farm® Award for Service-Learning Excellence in Teacher Education

The National Service-Learning Partnership will announce the 2009 winner for Service-Learning Excellence in Teacher Education at the National Service-Learning Conference’s State Farm Awards Night on March 20, 2009.This award honors teacher education programs that make a significant commitment to improving the quality of teaching and learning in preparing teachers and schools leaders to use service-learning as an instructional strategy.

Nonprofit Management and Leadership
The Charismatic Organization 

In the same way charismatic individuals attract followers, charismatic organizations draw dedicated donors and committed champions.  These groups don't depend on charismatic leaders--rather, they strengthen their core and build strong networks of support within and and around themselves.  In The Charismatic Organization, experts Shirley Sagawa and Deborah Jospin show nonprofits of all types how to restructure their organizations, internally and externally, to become more charismatic-and more effective.

What if every person involved with an organization was fully engaged and shared a common goal? What if the efforts of a relatively small ring of staff and board members were amplified by everyone touched by the organization, including current and former volunteers, staff, board members, clients, constituents, funders and supports? That, the authors show, is the way a charismatic organization operates.  They provide numerous examples of how successful organizations have made this shift, as well as action steps that all organizations can take to perform better.

Too many nonprofits today are unable to operate at their full potential because they are stuck in effective "business as usual" paradigms.  The Charismatic Organization offers a guide to reframing nonprofit work so that organizations cna expand their resource base and sphere of influence to further their missions and achieve greater impact.

Offering real-life examples form nonprofit organizations, as well as business and political enterprises, this book will transform nonprofit leaders' understanding of how to build high-yielding relationships between their organizations and the people who can help them.

Who should read the book?

• Organization managers and leaders from all sectors interested in increasing their impact and resources
• Aspiring social entrepreneurs and other change-makers building organizations from the ground up
• Nonprofit board members engaged in helping their organizations go to another level
• Volunteer leaders hoping to connect their efforts to a larger purpose
• Business leaders who care about doing well by doing good
• Donors who want their philanthropic dollars to make a difference
• Students and academics interetsed in organizational behavior and the social sector
• Government executives, policymakers and grantmakers interested in organizational effectiveness and program sustainability

SLYPN and NSLP Connections will host an online book party for The Charismatic Organization this year.  Please look for the invitation in the near future.

Professional Practice
National Service Learning Conference, Nashville, TN

As young professionals, it is sometimes difficult to know which workshops to attend at a conference like the National Service Learning Conference. Below is a list of workshops that will be of interest to young professionals:

Thursday, March 19 at 2:30 p.m., 205, After the Election: Where is National Service Headed?, Nicola Goren, Acting CEO, Corporation for National and Community Service Kristin McSwain, Chief Program Officer, Corporation for National and Community Service Elson Nash, Acting Director of Learn and Serve America, Corporation for National and Community Service

Join leaders from the Corporation for National and Community Service for a frank discussion about how the recent change of administration will impact Learn and Serve America and other national service programs. You’ll meet the staff who will lead CNCS into its third decade of operation and engage them in conversations about the Corporation’s initiatives and the impact of outside forces such as Service Nation and the Serve America Act. 

Thursday, March 29 at 4:15 p.m., 205, Emerging Leaders:Field Building for Social Justice 205, W.K. Kellogg Emerging Leaders from diverse communities across the country

Join the W.K. Kellogg Emerging Leaders as they present their culminating projects, insights and strategies to advance service-learning, social justice, and diversity leadership throughout the field. Participants will leave with the latest tools and ideas to advance service-learning in their communities and as part of a broader movement.

Friday, March 20 at 10:45 a.m., 109, Yes We Can: Service-Learning in the Age of President Obama, organized by Service-Learning United and the National Service-Learning Partnership

Friday, March 20 at 10:45 a.m., 107, The Power of Young Professionals, Jessica Bynoe, National Service-Learning Partnership

Young professionals will learn and practice a four-lens approach to developing their leadership for successful service-learning careers and for widespread impact in their organizations, communities, and the broader field. Participants will leave with tools to map their paths in service-learning, and will develop a broad understanding of the roles and organizations influencing the field.

Saturday, March 21 at 1:45 p.m., 204, World Citizenship and Service-Learning, Daoud Hari, International Activist for Darfur and author for The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur; Michael VanKeulen, National Youth Leadership Council and Raaso Relief Organization of North America; Zach Barrows, Invisible Children, Schools to Schools Program

This session examines the relationship of service and partnership between youth in the United States and complex issues in Africa. How are meaningful, sustainable, and reciprocal partnerships possible? Join three individuals/organizations that are working to build such partnerships to address critical issues in Africa that have global youth leadership potential.

Grants and Awards Opportunities

• Teach Something Grants (Deadline: December 15)
  Do you want to improve education in your community? Do Something and Tutor.com are offering $500 grants for your ideas or projects that make a difference around education issues.  DoSomething.org is giving our ten $500 grants for education projects.
• UnitedHealth HEROES Service-Learning Grants
  UnitedHealthcare and Youth Service America are excited to offer the UnitedHealth HEROES service-learning grant program for youth-led community education projects in AL, AZ, CA, CO, FL (selected counties), IL (Chicago-land and Peroria) IN, MD, NC, NJ, NY (Long Island, NYC, Syracuse), OH, PA, SC, and TN.  Email for questions.
• Allstate Foundation Funds for National and Local Programs (Deadline: Varies) 
  The Allstate Foundatoin provides support to national programs as well as local programs in company communities throughout the United States.  Proposals must address needs within one of the following three focus areas: Tolerance, Inclusion and Diversity; Safe and Vital Communities; and Economic Empowerment. 
• Teaching Tolerance Grants (Deadline: Ongoing)
  Teaching Tolerance grants of $500 to $2,500 to preK-12 classroom teachers for projects designed to reduce prejudice among youth, improve intergroup relations in schools and/or support educator professional development in these areas.  proposals from other community organizations and houses of worship will be considered on the basis of direct student impact. 
• Wells Fargo Charitable Contributions Program (Deadline: Varies by State)
  Wells Fargo is committed to improving the bank's local communities in 23 states through grants and volunteer activities.  Visit the website and click on your state in order to review the local funding guidelines and application procedures.
• Literacy, Youth Leadership and Volunteerism Grants (Deadline: Ongoing)
  The Comcast Foundation supports organizations that make communities stronger through literacy, youth leadership development and community service programs.  Award amount range from $1,000 to $570,000.  Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status that operate within a Comcast service area. 

© 2009 Service-Learning Young Professionals Network

SLYPN is administered by the National Service-Learning Partnership at the Academy for Educational Development—with strategic support and leadership from Youth Service California.

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