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RENEWING AMERICA THROUGH NATIONAL

SERVICE AND VOLUNTEERISM

HEARING

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON 

EDUCATION AND LABOR

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, FEBRUARY 25, 2009

Serial No. 111–4

Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and Labor

(

Available on the Internet: 

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/house/education/index.html 
(II)

COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR 

GEORGE MILLER, California, Chairman

Dale E. Kildee, Michigan, Vice Chairman 

Donald M. Payne, New Jersey 

Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey 

Robert C. ‘‘Bobby’’ Scott, Virginia 

Lynn C. Woolsey, California 

Rube ́n Hinojosa, Texas 

Carolyn McCarthy, New York 

John F. Tierney, Massachusetts 

Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio 

David Wu, Oregon 

Rush D. Holt, New Jersey 

Susan A. Davis, California 

Rau ́l M. Grijalva, Arizona 

Timothy H. Bishop, New York 

Joe Sestak, Pennsylvania 

David Loebsack, Iowa 

Mazie Hirono, Hawaii 

Jason Altmire, Pennsylvania 

Phil Hare, Illinois 

Yvette D. Clarke, New York 

Joe Courtney, Connecticut 

Carol Shea-Porter, New Hampshire 

Marcia L. Fudge, Ohio 

Jared Polis, Colorado 

Paul Tonko, New York 

Pedro R. Pierluisi, Puerto Rico 

Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan,

Northern Mariana Islands 

Dina Titus, Nevada 

[Vacant] 

Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon, California, 

Senior Republican Member 

Thomas E. Petri, Wisconsin 

Peter Hoekstra, Michigan 

Michael N. Castle, Delaware 

Mark E. Souder, Indiana 

Vernon J. Ehlers, Michigan 

Judy Biggert, Illinois 

Todd Russell Platts, Pennsylvania 

Joe Wilson, South Carolina 

John Kline, Minnesota 

Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington 

Tom Price, Georgia 

Rob Bishop, Utah 

Brett Guthrie, Kentucky 

Bill Cassidy, Louisiana 

Tom McClintock, California 

Duncan Hunter, California 

David P. Roe, Tennessee 

Glenn Thompson, Pennsylvania

Mark Zuckerman, Staff Director 

Sally Stroup, Republican Staff Director 
(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

Hearing held on February 25, 2009 ....................................................................... 1

Statement of Members: 

Courtney, Hon. Joe, a Representative in Congress from the State of 

Connecticut, submission for the record: 

Golden, Christopher P., Service Nation 100 ‘‘Young Leaders,’’ cofounder, myImpact ................................................................................. 56

Honojosa, Hon. Rube ́n, a Representative in Congress from the State 

of Texas, submission for the record: 

Firman, James P., Ed.D, president and CEO, National Council on 

Aging ....................................................................................................... 55

McKeon, Hon. Howard P. ‘‘Buck,’’ Senior Republican Member, Committee 

on Education and Labor ............................................................................... 5

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 6

Miller, Hon. George, Chairman, Committee on Education and Labor ......... 1

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 3

Statement of Witnesses: 

Caprara, David L., director and nonresident fellow, Brookings Initiative 

on International Volunteering and Service ................................................ 36

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 38

Dorsey, Cheryl L., M.D., M.P.P., president, Echoing Green ......................... 24

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 26

Hamilton, Lisa, president, UPS Foundation .................................................. 41

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 42

Harris, James, youth participant, Usher’s New Look Foundation ............... 22

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 23

Jones, Van, founder and president, Green for All ......................................... 27

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 29

Preston, Kenneth O., Sergeant Major of the U.S. Army ............................... 33

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 35

Raymond, Usher IV, recording artist, chairman, Usher’s New Look Foundation ............................................................................................................. 18

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 20

Stengel, Richard, managing editor, TIME Magazine .................................... 9

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 12

Wofford, Hon. Harris, former U.S. States Senator ........................................ 13

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 15

Letter, dated February 25, 2009, from Age for Change Network ......... 57

(1)

RENEWING AMERICA THROUGH NATIONAL 

SERVICE AND VOLUNTEERISM 

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

U.S. House of Representatives 

Committee on Education and Labor 

Washington, DC

The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:07 a.m., in Room 

2175, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. George Miller [chairman of the committee] presiding. 

Present: Representatives Miller, Kildee, Payne, Andrews, Woolsey, McCarthy, Tierney, Kucinich, Davis, Bishop of New York, 

Sestak, Loebsack, Hare, Shea-Porter, Polis, Tonko, Pierluisi, 

McKeon, Petri, Castle, Roe, and Thompson. 

Staff present: Tylease Alli, Hearing Clerk; Alejandra Ceja, Senior 

Budget/Appropriations Advisor; Nina DeJong, Investigative Associate; Adrienne Dunbar, Education Policy Advisor; Sarah Dyson, 

Policy Assistant; Curtis Ellis, Legislative Fellow, Education; Carlos 

Fenwick, Policy Advisor, Subcommittee on Health, Employment, 

Labor and Pensions; Denise Forte, Director of Education Policy; Liz 

Hollis, Special Assistant to Staff Director/Deputy Staff Director; 

Fred Jones, Staff Assistant, Education; Jessica Kahanek, Press Assistant; Julia Martin, Education Policy Advisor; Stephanie Moore, 

General Counsel; Alex Nock, Deputy Staff Director; Joe Novotny, 

Chief Clerk; Lisa Pugh, Legislative Fellow, Education; Rachel 

Racusen, Communications Director; Meredith Regine, Junior Legislative Associate, Labor; Melissa Salmanowitz, Press Secretary; 

Margaret Young, Staff Assistant, Education; Kim Zarish-Becknell, 

Policy Advisor, Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities; Mark Zuckerman, Staff Director; Stephanie Arras, Minority 

Legislative Assistant; James Bergeron, Minority Deputy Director of 

Education and Human Services Policy; Cameron Coursen, Minority 

Assistant Communications Director; Amy Raaf Jones, Minority 

Professional Staff Member; Alexa Marrero, Minority Communications Director; and Linda Stevens, Minority Chief Clerk/Assistant 

to the General Counsel. 

Chairman MILLER [presiding]. The Committee on Education and 

Labor will come to order for the purposes of discussing volunteerism, public service to America. 

And I want to begin by thanking all of our witnesses for joining 

us, for their time and their expertise. And we appreciate you making that effort. 
2

I am going to recognize myself for the purposes of making an 

opening statement, then I will recognize Congressman McKeon for 

an opening statement, and then we will turn to our witnesses. 

I want to welcome everyone to today’s hearing on how service 

and volunteerism can help us build a stronger, vibrant America. 

We are at a critical moment in our nation’s history. With our nation being tested by unprecedented challenges—an economic crisis, 

an energy crisis, struggling schools and more—our public needs are 

greater than ever. 

These tests also present an enormous opportunity to make America part of the solution by tapping into their patriotic spirit and a 

desire to serve. 

Service has been a key part of America’s story since 1961, when 

President John F. Kennedy took the challenge to a generation to 

ask ‘‘not what your country can do for you’’ but ‘‘what you can do 

for your country.’’ He inspired millions of Americans to make a difference at home and around the globe by establishing the Peace 

Corps, Volunteers in Service to America programs. 

In the 50 years since, hundreds of millions of Americans have 

helped build a powerful legacy. In 2008, over 61 million adults volunteered. From 2002 to 2007, the number of volunteers across the 

country grew by more than a million, according to the Corporation 

for National and Community Service. 

There are many ways to serve, from nonprofit community organizations to the military to public service. According to the Partnership for Public Service, the federal government currently needs to 

fill thousands of service jobs in critical fields, including medicine, 

public health, foreign languages, and information technology. And 

for many Americans, military service has opened new doors to careers in addition to serving the country during times of war and 

peace. 

As many of you know, we have a new President who has a personal interest in service. President Obama began his career by volunteering on the South Side of Chicago. And last night, I was gratified to hear him make national service a key part of his bold agenda to revive and rebuild our country. 

To help get more students to college, he proposed making college 

more affordable for Americans who serve or volunteer. He called for 

Congress to take urgent, bipartisan action to launch a new era of 

American service for the current and future generations, making it 

clear that improving service must be one of the next actions we 

take to help lift our economy out of this crisis. 

I look forward to working with all members of this committee to 

deliver him this legislation as quickly as possible. 

The economic recovery plan he enacted was a good first step toward rebuilding our service capacity. It invests $200 million in as 

many as 13,000 new service opportunities with AmeriCorps, one of 

the several programs we will hear about from today’s witnesses. 

AmeriCorps, along with VISTA, Senior Corps, Learn and Serve 

America, and others, has become a successful model for public and 

private partnerships. 

In neighborhoods across the country, these programs are integral 

partners with business and local government, helping meet vital 
3

needs from mentoring programs for children of prisoners—to feeding the hungry—to providing independent living services to seniors. 

These programs yield proven, measurable benefits. They can foster inspiration, teach valuable skills, and prepare Americans for 

jobs. They also provide resources needed to tackle the great challenges, like improving student achievement or rebuilding cities in 

time of disaster. 

For example, in Harlem, Brian McClendon has volunteered with 

the Harlem Children’s Zone for 12 years, in an AmeriCorps program that helps improve the quality of life for children and adults 

in some of New York City’s most impoverished neighborhoods. The 

program not only provided McClendon with a job, but it also helped 

him stay away from the other challenges of the neighborhood while 

he was growing up in Harlem 

In Jacksonville, Florida, Thelma ‘‘Granny’’ King, a retired registered nurse, helps emotionally and academically challenged 

inner-city students through SeniorCorps. She uses auditory, cognitive and kinesthetic skill-building activities to help students with 

no linguistic ability to learn to communicate using their bodies. 

Her success with these children has helped her raise their graduation rates by 82 percent. 

I have seen similar benefits in my district, where I love to walk 

the trails that are managed by the California Association of Local 

Conservation Corps, an AmeriCorps program that engages disadvantaged youth in rebuilding parks and trails and encourages 

them to become stewards of the environment. The young people involved in this program often come from challenging communities, 

and they have every obstacle in their way and every odd working 

against them. And yet this program is making a real difference in 

their lives and to our society, providing a sense of ownership, confidence and purpose while introducing them into green jobs for the 

future. We need more programs like this. 

Today we will hear from witnesses from across the service spectrum about the innovative approaches to engage youth and older 

Americans in green jobs and other service opportunities. They will 

share their perspectives on the power of service in changing communities and how we can leverage these opportunities to move forward. 

And they will help inform our efforts as we start working immediately, in a bipartisan basis here in this community and with the 

Obama administration, to deliver the president a bipartisan legislation that reinvigorates America’s spirit of national service. 

And now I would like to recognize my colleague, Congressman 

McKeon from California, who is the senior Republican on the Education and Labor Committee, for the purposes of an opening statement. 

[The statement of Mr. Miller follows:]

Prepared Statement of Hon. George Miller, Chairman, Committee on 

Education and Labor 

I’d like to welcome everyone to today’s hearing on how service and volunteerism 

can help us build a stronger, vibrant America. 

We are at a critical moment in our nation’s history. With our nation being tested 

by unprecedented challenges—the economic crisis, the energy crisis, struggling 

schools and more—our public needs are greater than ever. 
4

These tests also present an enormous opportunity to make Americans a part of 

the solution by tapping into their patriotic spirit and desire to serve. 

Service has been a key part of America’s story since 1961, when President John 

F. Kennedy first challenged a generation of Americans to ask ‘‘not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.’’

He inspired millions of Americans to make a difference at home and around the 

globe by establishing the Peace Corps and Volunteers in Service to America programs. 

In the fifty years since, hundreds of millions of Americans have helped build a 

powerful legacy. 

In 2008, over 61 million adults volunteered. From 2002 to 2007, the number of 

volunteers across the country grew by more than a million, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service. 

There are many ways to serve—from nonprofit and community organizations to 

the military to public service. According to the Partnership for Public Service, the 

federal government currently needs to fill thousands of service jobs in critical fields, 

including medicine, public health, foreign languages, and information technology. 

And, for many Americans, military service has opened new doors to careers in addition to serving the country during times of war and peace. 

As many of you know, we have a new President who has a personal interest in 

service: President Obama began his career by volunteering in the South Side of Chicago. 

Last night, I was gratified to hear him make national service a key part of his 

bold agenda to revive and rebuild our country. To help get more students to college, 

he proposed making college more affordable for Americans who serve or volunteer. 

He called for Congress to take urgent, bipartisan action to launch a new era of 

American service for current and future generations—making it clear that improving service must be one of the next actions we take to help lift our economy out 

of this crisis. I look forward to working with all members of this committee to deliver him this legislation as quickly as possible. 

The economic recovery plan he enacted was a good first step toward rebuilding 

our service capacity. It invests $200 million to create as many as 13,000 new service opportunities with 

AmeriCorps—one of several programs we’ll hear about from today’s witnesses. 

AmeriCorps, along with VISTA, Senior Corps, Learn and Serve America, and others, has become a successful model of public and private partnerships. 

In neighborhoods across the country these programs are integral partners with 

business and local government, helping meet vital needs from mentoring programs 

for children of prisoners to feeding the hungry to providing independent living services to seniors. 

These programs yield proven, measurable benefits. They can foster inspiration, 

teach valuable skills, and prepare Americans for jobs. They also provide the resources needed to tackle great challenges—like improving student achievement or 

rebuilding cities in times of disaster. For example: 

• In Harlem, Brian McClendon has volunteered with Children’s Zone for 12 years, 

an AmeriCorps program that helps improve the quality of life for children and 

adults in some of New York City’s most impoverished neighborhoods. 

• The program not only provided McClendon with a job—but also helped him stay 

away from drugs, gangs and violence while growing up in Harlem. 

• In Jacksonville, Florida, Thelma ‘‘Granny’’ King, a retired registered nurse, 

helps emotionally and academically challenged inner-city students through 

SeniorCorps. She uses auditory, cognitive and kinesthetic skill-building activities to 

help students with no linguistic ability learn to communicate using their bodies. 

Her success with these children has helped raise their graduation rates by 82 percent. 

I’ve seen similar benefits in my district, where I love walking trails that are managed by the California Association of Local Conservation Corps—an AmeriCorps program that engages disadvantaged youth in rebuilding parks and trails and encourages them to become stewards of the environment. 

The young people involved in this program often come from challenging communities. They have every obstacle in their way and every odd working against them. 

And yet, this program is making a real difference in their lives—providing a sense 

of ownership, confidence and purpose while introducing them to the green jobs of 

the future. 

We need more programs like this. 

Today we’ll hear from witnesses from across the service spectrum about innovative approaches to engage youth and older Americans in green jobs and other service opportunities. 
5

They’ll share their perspective on the power of service in changing communities 

and how we can leverage these opportunities as we move forward. 

And they will help inform our efforts as we start working immediately, in a bipartisan basis here in this committee and with the Obama administration, to deliver 

the President bipartisan legislation that reinvigorates America’s spirit of national 

service. 

Mr. MCKEON. Thank you, Chairman Miller. 

And good morning. It is great to be here with such a dynamic 

panel of witnesses who make volunteerism cool. 

I am a long-time supporter of volunteerism, whether it is something we do as individuals and families in our own communities or 

something we do as citizens coordinated at the national level. Volunteerism is a hallmark of what makes America great. Volunteering our time and our talents is a way that all Americans can 

give back. 

We all have something to contribute no matter where we are 

from, how much money we earn, or what we do for a living. Millions of Americans volunteer in their communities from serving 

meals to those who are hungry, to mentoring underprivileged children. Much of this work is done independently without an infrastructure or a program to coordinate the work. People just roll up 

their sleeves and give where they can. 

Many other Americans have gotten involved with private philanthropy. For instance, some of our witnesses today have created and 

immersed themselves in private volunteering initiatives to bring 

individuals together to serve as a group. 

Hearings like this one give us an opportunity to shine a spotlight 

on the organizations that are doing things all on their own to promote volunteerism and service, whether it is within a corporation 

or an entire industry. 

I also think it is important to hear what a wide and diverse 

range of groups can do to promote service. For that reason, I am 

pleased to have an expert here to discuss the important role faithbased organizations play in getting Americans involved in helping 

their communities. 

In addition to the work of individuals and private groups, many 

other Americans have chosen to engage in what we call ‘‘National 

Service,’’ the service programs coordinated on the national stage by 

the Corporation for National and Community Service. Approximately 21⁄2 million Americans engage in community service each 

year through the Corporation’s programs, which exist in all 50 

states and right here in the District of Columbia. 

This hearing provides us with a good opportunity to learn more 

about the unique opportunities that exist within the national service realm. For instance, I am interested in what these programs 

can do to assist veterans continuing with their desire to serve and 

help the current members of the military and their families. 

Later this year, this committee will once again attempt to reauthorize national service programs. We can bring these programs 

into the 21st century by ensuring they are targeted, effective and 

efficient. And I look forward to doing that. 

We can also ensure the programs allow the participation of 

smaller organizations, faith-based or otherwise, to participate. 

Many Americans choose to participate through these local organi-
6

zations who really know the needs of the communities they serve. 

I hope we also bear in mind that government-coordinated national 

service is just one segment of a much broader system of volunteerism in this country. 

I want to commend our witnesses for their work in the range of 

volunteer strategies. You are giving of yourselves and setting an 

example for others to do the same. And for that I want to personally thank you. 

And I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for having Sgt. Major 

Preston here from our Army. You know, when we are fighting wars 

on two fronts, and we have an all-volunteer service, I really appreciate you having him here at this table. And this year, we are especially honoring our noncommissioned officers as the Year of the 

Noncommissioned Officer, so thank you for that. 

With that, I yield. We have a full panel of witnesses willing to 

testify, so I will yield back. And thank you. 

[The statement of Mr. McKeon follows:]

Prepared Statement of Hon. Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon, Senior Republican 

Member, Committee on Education and Labor 

Thank you Chairman Miller, and good morning. It’s great to be here with such 

a dynamic panel of witnesses who make volunteerism ‘‘cool.’’

I am a longtime supporter of volunteerism. Whether it’s something we do as individuals and families in our own communities, or something we do as citizens coordinated at the national level, volunteerism is a hallmark of what makes America 

great. 

Volunteering our time and our talents is a way that all Americans can give back. 

We all have something to contribute, no matter where we’re from, how much money 

we earn, or what we do for a living. 

Millions of Americans volunteer in their communities, from serving meals to those 

who are hungry to mentoring underprivileged children. Much of this work is done 

independently, without an infrastructure or a program to coordinate the work. People just roll up their sleeves and give where they can. 

Many other Americans have gotten involved with private philanthropy. For instance, some of our witnesses today have created and immersed themselves in private volunteering initiatives that bring individuals together to serve as a group. 

Hearings like this one give us an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the organizations that are doing things all on their own to promote volunteerism and service, 

whether it’s within a corporation or an entire industry. I also think it’s important 

to hear what a wide and diverse range of groups can do to promote service. For that 

reason, I am pleased to have an expert here to discuss the important role faithbased organizations play in getting Americans involved in helping their communities. 

And in addition to the work of individuals and private groups, many other Americans have chosen to engage in what we call ‘‘national service,’’ the service programs 

coordinated on the national stage by the Corporation for National and Community 

Service. Approximately 2.5 million Americans engage in community service each 

year through the Corporation’s programs, which exist in all 50 states and right here 

in the District of Columbia. This hearing provides us with a good opportunity to 

learn more about the unique opportunities that exist within the national service 

realm. For instance, I’m interested in what these programs can do to assist veterans 

continuing with their desire to serve and to help the current members of the military and their families. 

Later this year, this committee will once again attempt to reauthorize national 

service programs. We can bring these programs into the 21st century by ensuring 

they are targeted, effective, and efficient, and I look forward to doing that. We can 

also ensure that programs allow the participation of smaller organizations—faithbased or otherwise—to participate. Many Americans choose to participate through 

these local organizations who really know the needs of the communities they serve. 

I hope we also bear in mind that government-coordinated national service is just 

one segment of a much broader system of volunteerism in this country. I want to 

commend our witnesses for their work in the range of volunteer strategies. You are 
7

giving of yourselves, and setting an example for others to do the same. And for that, 

I want to personally thank you. 

With that, we have a full panel of witnesses waiting to testify, so I will yield back. 

Thank you. 

Chairman MILLER. Thank you very much. And thank you for recognizing Sgt. Major Preston. 

I think those of us who have visited our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and else in the world recognize that our soldiers are returning home with a set of skills that they probably never imagined that they were going to acquire as they work in communities 

all over those countries—in urban settings and as isolated and a 

rural setting as you can possibly be in Afghanistan—and working 

with people to build communities, to build schools, to build relationships. 

And it is rather remarkable, and we would be remiss if we did 

not figure out how to provide the opportunities for them when they 

return to America to use those magnificent assets. 

I am going to—first of all, members of the committee may submit 

opening statements that will be made part of the permanent 

record. And I will give a brief introduction of our witnesses, and 

their longer bios will be included in the record of the committee. 

And I will begin with Richard Stengel, who will be our first witness, is the managing editor of Time, the world’s largest weekly 

news magazine. Mr. Stengel collaborated with Nelson Mandela on 

his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, later coproducing the 

documentary Mandela. In 2008, he coordinated the Service Nation 

Presidential Candidates Forum, where he interviewed the candidates about the views on national service. Mr. Stengel currently 

is a board of trustees and member of City Year, a lead partner in 

the Service Nation coalition. 

Senator Harris Wofford served the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 1991-1994, after which he was appointed CEO of the 

Corporation for National and Community Service by President 

Clinton. Senator Wofford is on the board of America’s Promise, 

Youth Service of America and the Points of Light Institute. He also 

is spokesperson for Experience Wave, an organization that seeks to 

develop public service opportunities for older citizens. 

Usher Raymond, IV is the renowned recording artist and founder 

of Usher’s New Look charity, a nonprofit organization designed to 

teach youth about sports and entertainment industries. Since then, 

it has mentored over 1,300 youth, with many of its campers going 

on to the Mogul VIP program where they explore career paths via 

internships and mentoring. Usher received the key to the city of 

New Orleans in 2008 for his commitment to rebuilding the Gulf 

Coast. His Restart concept helped more than 750 families establish 

housing through renting utility assistance while providing more 

than 1,200 youth and families with clothing and food. 

James Harris is a former Camp New Look participant, where in 

2007 he received the designation of Star Camper. He also was a 

Mogul VIP participant and is currently a student at Johnson Community College with plans to major in Business Administration and 

Entrepreneurship. Mr. Harris is a 19-year-old aspiring rapper, en-
8

trepreneur, philanthropist, politician, expert witness and everything else, apparently. [Laughter.] 

There is a man with a vision and a set of goals. Welcome to the 

committee. 

Dr. Cheryl L. Dorsey is the president of Echoing Green, a global 

nonprofit which has awarded millions in startup capital to social 

entrepreneurs worldwide since 1987. While studying at Harvard 

Medical School, Ms. Dorsey used her own Echoing Green fellowship 

award to establish Family Van, a community mobile-based health 

unit designed to provide outreach and health care service. Ms. Dorsey has received numerous awards and honors for her commitment 

to public service including the Pfizer Roerig History of Medicine 

Award and the Robert Kennedy Distinguished Public Service 

Award. 

Van Jones is the founding president of Green For All, a U.S. organization that promotes opportunities for the disadvantaged and 

green-collar jobs. Green For All seeks to build an inclusive green 

economy that will alleviate poverty and ecological crises. Mr. Jones 

is Time Magazine 2008 Environmental Hero, one of Fast Company’s 12 Most Creative Minds in 2008, and the New York Times 

bestselling author of The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution 

Can Solve Our Two Biggest Problems. He is a 1993 Yale Law 

School graduate and senior fellow at the Center for American 

Progress. 

Sgt. Major of the Army Kenneth O. Preston is the thirteenth sergeant major of the Army, where he serves as personnel advisor to 

the Army’s chief of staff, primarily in the areas regarding soldier 

training and quality of life. During his 28-year career, he has 

served in many fields including, and most recently, in Iraq. He has 

been awarded many decorations including two Legions of Merit, the 

Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, four 

Army Meritorious Service Medals, five Army Commendation Medals, three Army Achievement Medals, Southwest Asia Service Ribbon, Liberation of Kuwait Ribbon, and a Kosovo Medal, and a 

NATO Medal and Joint Meritorious Unit Award. [Applause.] 

Wow. And a Congressional Hearing Medal. [Laughter.] 

Thank you. Thank you. That is magnificent. 

David L. Caprara is the director and nonresident fellow at the 

Brookings Institute on International Volunteering and Service and 

executive vice-president of Youth Federation for World Peace. Formerly, he directed faith-based and community initiatives for the 

Corporation of National Community Service and Volunteers in 

Service to America known as VISTA. 

He has co-directed several international discussions on service 

including the International Roundtable on Volunteering and Service and the International Conference on Faith and Service. He has 

also worked extensively with government, serving the Department 

of Housing and Urban Development, the Virginia Governor’s Commission on Citizen Empowerment, and the White House Task 

Force on Disadvantaged Youth. 

Lisa Hamilton is president of the UPS Foundation, managing 

volunteer programs, grants, education initiatives and other philanthropic partnerships. She has joined UPS as a tax research and 

planning manager in 2006 and has also worked as a program man-
9

ager for the foundation. Ms. Hamilton serves on a number of 

boards including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Boston College 

Center on Corporate Citizenship, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce 

Business and Civic Leadership Center and the Atlanta Education 

Fund. 

And Mr. Castle is recognized. 

Mr. CASTLE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

While not a speaker here, I would like to introduce somebody, a 

young lady from Wilmington, Delaware, Amy Liu, who is at our 

hearing. She is a Prudential Spirit Community Volunteer of the 

Year winner of 2009 for Delaware. She is serving the nation in 

many ways, which is the focus of today’s hearing. And at the age 

of 17, she is very familiar with that kind of service. 

In May of 2008, she established a Szechwan earthquake relief 

fund that successfully raised more than $43,000 to aid victims of 

the disaster in South Central China. It is truly an honor that this 

accomplished young woman and her father were able to join us for 

today’s hearing. 

Nearly 20,000 young people across the country were considered 

for this award, and she is the winner. We are delighted to have 

Amy here. The other winner from Delaware, Madison Dodge, was 

invited today but was unable to attend, unfortunately. But Amy 

Liu represents all that is good about the young people of America. 

Chairman MILLER. Where is Amy? 

Mr. CASTLE. Thank you, Amy, for being here. [Applause.] 

Chairman MILLER. Thank you. Amy, thank you so much for your 

service. 

I would also like to recognize, before we turn to Richard the 

chairman of the board for the Corporation for National and Community Service, Alan Solomont. 

Alan? Alan, please stand. [Applause.] 

And the acting CEO, Nicky Goren. Nicky, where are you? [Applause.] 

Thank you. 

Richard, we are going to turn to you. When you begin to speak, 

a green light will go on. You will be given 5 minutes. Your written 

statement, which I know is much longer, will be placed in the 

record of the hearing in its entirety. And you proceed in a manner 

in which you are most comfortable. At about 4 minutes, an orange 

light will go on, and we would like you to think about wrapping 

up your thoughts. But we want you to do it in the manner that is 

comfortable to you and coherent to us. And then eventually you 

will see a red light—you are out. 

Welcome to the committee, and thank you again for taking your 

time to be with us. 

STATEMENT OF RICHARD STENGEL, MANAGING EDITOR, TIME 

MAGAZINE 

Mr. STENGEL. Actually, my contribution to national service will 

be keeping my statement very short. 

I want to thank you Chairman Miller and Ranking Member 

McKeon for convening this important and timely hearing. It is particularly timely, as we saw last night President Obama kick-started 

the national service movement, something that he has been dedi-
10

cated to since he was a candidate. And I am delighted to be here 

and honored to be here as well. Thank you for convening this important hearing. 

I was tasked with giving a kind of overview and history of national service, so I went back to the very, very beginning. And that 

was 1787, the very hot summer in Philadelphia when the framers 

were convening, writing the Constitution. And when they emerged 

after about 3 months, Benjamin Franklin stepped outside the hall, 

and a woman came up to him and said, ‘‘Dr. Franklin, what hath 

thee wrought?’’ And he said, ‘‘A republic, madam, if you can keep 

it.’’

And it is a famous statement, and what he meant was is that 

the framers were not actually very optimistic about keeping a republic, keeping it going. And what they meant was that it wasn’t 

a machine that would go of itself, and a republic depended on civic 

participation, the participation of people in a democracy. That for 

a republic to work and a democracy to work, everybody had to participate. So national service is in our DNA as a republic. 

By the way, let the record show that my neighbor, Harris 

Wofford, was not at the Constitutional Convention. [Laughter.] 

However, he is a true founder of the national service movement. 

And you are one of the great men in this movement, and I look 

forward to hearing from you in a moment. 

Now, many, many years later now, the two central acts of democratic citizenship in our country these days are voting and paying 

taxes. And that is not something that the founders think would 

really be enough to keep a republic going. 

One of the paradoxes right now that we are seeing is that there 

are a lot of people who feel a lack of confidence and a lack of belief 

in our institutions, in government and Congress and what have 

you. Yet, at the same time, volunteerism is at an all-time high. 

And it is not really a contradiction, as I see it, because people 

feel like the private space can be a remedy for what they see as 

the flaws in the public space. And what our challenge is in the 

service movement—yours and ours—is to try to unite private purpose with public service. And I think the moment now is great for 

that. 

In fact, we are at a unique moment in our history to help try to 

mobilize Americans to do this. We are fighting two wars overseas. 

We are in an unparalleled economic recession. The idea, though, for 

service is that service can actually help those areas of the economy 

where we are most challenged—that is education, public health, infrastructure. And through national service we can actually be a 

kind of almost a silver bullet to solve some of these problems, the 

persistent public problems in public health and education that 

haven’t been remedied by legislation and could actually be remedied by service. 

Service, by the way, is not Republican; it is not Democratic. It 

is beyond party. It is something that both parties can unite behind, 

that all Americans can unite behind. And at such a difficult time 

in the economy, what we all have to show, what is incumbent upon 

all of us, is to show that the return on investment is very high. 

And I hope to do that. 
11

So if we look at the landscape right now, there are 61 million 

Americans who volunteered in their communities in 2007. That is 

a million more than in 2002. And they contributed more than 8 billion hours of service that was worth more than $158 billion to 

America’s communities. 

About one-quarter of Americans over the age of 16 volunteered, 

about one-third of them, which is the largest cohort, in faith-based 

institutions. And I am not even mentioning the military service, 

which in some ways is the noblest service and the oldest service 

in American history. 

Talking about AmeriCorps, there are 75,000 Americans now who 

are volunteering through AmeriCorps. But 540,000 Americans have 

volunteered through AmeriCorps since it started in 1994. And if 

you do a cost-benefit analysis of AmeriCorps programs, one of the 

conclusions is that for every dollar in investment, that results in 

$1.50-$3.90 in direct, measurable benefits to community. I call that 

a good return on investment. 

I think we are also at an inflection point in America now when 

it comes to service. A lot of people have talked about what happened after 9/11, and I think people on both sides of the aisle have 

agreed that there was a spirit in America where people felt like 

they needed to be called on to make sacrifices. And we didn’t—we 

sort of missed that moment in some ways. 

I think we are at another moment now with a new president, 

with people being involved in the political process in a way that we 

haven’t seen almost in our lifetime, that we could actually call on 

people to serve. And I think the economy only makes that more imperative that we do that. 

In September of 2007, I wrote a cover story in Time called ‘‘The 

Case for National Service.’’ By the way, when you are the editor 

of the magazine, you can publish your own cover story. [Laughter.] 

That is one advantage. But the idea was that we wanted to, as 

an institution, endorse this idea of national service, that I believe 

in it passionately myself. But I also believe that people in the 

media, which by the way I believe is another form of public service, 

can actually get behind these ideas that benefit the country as a 

whole. 

So I wrote that cover story. There were a bunch of ideas in there 

that have actually been picked up in the Hatch-Kennedy bill that 

was mentioned this morning—things like increasing the size of 

AmeriCorps, the creation of an Education Corps, a Green Corps, a 

Health Corps, and even a National Service Academy, and even the 

idea of making a cabinet-level appointment for national service the 

way, actually, some states have done. Governor Schwarzenegger 

has done that in California. You know, the passage of that bill, 

which I know many of you endorse, is something that would be 

very important to the national service movement. 

At Time, we have continued to talk about national service. And 

we sponsored, as you mentioned, along with a great organization, 

Service Nation, a national service summit last year where thencandidate Obama and Senator John McCain convened for a kind of 

a truce to talk about national service. And it was a symbol of the 

fact that it is, again, beyond party. 
12

We are again going to do a national service issue this year and 

convene a summit. And I would hope to have ideas and suggestions 

from all of you about how to do that. I think here is an example 

of the way media and government can collaborate on something 

that is in all of our interests as citizens. 

And I just again want to say that I think we are at a critical moment for national service. And it can help us solve many of the 

most acute problems that are facing us now as a people. Service 

I don’t believe is a luxury. It can help us rebuild as a nation, restore confidence, and prepare for the future. 

It was Benjamin Franklin who famously said that Americans can 

do well by doing good. And I think that has never been truer now 

when it comes to national service. 

Thank you very much. 

[The statement of Mr. Stengel follows:]

Prepared Statement of Richard Stengel, Managing Editor, TIME Magazine 

After more than three months of secret negotiations during the sweltering summer of 1787, the founding fathers emerged from Independence Hall with a Constitution. As Benjamin Franklin stepped outside, a society woman accosted him and said, 

‘‘Well, Doctor, what have we got?’’ Franklin replied, ‘‘A republic, madam, if you can 

keep it.’’

A republic, if you can keep it. The Framers were not all that optimistic about the 

future of the republic. They understood that it was not a machine that would go 

of itself. What they knew was that for it to work, people had to be involved; they 

had to be active participants in a representative democracy. Otherwise, the republic 

would not keep. 

A half-century later, the great French social scientist Alexis de Tocqueville published his book Democracy in America about his year in the United States. He famously wrote that ‘‘Americans of all ages, all conditions, all minds constantly unite.’’ 

He saw thousands of associations of ordinary people coming together to build hospitals and churches and schools. ‘‘Everywhere,’’ he wrote, that there is ‘‘a new undertaking, you see the government in France and a great lord in England, count on 

it that you will perceive an association in the United States.’’ America was something new under the sun. In the Old World, there was no such thing as volunteering—everything was done by the monarchy, the aristocracy or the state. America basically invented democratic volunteerism and national service. Service is in 

our DNA as a nation and as a people. 

These days, the two central acts of democratic citizenship are voting and paying 

taxes. But from the standpoint of the Founders and Mr. de Tocqueville, that is far 

from enough. For a while now, we have seen confidence in our institutions at alltime lows, but volunteerism and civic participation at modern highs. This would 

seem to be a contradiction, but it is not. People, especially young people, feel that 

the public sphere may be broken but that they can personally make a difference 

through community service. The challenge is to try to unite private and public purpose. 

Today, we are at a unique moment in our history when we have an opportunity 

to mobilize Americans to help address critical issues facing our republic. We are 

fighting two wars overseas, and we are in the midst of an unparalleled economic 

recession. The parts of our economy that have the greatest need are the sectors that 

benefit most from service: education, public health and infrastructure. One way to 

keep the republic at such a difficult time is through universal national service—civilian and military. Whether that means addressing the high school dropout crisis 

or solving persistent public-health problems, national service is a kind of silver bullet that will help address our most intractable problems. It is neither Republican 

nor Democratic—it is beyond partisanship. And it is critical to show that when it 

comes to national service, the return on investment is high and measurable. 

Let’s look at the landscape now. Nearly 61 million Americans volunteered in their 

communities in 2007, giving more than 8 billion hours of service worth more than 

$158 billion to America’s communities. More than a quarter of Americans over the 

age of 16 volunteered in some way. There were one million more volunteers in 2007 

than in 2002. More than a third of volunteers served through religious organizations. 75,000 Americans are serving through AmeriCorps this year, and more than 
13

540,000 have served in AmeriCorps programs since 1994. A cost-benefit analysis of 

AmeriCorps programs has concluded that every $1 in investment results in $1.50 

to $3.90 of direct measurable benefits to the community: children tutored, playgrounds built, homeless people fed. AmeriCorp volunteers mentored more than 

210,000 children and youth last year. 

It seems that America is at an inflection point when it comes to service. At this 

very moment, Americans are stepping forward in record numbers to serve. Applications for many national-service programs are three times what they were last year. 

Whether this is because of the economic downturn or record levels of voter involvement during the election cycle, we don’t know. Probably both. After 9/11, there was 

a desire to serve and sacrifice that was never really fulfilled. Last year, there was 

a national feeling that involvement in politics and government was a way to make 

a difference. Whether it is the turn in the economy or how people have been turned 

on by politics, we should grab the opportunity to get even more people involved. 

In September of 2007, I wrote a cover story for TIME called ‘‘The Case for National Service.’’ In that story, we advocated a ten-point plan for universal national 

service that included a national-service baby bond, the creation of a Cabinet-level 

department of national service, the expansion of AmeriCorps, the creation of an 

Education Corps, a Green Corps and a Health Corps, and the creation of a National 

Service Academy. We hoped that someday the most common question young Americans would ask one another would be, ‘‘Where did you do your service?’’

The cover sparked an enormous amount of attention both nationally and in the 

service world. A number of the ideas in the cover story have been incorporated into 

the Serve America Act, a comprehensive service bill that has been introduced by 

Senators Kennedy and Hatch. There are many innovative ideas in that bill, and we 

believe that legislation is necessary to make it easier for nonprofits to run nationalservice programs. Congress should focus on competition, quality, transparency and 

accountability for those organizations. We’ve continued to talk about national service, and our efforts have included sponsoring, along with Service Nation, a nationalservice summit last year during the presidential campaign in which candidates 

Obama and McCain discussed service for 90 minutes on national television. Our 

issue last year, ‘‘21 Ways to Fix Up America,’’ had pieces from Colin Powell, Arnold 

Schwarzenegger, Miley Cyrus, John DiIulio, John McCain and Barack Obama. This 

is a subject I’m passionate about, and I’ve had great support from the business side 

of TIME. Time Inc. has been at the forefront of the corporate service movement, and 

Time Warner, our parent company, has a proud tradition of civic leadership. TIME, 

Time Inc. and Time Warner employees engage in civic work throughout America 

and the world. At TIME, we’re committed to continuing this call for service, and 

we’ll do another special issue this September. I believe the media can play an important role in stimulating civic engagement, and I welcome your ideas and suggestions 

on what we might feature this year. 

America is at a critical moment right now where national service can help us 

solve many of our most acute national problems. At a time like this, service is not 

a luxury but an effort that can help us rebuild, restore confidence and prepare for 

the future. It was Ben Franklin who first said that as Americans, we can do well 

by doing good—that has never been truer than it is right now. Thank you. 

Chairman MILLER. Thank you. 

Senator Wofford? 

STATEMENT OF HON. HARRIS WOFFORD, SPOKESPERSON, 

EXPERIENCE WAVE, FORMER U.S. SENATOR 

Mr. WOFFORD. Chairman Miller and Ranking Member McKeon, 

thank you for convening this first full committee hearing of the 

111th Congress by this pioneering committee and for your fine 

opening statements. And I appreciate the excellent work Representative McCarthy and Representative Platts did on national 

service in the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities. 

Now, my grandsons, hearing that I was going to be on a panel 

with Usher, came to life and said, ‘‘That is really cool.’’ [Laughter.] 

I am happy to be here with all these cool panelists. 
14

Rick, I am sorry I missed the Constitutional Convention in 1787. 

[Laughter.] 

But I think 2009 is going to be a very good year, thanks in part 

to your cover stories and the summit you helped convene. 

But at that summit, when both presidential candidates, Obama 

and McCain, supported a quantum leap in national service and became cosponsors of the Serve America Act that day introduced in 

the Senate by Senators Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch, the networks, following their habit of treating good news as no good news, 

announced that the two candidates had agreed on national service, 

so there was no news coming from the summit. 

Well, last night in his address to Congress, President Obama 

made news on a number of fronts, not the least on the front of citizen service. Now is the time to act boldly and wisely, he said. And 

he asked Congress to enact the Kennedy-Hatch bill. That bill is a 

companion and corollary of the GIVE Act, which we are most immediately considering today. I hope that this pace-setting hearing 

will in due course lead to the great good news of bipartisan enactment of comprehensive legislation that expands greatly the opportunities for all Americans to serve. 

Now, this week I just returned from India with a congressional 

delegation led by John Lewis and Spencer Baucus, joined by Martin Luther King III. We traced the trip made 50 years ago by Martin Luther King Jr., which I had helped arrange long ago. King was 

a man of service who said, ‘‘Everybody can be great—because anybody can serve.’’

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, those of us here 

in support of the GIVE Act are trying to practice what Dr. King 

prescribed. We hope that in the same spirit you will recommend 

legislation to encourage and enable anyone at any age to serve. 

Let me tell one other story of long ago. Soon after President Kennedy’s death, my wife and I, been living in Ethiopia where I was 

Peace Corps director and representative for Africa, were invited to 

Israel. We put at the top of our list a meeting with the great philosopher Martin Buber. In our conversation with him, I cited a passage from his book Paths in Utopia in which he said that though 

his dream of Israel and Palestine cooperation and Arab-Jewish 

brotherhood had been plowed under by events, a great idea will return when idea and fate meet once more in a creative hour. 

When I asked Buber if he saw signs of that hour coming soon, 

Clare guffawed and said that from what she saw it would be a long 

time coming. As we parted, Buber said to me that I was obviously 

a romantic, and he hoped I knew how lucky I was to be married 

to a realist. And to Clare he said, you are right that these creative 

hours when idea and fate meet come only rarely after long intervals, but they do come. And once one comes, I hope your realism 

will not make you miss it. 

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, the crisis in our 

economy and the world’s economy and the conditions in the world 

and the call to action by the President of the United States tell me 

that such a creative hour is at hand. This is a time when this committee can do its part to see that Congress and the country do not 

miss the opportunity. 
15

It won’t surprise you, Mr. Chairman, that I support all the key 

parts of the GIVE Act, including AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve 

America, and the Senior Corps. But today at nearly four score and 

three years of age, I am here particularly on behalf of the Experience Wave, a campaign supported by the Atlantic Philanthropies to 

advance state and federal policies to tap the reservoir of talent, 

time and skill of the boomer generation and encourage all older 

adults to be engaged in work for the common good in civic life and 

in service. 

Unfortunately, many people and pundits view the coming population of older Americans as a threat and a burden. Instead, we 

need to see them first of all as an asset of tremendous potential, 

a great force for the common good, and they need to see themselves 

in that light. 

The three programs of the Senior Corps of the Corporation for 

National and Community Service—Foster Grandparents, Senior 

Companions, and the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP)—

together tap the talents of more than a half million older Americans each year. All three programs have done great work for many 

years, which I saw first-hand as CEO of the corporation. Those programs provide good ways for seniors to contribute and make a real 

difference for the individuals involved and for nonprofits, faithbased and other community organizations throughout the United 

States. They should be expanded, as should the newer Experience 

Corps. 

To crack the atom of citizen service and release its full potential, 

we need to recognize that citizen service is ageless and that it can 

creatively connect the generations. 

The experience wave of older Americans is coming. In 2006, the 

first of the 77 million boomers turned 60. The wave has begun. The 

boomers represent the most active, healthy and educated retiring 

generation in history. For example, the new Experience Corps 

members are a diverse group. Ages range from 50-87, their income 

and education a wide range as well. Over half are African American, 39 percent white. 

In addition to delivering valuable help to others, those older 

adults in the Senior Corps and the Experience Corps can improve 

their own lives by service. Findings in two studies of Experience 

Corps members by Washington University and Johns Hopkins 

show a sustained increase in civic activity, in greater public support for public education, and a wider circle of friends and a better 

outlook on life. 

Chairman MILLER. Senator, I am going to ask if you can wrap 

it up. 

Mr. WOFFORD. So I will submit the rest of my——

Chairman MILLER. Thank you. 

Mr. WOFFORD [continuing]. Testimony of a page-and-a-half into 

the record. 

[The statement of Mr. Wofford follows:]

Prepared Statement of Hon. Harris Wofford, Former United States Senator 

Let me first thank Chairman Miller and Ranking Member McKeon for convening 

this hearing on national service and volunteerism. It is important and timely for 

every American and is an issue that defies partisan boundaries. Citizen service be-
16

longs to no party, no ideology. It is above all an American idea in which Americans 

can find common ground. 

Today, I speak on behalf of the Experience Wave, supported by The Atlantic Philanthropies. Experience Wave is a campaign to advance state and federal policies 

that tap the reservoir of time, talent, skills and abilities of the boomer generation 

and enable older adults to stay engaged in work, civic life, and service. 

In President Obama’s words, we find one of the compelling reasons to embrace 

citizen service: 

Through service, I found a community that embraced me; a church to belong to; 

citizenship that was meaningful; the direction I’d been seeking. Through service, I 

found that my own improbable story fit into a larger American story. (‘‘A Call to 

Serve,’’ Cornell College, Iowa, December 5, 2007) 

The call to service is one that I helped issue nearly half a century ago when I 

worked with President Kennedy and Sargent Shriver to create the Peace Corps, 

and, later with Sargent Shriver, on the Foster Grandparent Program. 

Today, the three programs of the Senior Corps—Foster Grandparents, Senior 

Companions, and the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), together tap 

the talents of one-half million older Americans in service to their communities and 

their neighbors. As all three programs have done so well for many years (which I 

saw first hand as CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service) Foster Grandparents work with at-risk children, Senior Companions provide a lifeline 

to homebound seniors, and the RSVP program engages hundreds of thousands of 

volunteers in an array of community service: in disaster relief, homeland security, 

environmental action, including help to other older Americans needing education 

against telemarketing fraud, in the prevention of falls, and for new involvement in 

a green economy. These programs provide good ways for seniors to contribute and 

make a real difference for individuals, nonprofits, and faith-based and other community organizations throughout the United States. They should be expanded. 

I just returned from India with a Congressional delegation led by John Lewis and 

Spencer Bachus. We retraced the trip made fifty years ago by Martin Luther King, 

Jr. He was a man of service who said, ‘‘Everybody can be great * * * because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have 

to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. 

A soul generated by love.’’

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, at nearly four score and three years, 

I am still trying to practice what Dr. King prescribed. In that spirit I am here to 

support legislation that will encourage anyone at any age to serve. The GIVE Act 

and other legislation you are considering does that. 

Creating service opportunities for fellow Americans is one of the most important 

needs of the nation. I have been lucky to be a part of many efforts to do this—in 

the 1980s as the initiator of Pennsylvania Governor Bob Casey’s Office of Citizen 

Service and in the l990s as CEO of the Corporation for National and Community 

Service, and now in this new decade as a spokesperson for the Experience Wave. 

Unfortunately, many view the coming population of older Americans as a burden. 

Instead, we need to see them first of all as an asset of tremendous potential, a great 

force for the common good. And they need to see themselves in that light. 

To crack the atom of citizen service and release its full potential, we will all need 

to recognize that citizen service is ageless, that it spans the generations and connects the generations. 

The experience wave is coming. In 2006, the first of the 77 million ‘‘boomers’’ 

(Americans born between 1946 and 1964) turned 60 and the wave began. By comparison, there were 48 million people born from 1963-1978, the so-called ‘‘Generation X.’’

As the boomer generation begins to retire and leave vacancies, employers in all 

sectors will be pressed to replace them with younger workers who may lack the 

skills and experience the older workers brought to the workplace. This knowledge 

and experience gap will hit some industries and sectors particularly hard. 

The boomers represent the most active, healthy, and educated retiring generation 

in the history of the United States. This presents a great opportunity for businesses, 

communities, and non-profit organizations to engage mature and older workers in 

continued employment or charitable service. We can’t afford to miss this opportunity. 

The boomer generation wants to give back to society, to be useful. Many know 

they want to try their hands at second careers, whether in part-time or full-time 

work, or in volunteer service. As the idea of encore careers spreads, many more will 

want to undertake them. 

For this to happen we will need to create programs to retrain or expand the skills 

of boomers so they can take on new or expanded responsibilities. Charitable work 
17

will often need to be restructured. With the right preparation, this generation can 

mentor or tutor young people, prepare tax returns, give advice on health, and perform a variety of high-skill services. 

With labor shortages in health care, engineering, education, government, and 

other sectors, it is in our national interest to usher the generation that invented 

computers and modern medicine into an another phase of life that may include flexible paid work as well as charitable service or pro bono work. 

In addition to delivering high quality, crucial service, older adults can improve 

their own lives. Two recent studies by Washington University and Johns Hopkins 

University find that service in the Experience Corps program, in which people over 

55 now tutor and mentor disadvantaged elementary school students in 23 cities, 

provides a sustained boost in health and well-being for the tutors themselves. 

Experience Corps members are a diverse group. The average age is 65, but the 

ages range from 50 to 87. Their income and education covers a wide range as well. 

Over half the members are African American and 39% are white. Findings in the 

two studies showed a sustained increase in levels of activity, greater engagement 

in social and community events, greater support for public education, a wider circle 

of friends and a better outlook on life. 

Research also indicates that adults who are active and engaged are healthier 

longer and less reliant on federal programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. So service can be a preventive medicine to help preserve our budgets. And there are all 

these benefits for those who serve, while kids’ reading scores improve, the homebound receive assistance, the forgotten are remembered, and a multitude of others 

are helped. 

A critical factor to recognize is that many, if not most, boomers will need to work 

for pay or some other income support because their retirement savings or income 

is insufficient. A recent AARP survey of 1,200 boomers found that more than 80 percent expect to work at least part-time in their retirement years. 

Unfortunately, many barriers discourage people from continuing to work. Some 

employer pension plans require retirement by a certain age and many workplaces 

do not offer flexible schedules that many older workers seek. 

This committee can address these challenges, sustain the good works of current 

programs and expand other opportunities for boomers to meet the evolving needs 

of our communities, boomers, and other older Americans. 

So I offer my warm support to last year’s GIVE Act. The Act promotes programs 

to encourage boomers and older adults to volunteer with a range of opportunities 

including: 

• Next Chapter Grants to fund organizations such as community colleges and 

other nonprofits to serve as one-stop resources for finding paid or volunteer jobs that 

provide service to the community; 

• Time Banking which would create local service exchanges where both parties 

are compensated with reciprocal amounts of volunteer service and no money 

changes hands; 

• Requirements that states develop comprehensive plans to tap the resources of 

boomers and older adults for volunteer and paid work; 

• Bilingual Volunteer Recruitment to enhance outreach for senior volunteer programs so that bilingual volunteers are recruited; and 

• The creation of additional programs to help ensure that low-income Americans, 

including older adults, have opportunities to serve, including Silver Scholarships. 

In addition, your colleagues in the Senate have addressed the issue with program 

expansions and innovations which should be supported by both chambers of Congress and by both sides of the aisle: 

• Senators Kennedy and Hatch have introduced the comprehensive Serve America Act which includes the Senior Corps; and new Encore programs; and 

• Senator Dodd and Congresswoman DeLauro have written the Encore Service 

Act which includes the Silver Scholars program—highlighted by Congressman 

Sestak—an initiative that encourages older adults to continue lifelong learning and 

apply it to new careers and goals. 

The potential for drawing millions of boomers into serving local communities is 

one of the promising elements in national service legislation. We know that 10,000 

boomers turn 60 every day. Some of them have already retired, some are facing involuntary retirement due to the economic downturn, and some will continue to work 

full-time for many years. National service should offer all of them an attractive 

menu of opportunities to do what most of them already say they want to do—help 

others. They should be able to serve for one or many years, there should be parttime and full time opportunities; education awards should be available for transfer 

to a grandchild or a child they have tutored or mentored. It is important for the 
18

outreach, recruitment and program design for this population to be tailored to what 

is known about Boomers. 

Mr. Chairman, I ask that the following documents be placed in the record: a letter 

to the Obama transition team from some of our nation’s service leaders, a letter 

from the Age for Change coalition supporting service legislation, and an op ed that 

Representative Lewis and I wrote that was published on inauguration day. 

Mr. Chairman and committee members, I remind you of the good work you have 

done with the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Now all boomers are 

protected by it. Your committee can now help the boomers become or remain engaged in valuable employment and volunteer work by moving these national service 

bills forward this year. 

In difficult economic times, the power and value of volunteer service is greater. 

You have passed the Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help jump start the economy. In the next series of actions, we hope you will enact legislation, such as the 

GIVE Act, to provide an intergenerational investment—allowing more people to help 

their communities and their fellow Americans who are in need. 

But also please visit the Experience Wave website at www.experiencewave.org. 

You’ll see that there is a great deal of activity around stimulating service opportunities at the state level. Thank you for moving forward on the Federal front. 

Chairman MILLER. Thank you. 

Mr. WOFFORD. And do I have a chance to introduce——

Chairman MILLER. No. I will tell you why, because we are going 

to have a problem with a vote here in a few minutes. And I would 

like to get through——

Mr. WOFFORD. Thank you very much. They are——

Chairman MILLER [continuing]. Through the testimony. 

Mr. WOFFORD [continuing]. An outstanding group of——

Chairman MILLER. But thank you so much for your testimony. 

Mr. WOFFORD [continuing]. Of people here today. 

Chairman MILLER. And thank you again for all your service. 

Usher, we are going to take your testimony at this point. 

I will just say to the members, we are expecting votes in a little 

while. We are going to proceed as deep into that vote as we can 

with the testimony before we break. And then we have three votes: 

one 15-and then two 5-minute votes. So hopefully we will diminish 

the amount of interruption. 

Usher, welcome. 

STATEMENT OF USHER RAYMOND IV, RECORDING ARTIST, 

CHAIRMAN, USHER’S NEW LOOK FOUNDATION 

Mr. RAYMOND. I will try to be as quick as possible. 

Chairman MILLER. No, you say what you want to say. 

Those other two guys flunked the test already, so don’t worry 

about it. [Laughter.] 

Mr. RAYMOND. It was a testimony experience. 

Thank you, Chairman Miller, very much, and Chairwoman 

McCarthy, so much for this incredible opportunity to invite me to 

be a part of this testimony to the House Education and Labor Committee. 

I am truly honored to be here today to discuss issues that deeply 

are relevant to our nation, as evident from President Obama’s address last night. I take a personal hand in saying that this is a priority to me, to empower youth to become more active in their communities through community service. 

When I was a child, I attended the Boys and Girls Club of Chattanooga, Tennessee. This was my first real exposure to community 
19

service. It was empowering. It made me realize that I could truly 

make a difference, no matter what my age was. 

And the youth today is no different. When I stand onstage and 

see young fans, I am blown away by their energy. But I am also 

excited to get off the stage and see them serving in their communities, making a difference. They call this generation, my generation, the Millennians. Well, I call them ‘‘Generation S’’—a generation of service-minded youth leaders, ready to serve. And together 

we are ready to change the world. 

Ten years ago, I started my organization, the New Look Foundation, because I had not forgotten the early lessons about service. I 

didn’t just want to write a check but yet wanted to be hands on. 

As a young organization, I found many opportunities to positively 

impact the lives of others. Rather calling on youth to serve in the 

Gulf Coast or providing rent and utility assistance to over 750 families after Katrina and Rita, the one thing we recognized is that 

youth today have incredible potential, drive and determination. But 

they need an opportunity, and they need the tools to succeed. 

Our signature program through my foundation, Camp New Look, 

was created to provide youth in underserved communities with 

some of those tools and opportunities to do so. At Camp New Look, 

we have not only exposed 250,000 youth to the business side of the 

sports and entertainment industry but seek to mentor them in 

gaining careers in these multibillion dollar industries. We empower 

them to increase their economic status and careers in these industries that they love—music, sports and entertainment. We guide 

them to higher education, shadowing and internship opportunities. 

We show them options that they did not know exist. 

Along their path of career exploration, they will learn to work as 

a team, take risks as leaders, and to respond to their communities. 

James Harris used his skills learned at Camp New Look to enroll 

into college to become a leader and a future entrepreneur, as you 

can hear—and, as I have noticed, to become one of our next music 

industry moguls. All New Look did was give him the opportunity 

and the tools to succeed. And he did the rest. 

But there are so many more kids who need help, who need the 

tools and opportunities to succeed. For every young person we help, 

there are thousands more who are waiting to be reached. And that 

is why I felt compelled to be here today to offer my service to National Service. 

On September 11th—which I happened to be there—I was honored to be a part of the Service Nation committee. I was brought 

together hundreds of people who discussed how national service 

could address some of our nation’s most pressing issues. I led a 

workshop with a group of over 100 youth leaders across the country 

to discuss how we could encourage, engage, youth to become more 

active in their communities. I made a pledge to them that I would 

be their voice if I had the chance to, so I am here today. 

And I want to share a little bit of what we talked about in those 

meetings: 

1. The need to engage more youth in service, to empower them 

with the tools needed to lead. Any true change always comes because people come together and make their voices heard. Well, 

young people have always been amongst the ones to have the loud-
20

est and the first to speak. Generation S is taking that to a new 

level because of their creativity, drive and comfort in using technology to mobilize the masses. 

We should provide these resources to our schools, in my opinion, 

to offer service learning programs where young people can take 

their idealism and turn it into action while they are learning to do 

it. Generation S will find ways to share their experiences and feelings through technology, spreading the ideas across the country 

and around the world. 

2. We need to change the perspective of service within these underserved communities. Far too many young people live in places 

where it is hard, and the notion that service is that of a sentence 

being handed down from a judge should change. It should be something that is gratifying to be able to do. But we have to support 

innovative ideas that are outside of the box. 

To address some of these critical issues in our underserved communities like the dropout crisis and poverty, our youth begin to 

serve and be positive role models in the communities and help influence their peers to start thinking and living life in a different 

way, to make better choices and to stay in school, to feel more connected and work together through education. 

Service is an incredible thing, and it should be something that 

is not only just the right thing to do but the cool thing to do. Don’t 

you guys agree? 

Last, but not least, other organizations like City Year, Service 

America, America Corps and Hands On—I recognize these individuals because they have been a part of developing youth groups to 

succeed in life. And as I have shared with you, I have seen it first 

hand. 

As I continue to do so with my organization, I advise that other 

organizations do the same, to open opportunities to those kids, 

those people, those youth to unleash that energy and to help make 

our communities stronger. We can direct their passion for service 

and reward and support them by providing them with aid in college, grants, service hours completion stipend, and encouraging corporations and colleges to meet match funds for the received service. 

I can’t think of a greater contribution to our communities than 

time—our time—and not a greater reward for that time than a returned investment in our future. 

I will close with this: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, ‘‘the time 

is always right do to what is right.’’ Dr. Martin Luther King, I pass 

this back to you: Generation S is ready to do the right thing. And 

the right time is now. 

Today on behalf of Generation S, a generation of service-minded 

youth leaders, I am here. And all we need is a chance and an opportunity, and we will serve. 

[The statement of Mr. Raymond follows:]

Prepared Statement of Usher Raymond IV, Recording Artist, Chairman, 

Usher’s New Look Foundation 

Thank you Chairman Miller and Chairman McCarthy for inviting me to testify 

before the House Education and Labor Committee. I am honored to be here today 

to discuss an issue that is deeply relevant to our nation and personally important 

to me: empowering young people to give back to their communities through service 

opportunities. 
21

When I was a child, I attended the Boys and Girls Club in my home town of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was my first real exposure to community service. It was empowering, and it made me realize that I could really make a difference, no matter 

what my age. Youth today are no different. When I stand on the stage and see my 

young fans, I am always blown away by their energy—but I am even more blown 

away when I come off the stage and see them in action in their community. They 

call this generation—my generation—the Millennials, but I call us Generation ‘S’, 

for service—because we are a generation ready to serve. Together, we are ready to 

change the world. 

Ten years ago, I started my organization, the New Look Foundation, because I 

had not forgotten my early lessons about service. I didn’t just want to write checks. 

I wanted to be hands on. As with any young organization, we found many opportunities to positively impact the lives of others. Whether calling on youth to serve in 

the Gulf Coast or providing rent and utility assistance to over 750 families after 

Hurricane Katrina, we recognized young people today have incredible potential, 

drive and determination. But they need opportunities, and they need tools to succeed. 

Our signature program through the Foundation, Camp New Look, was created to 

provide youth from under-served communities with some of those tools and opportunities they need. At Camp New Look, we have not only exposed over 2,500 youth 

to the business side of sports and entertainment but we seek to mentor them on 

how to gain careers in these multibillion dollar industries. We empower them to increase their economic status by pursuing careers in the industries that they love—

music, sports and entertainment. We guide them to higher education, shadowing 

and internship opportunities-we show them options they didn’t know existed. Along 

their path of career exploration, they learn to work as a team, take risks as leaders, 

and be responsible for their communities. 

James Harris used the skills he learned through his involvement at Camp New 

Look and enrolled in college, became a leader in his hometown of Kansas City, and 

is well on his way to being the next music industry mogul. All New Look did was 

give him the opportunity and the tools. He did the rest. 

But there are so many more kids who need help—who need the tools and opportunities to succeed. For every young person we help, there are thousands more who 

are waiting to be reached. That’s why I felt compelled to come today and offer my 

support for National Service. 

On September 11, 2008 I was honored to serve as youth chair of the 

ServiceNation Summit, which brought together hundreds of people to discuss how 

national service can help to address some of our nation’s most pressing problems. 

I led a workshop with a group of 100 other young leaders from across the country 

to discuss how we encourage and engage other young people in service. I made a 

pledge to them that I would be their voice whenever I had the chance to do so. 

There were many suggestions and ideas that came from our time together, and 

I’d like to share a few of them: 

1. We need to engage more youth in service, and we can do this by empowering 

them with the tools they need to lead. Any true change has always come about because people have come together to make their voices heard, and young people have 

always been among the first to lift their voices. Generation S is taking that to new 

levels, because of their creativity, drive and comfort by using technology to mobilize 

the masses. We should provide the resources to our schools to offer service learning 

programs where young people can put their idealism into action and learn while 

they are doing it. Generation S will find ways to share what they are experiencing 

and feeling through technology, spreading the idea across the country and around 

the world. 

2. We need to change the perception of service within our under-served communities. Far too many young people are living in places where life is hard, the notion 

of service is still that of a ‘‘sentence’’ handed down by a judge. But we can make 

it cool to serve by supporting initiatives that think outside the box. There are critical issues in our under-served communities that we must begin to solve—issues like 

the drop-out crisis and poverty. Youth can begin to serve as positive role models, 

and help influence their peers to start thinking about living life in a different way, 

to make better choices—to stay in school, feel more connected, work towards their 

education. Service is an incredible thing, and should be seen as not only the right 

thing to do, but a cool thing to do. 

3. Best in class organization like City Year and Hands On, demonstrate that National service should be a pathway for young people to develop as leaders while they 

gain the skills they need to succeed in life. As I have shared with you, I have seen 

what is possible when young people are empowered with the right tools for success. 

We need to continue to open the doors of opportunity for these young people to un-
22

leash their energy and help make our communities stronger. We can direct their 

passion into service—and reward and support their dreams by providing them with 

aid for college, grants, service-hour completion stipends, and encouraging corporations and colleges to match funds they receive for hours served. I can think of no 

greater contribution to your community than your time, and no greater reward for 

that time than a returned investment in your future. 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., said ‘the time is always right do to what is right.’ 

Like Dr. King, this Generation ‘S’ is ready to do what is right, and is ready to lead 

the way. So today on behalf of Generation S, I am here to say * * * if you give 

us a chance and the opportunity, we will serve! 

Thank you for your time. 

Chairman MILLER. Thank you very much for your testimony. 

Mr. Harris—James? 

STATEMENT OF JAMES HARRIS, YOUTH PARTICIPANT, 

USHER’S NEW LOOK FOUNDATION 

Mr. HARRIS. Hi. 

Hi. How y’all doing? I would like to thank you chairman, Mr. 

Miller, and chairwoman, Mrs. McCarthy, for allowing me to have 

the opportunity to tell a little about myself and tell a little about 

my story. 

Well, 3 years ago when I was recommended and selected to attend Camp New Look, I would have never thought I would be here, 

sitting next to Usher, speaking to distinguished members of the 

Education and Labor Committee. 

Before Camp New Look, I was involved in some things that were 

not positive at all. Growing up in my neighborhood, I took a lot of 

negative things to be that of the norm. But at Camp New Look, 

they taught me that these things were not the norm and that I 

could do better. 

Back at J.C. Harmon High School, my goal was to never go to 

college, never to get a degree—it was just to making it into the 

music world as a rapper. 

In 2007 at Camp New Look, I learned how to make a business 

plan from start to finish. I was also awarded the Star Camper 

Award for that year. And this is where I got my first service learning experience, at the Atlanta Community Food Bank sorting 

through 40,000 pounds of food. To know that I helped reach so 

many people at one time was an unbelievable feeling. And I also 

come to realize that no matter how little I thought I had, there was 

people out there that had much less than me. But I had the power 

to help them. 

Working with Usher, who I have come to believe is the true definition of service leadership, he leads by example. He works with 

us side by side, working just as hard as we do. He always tells autograph seekers, now is the time to work—it will be time for that 

later on. But we gotta get to work right now! 

Me, now, I am currently enrolled in Johnson County Community 

College, going for business management with a concentration on 

entrepreneurship. Though I still aspire to be a successful musician, 

my dreams have changed dramatically since camp. 

Camp New Look opened up new doors for me which led my 

thinking to become more business-oriented. They taught us in 

order to be a strong artist you must know the business aspects of 

the industry. For example, me being a rapper, if I had a degree in 
23

accounting, I can manage my own books, and I have a second career to fall back upon. We call that a double threat. [Laughter.] 

Camp New Look inspired me to go to school. I credit Usher and 

my mentors for this. They got my gears going in reverse. They 

made me think differently. And they are also still playing a role 

by paying for my school and my books. 

In September 2008, I was also there in New York at the Service 

Nation service summit representing one of the 101 young leaders 

across the nation. There were leaders from every sector of the 

American society there, even then like Senator McCain and then 

Senator Barack Obama. That New York trip, being around so much 

positivity and so much young people who actually just wanted to 

do something in their communities and do something worldwide led 

me to go home, Kansas City, Kansas, and take initiative on my 

own. 

And through New Look funding, I actually got to host my own 

service project. And this taught me a lot about leadership and organization. 

Camp New Look, they made me think past my circumstances 

and past my environment. They taught me not to let my situation 

or other people’s labels hold me back from my dreams. Now I overlook obstacles, and I use them to my advantage. 

When my peers see me back at home, they see hope. I am a 

walking testimony that anyone, like myself, can achieve their 

dreams. All it takes is hard work, and hard work does pay off. If 

I made it—if I made it, I know anyone can make it. 

I would like to thank you for your time and your consideration. 

[The statement of Mr. Harris follows:]

Prepared Statement of James Harris, Youth Participant, Usher’s New Look 

Foundation 

Three years ago when I was recommended and selected to Camp New Look, I 

never would have thought I’d be sitting here, next to Usher, speaking to distinguished members of the Education and Labor Committee! 

Before camp, I was involved in some things that were not positive at all. Growing 

up in my neighborhood, I took a lot of negative things as just being the norm. But 

at camp, they showed me that this was not the norm and that I could do better.’’

As a student at J.C. Harmon High School in Kansas City, I didn’t always plan 

to go to college. My primary goal wasn’t getting a degree—it was making it in the 

music world as a rapper. 

In 2007, I was selected to attend Usher’s Camp New Look, where I learned to develop a business plan from start to finish and also earned the coveted Star Camper 

Award. That summer at camp I gained my first service experience working at the 

Atlanta Community Food Bank to sort 40,000 pounds of food. To know that I helped 

reach so many people who were in need was an unbelievable feeling. It taught me 

that no matter what I didn’t have in my life there was someone out there who had 

less and I had the power to help. 

Working with Usher who I believe is the true definition of Service leadership, he 

leads by example. Every time we participate in a service project he’s there leading 

the way working just as hard as we are. He always tells autograph seekers, there’ll 

be time for that later, now its time to work! 

Today I’m majoring in business administration and entrepreneurship at Johnson 

Community College. Though I still aspire to be a successful musician, my dreams 

have changed dramatically since attending camp. 

Camp New Look opened new doors for me and allowed me to become more business-oriented. At camp, they taught us that there is more to the music business 

than being an entertainer and in order to be a strong artist, you need to know the 

business side of the industry. A rapper with an accounting degree can manage his 

own books and has a second career to fall back on; we call it being a double threat. 
24

I credit my mentors at Camp New Look for inspiring me to earn a college degree. 

They got my gears going in reverse and I started thinking differently. They believed 

in me when I didn’t believe in myself 

Even today, Usher’s New Look continues to play a role by paying for my books 

and tuition. 

In September 2008, I was one of 101 young leaders across the nation to participate in the historic ServiceNation Summit in New York City, attended by leaders 

from every sector of American society including Senator John McCain and then Senator Barack Obama. It was here that I became inspired to take my own community 

service to another level and be part of a positive change at home. I returned to Kansas City and with funding from New Look to host my own community service 

project, which has taught me a lot about organization and leadership. 

Camp New Look pushed me to think past my environment and my circumstances. 

I learned not to let my situation or other people’s labels hold me back from my 

dreams. Now I can overlook certain obstacles and use them to my advantage. 

When my peers see me, it is a strong testimonial that anyone can achieve their 

dreams and if I made it, anyone can make it. 

Thank you for your time and consideration! 

Chairman MILLER. Thank you very much. Thank you. [Applause.] 

That is great. That is wonderful. 

STATEMENT OF DR. CHERYL DORSEY, PRESIDENT, ECHOING 

GREEN 

Dr. DORSEY. Thank you, Chairman Miller, Ranking Member 

McKeon and members of the committee for having me here today. 

And thank you, Mr. Harris, for that incredibly inspiring testimony. Thank you for sharing it with us. 

It is a tremendous honor to be with you all today to testify about 

the power of people and ideas through service and innovation to 

tackle our communities’ toughest social problems and transform 

lives. 

Some background may provide some helpful context for my testimony today. Twenty years ago, I enrolled at Harvard Medical 

School. I was to be the first physician in my family. Yet two blocks 

away from perhaps the world’s best medical school, black babies 

were dying at three times the rate of white babies. The Boston 

Globe called this ‘‘Birth in the Death Zones.’’ I was just a student, 

but I was also a local resident outraged by this inequity. 

Along with Dr. Nancy Oriol, I co-founded The Family Van, a mobile health unit providing basic medical services, referrals, and 

health education to disadvantaged families in inner-city Boston. 

Today, The Family Van annually serves about 7,000 clients. 

My story is not unique in that there are thousands of citizens 

who see problems in their communities every day and develop new, 

innovative solutions to tackle them. What is unique, however, is 

that I had access to a pool of seed capital, start up funds, from an 

organization called Echoing Green that allowed me to launch my 

community organization. Echoing Green is now the organization 

that I run. 

The mission of Echoing Green is to provide start-up funding and 

support to some of the world’s best emerging social entrepreneurs. 

Social entrepreneurs are individuals who identify and take responsibility for an innovative and untested idea for positive change and 

then usher that idea from concept to reality. Just as entrepreneurs 

in the private sector are innovative and relentless in their pursuit 
25

of success, so too are social entrepreneurs as innovative and as relentless but in pursuit of social impact. 

Social entrepreneurship, or social innovation, is essentially applying the principles of innovation that have served this country so 

well in the private sector to the social sector. It is all about addressing pressing social challenges. And even though we don’t 

think of it in this way often, principles of innovation, entrepreneurship, accountability, results, and competition can exist in the social 

sector, just as they do in the private sector. 

Let me talk a bit about Echoing Green’s track record. Since 1987, 

our fund has made small investments totaling about $30 million in 

the ideas of close to 500 social entrepreneurs, including myself, 

Van Jones next to me, and Ms. Marta Urquilla behind me. These 

social entrepreneurs are working all over this country and all over 

the world and serving millions of people tackling issues as disparate as poverty, human rights abuses, educational inequities and 

health care disparities. Just a few examples: Echoing Green helped 

launch national service leaders like Teach For America, City Year, 

Public Allies, Jump Start, and BELL. 

Echoing Green has also helped seed new community models like 

Working Today, which provides affordable, portable health benefits 

to 100,000 members across the country; the SEED School, right 

across the river, the nation’s first urban boarding public school; 

and Credit Where Credit is Due, the first credit union in Washington Heights, New York; and finally, social enterprises like the 

Bay Area’s Hallmark Community Solutions, a nonprofit housing 

developer that creates new opportunities for people with developmental disabilities. 

So I actually want to make clear for a moment that I am actually 

not an accidental participant in this panel. Social entrepreneurship 

and national service have been important partners in the work of 

social change. 

First off, national service is often a critical source of human capital for social entrepreneurs. Because social innovation demands 

high levels of efficiency and maximization of outcomes, leveraging 

the work of volunteers and part-time and full-time service members 

is absolutely critical. 

Second, AmeriCorps money has provided the second stage of 

growth capital for many of the organizations I have discussed, like 

Teach For America and Jump Start. Because AmeriCorps does not 

dictate a program model, it has allowed creative individuals to 

think of ways for full-time members and part-time volunteers to 

solve problems in new and creative ways that would not be possible 

under federal funding streams that dictate specific programmatic 

approaches. In this way, national service funding supports and fosters innovation in the social sector in ways that most other funding 

streams do not. 

Finally, as someone who runs a social venture fund and is committed to identifying, vetting, and supporting solution-oriented, 

metrics-based enterprises that unleash both social and economic 

value, I do look favorably upon the role that AmeriCorps dollars 

have played in spurring social innovation and filling gaps in the social capital marketplace. 
26

In addition, the President’s call for a Social Innovation Fund 

Network to catalyze public and private dollars for identifying and 

scaling solutions to social problems represents an important reorientation of government’s relationship toward the nonprofit sector 

and mirrors the important role that the government has played in 

facilitating innovation, competition, and economic growth in the 

private sector. 

I hope my perspective has been of some use, and I do appreciate 

the opportunity to be here today. Thank you so much. 

[The statement of Dr. Dorsey follows:]

Prepared Statement of Cheryl L. Dorsey, M.D., M.P.P., President, Echoing 

Green 

Thank you Chairman Miller, Ranking Member McKeon, and Members of the 

Committee for having me here today. It is a tremendous honor to be with you to 

testify about the power of people and ideas through service and innovation to tackle 

our communities’ toughest social problems and transform lives. 

Background 

Some background may provide helpful context for my testimony today. Twenty 

years ago, I enrolled at Harvard Medical School; I was to be the first physician in 

my family. Yet two blocks away from perhaps the world’s best medical school, black 

babies were dying at three times the rate of white babies. The Boston Globe called 

this ‘‘Birth in the Death Zones.’’ I was just a student. But I was also a local resident 

outraged by this inequity. Along with Dr. Nancy Oriol, I co-founded The Family 

Van, a mobile health unit providing basic medical services, referrals, and health 

education to disadvantaged families in inner-city Boston. Today, The Family Van 

serves about 7,000 clients each year. My story is not unique in that there are thousands of citizens who see problems in their communities every day and develop new, 

innovative solutions to tackle them. What is unique is that I had access to a pool 

of seed capital—start up funds—from an organization called Echoing Green that allowed me to launch The Family Van. It is the organization I now run. 

Echoing Green and social entrepreneurship 

The mission of Echoing Green is to provide start up funds and support to some 

of the world’s best social entrepreneurs. Social entrepreneurs are individuals who 

identify and take responsibility for an innovative and untested idea for positive social change, and then usher that idea from concept to reality. Just as entrepreneurs 

in the private sector are innovative and relentless in their pursuit of success, social 

entrepreneurs are innovative and relentless in their pursuit of social impact. 

Social entrepreneurship or social innovation is, essentially, applying the principles 

of innovation that have served this country so well in the private sector to the social 

sector—to the work being done to address the pressing social challenges we face. 

Even though we don’t often think of it in this way, the principles of innovation, entrepreneurship, accountability, results, and competition can exist in the social sector, just as they do in the private sector. Those of us who have toiled in the field 

of social entrepreneurship believe that social innovation is a key driver in identifying the most effective, highest-impact solutions to the difficult social challenges 

facing our nation. 

Echoing Green’s track record speaks to this. Since 1987, Echoing Green has made 

small investments totaling $27 million in the ideas of close to 500 social entrepreneurs working in over forty countries around the world and in 42 states across 

this country. These social entrepreneurial organizations are serving millions around 

the world tackling issues as disparate as educational inequity, poverty, human 

rights abuses, and health care disparities. Examples of organizations that Echoing 

Green helped launch include: 

• National service leaders like Teach For America, City Year, Public Allies, Jump 

Start, Citizen Schools and BELL; 

• New community models like Working Today which provides affordable, portable 

health benefits to 100,000 members nationwide; the SEED School, the nation’s first 

urban boarding public school and Credit Where Credit is Due, the first credit union 

in Washington Heights, New York; and 

• Social enterprises like the Bay Area’s Hallmark Community Solutions, a nonprofit housing developer that creates new opportunities for people with develop-
27

mental disabilities and SKS Microfinance, the fastest growing microcredit institution in India, serving 3 million poor women across the country. 

Social innovation and service 

I want to make clear that I am not an accidental participant in this panel! Social 

entrepreneurship and national service have been important partners in the work of 

social change. First, national service is often a critical source of human capital for 

social entrepreneurs. Because social innovation demands high levels of efficiency 

and maximization of outcomes, leveraging the work of volunteers and part-time and 

full-time service members is critical. Second, AmeriCorps money has provided the 

second stage of growth capital for many organizations, like Teach For America and 

Jump Start. While foundations and seed capital organizations like Echoing Green 

often provide the start-up money social entrepreneurs need to implement their innovative ideas, AmeriCorps money is a critical resource to help take their idea to the 

next level, once they have demonstrated that it can work. Because AmeriCorps does 

not dictate a program model, it has allowed creative individuals to think of ways 

for full-time AmeriCorps members and part-time volunteers to solve problems in 

new ways that would not be possible under federal funding streams that dictate specific programmatic approaches to achieve a specific result. In this way, national 

service funding supports and fosters innovation in the social sector in ways most 

other funding streams do not. And third, the link between service and innovation 

is more like a ‘‘virtuous loop.’’ Those in engaged in service learn how to solve community problems and develop the kind of leadership skills that each, next generation needs to be action-oriented and solutions-focused. 

Government as catalytic partner 

As someone who runs a social venture fund and is committed to identifying, vetting and supporting solutions-oriented, metrics-based enterprises that unleash social 

and economic value, I look favorably upon the role AmeriCorps dollars have played 

in spurring social innovation and filling gaps in the social capital marketplace. In 

addition, the President’s call for a Social Innovation Fund Network to catalyze public and private dollars for identifying and scaling solutions to social problems represents an important reorientation of the government’s relationship toward the nonprofit sector and mirrors the important role that government has played in facilitating innovation, competition, and economic growth in the private sector. 

Closing 

I hope that my perspective is of some use to the Committee as you continue your 

most important work of bolstering America’s leadership in the realm of national 

service and volunteerism. 

Thank you for inviting me to testify today. 

Chairman MILLER. Thank you. 

Mr. Jones? Van, welcome to the committee. 

STATEMENT OF VAN JONES, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, 

GREEN FOR ALL 

Mr. JONES. Good to be here. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman Miller. I am honored to be here. I want to thank you for your 

leadership on the GIVE Act. 

Ranking Member Mr. McKeon, I want to thank you also for your 

words about the faith community as well as our people who are in 

the military service aspect of this conversation. 

I also want to honor the panel. I am proud to be an Echoing 

Green alum. Cheryl has done a great job of moving that whole organization forward. 

And I also want to say that, you know, you are trying to be a 

double threat. I do have a demo tape in my bag, brother. [Laughter.] 

And if—you obviously going somewhere. I would look for representation. How can I be down, you know? Very impressive, 
28

Usher, and very impressive, Mr. Harris. You are an example of 

what we are talking about. 

My comments are going to be directed to the question of how can 

green service—green service—be a springboard to green jobs which 

can help deliver on this clean energy revolution that President 

Obama was talking about last night? I think that is a critical opportunity that we have. 

One of the things I think is important for us to recognize is that 

we have everything we need in this country right now. We have genius in this country. We have programs that are working in this 

country. And we have a tremendous opportunity to put people to 

work in this country doing the work that most needs to be done. 

The question is, as we go about retrofitting this country, as we 

go about weatherizing this country, as we go about repowering 

America, how do all Americans get a chance to participate? We 

want this green wave to lift all boats. And, as it stands right now, 

it is not clear how a young man like a Mr. Harris would be able 

to become an entrepreneur in the clean energy sector. He could be 

an entrepreneur thanks to his existing experience in the music industry, but I don’t think he should stop there. 

He could be a mogul in any number of industries, including wind, 

including solar, including biofuels, including geothermal—the 

whole thing. And this country will be better when there is a clear 

pathway for people like him to help us solve the biggest problem 

we have ever faced. 

How can that happen? There is a three-step process available to 

us right now. 

We already have number one: existing service organizations that 

are reaching out to disadvantaged and disconnected young people 

and getting them plugged in to green opportunities. We have Youth 

Build; we have Youth Corps; we have our Conservation Corps. 

They are teaching young people, giving them the tools and the 

training and the technology that they need to build green houses, 

to work on watersheds, to retrofit buildings right now. 

But they are not funded at the appropriate level. I think we have 

an opportunity as we move the GIVE Act forward to look at every 

one of these programs and have a theory that says we are going 

to grab, we are going to grow it, and we are going to green it, to 

make sure that every one of these programs has the size and the 

orientation toward the green economy necessary to make it work. 

Grab it, grow it, and green it—we have numerous programs ready 

to go. 

But let us not stop there. One of the worst things that happens 

to our young people is they do have a good opportunity, they do 

have a good experience—for a summer, or for a year. And then that 

experience comes to an end. And then they are faced with those 

same streets or with those same failing rural communities and no 

opportunities. 

So we need to have a second step that directly connects our green 

service to job training. Just as this young man went directly from 

this program to community college, that can be done too in the 

green sector. Let us make sure that the graduates of these green 

service programs—the Green Corps and other things that are being 

proposed—can go directly to community colleges, to vocational col-
29

leges, to apprenticeship programs, so they can become the green 

collar workers, putting up those solar panels, weatherizing those 

buildings, being a part of this green revolution that is coming. 

But the other thing we do to young people which is also wrong 

is that the minute they finish their training program, we give them 

a certificate and no job. We have had job training programs for 

years in this country, and we measure who gets out but not who 

gets into the workforce. 

And the third step has to be making sure that there is a green 

pathway out of poverty to prosperity: green service, going to green 

job training, going into green jobs. And with the billions of dollars 

that are now coming down the pike to retrofit and repower America, we need to make sure that there are concrete opportunities for 

people to get into the workforce through these new dollars. 

We need to make sure, again, this green wave lifts all boats. One 

of the most important things that I can say is if we are going to 

have a green economy in this country—and we have to; our scientists tell us that it is imperative—we need to have a green economy that has no throwaway species, no throwaway resources, but 

also no throwaway young people, no throwaway neighborhoods. 

We need to make sure those communities that were left out of 

the last century’s pollution-based economy are locked in to the new 

clean and green economy. We need to make sure that the people 

who most need new work, new wealth, new health opportunities 

get that. And the best way to do that is to connect green service 

to green job training to green jobs. 

In conclusion, I want to say this is the most fiscally conservative, 

fiscally responsible thing that you can do with the public dollars. 

Those green dollars are the most fiscally responsible and conservative dollars that you can possibly imagine, because green dollars 

work overtime. They work double time. They work triple time. 

That same dollar that is being used to cut greenhouse gas emissions could be used to cut unemployment, cut poverty; if you are 

retrofitting buildings, cutting energy bills, improving the value of 

homes, cutting air pollution. Those green dollars work overtime, 

double time, triple time. Let us put those green dollars to work 

helping young men like Mr. Harris become not just the media moguls but the clean energy moguls and leaders of the new century. 

Thank you. 

[The statement of Mr. Jones follows:]

Prepared Statement of Van Jones, Founder and President, Green for All 

Good morning Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member McKeon, and distinguished Members of the Committee. I am Van Jones, founding president of Green For All, a national organization dedicated to building an inclusive green economy strong enough 

to lift people out of poverty. Green For All fights poverty and pollution at the same 

time by advocating for a commitment to, and an investment in, job creation, job 

training, and entrepreneurial opportunities in the emerging green economy—especially for people from disadvantaged communities. 

I have attached to my testimony a concept paper entitled ‘‘Clean Energy Corps: 

Jobs, Service and Equal Opportunity in America’s Clean Energy Economy.’’ This 

document represents a blueprint for the transition to the green economy as envisioned by the Clean Energy Corps Working Group, a collaboration of Green For All, 

the Apollo Alliance, the Center for American Progress, the Energy Action Coalition, 

the Center on Wisconsin Strategy, The Corps Network, The Susquehanna Group, 

Innovations in Civic Participation, and others. 
30

While it is my intention this morning is to focus on the important role that service 

has to play in the transition to a green economy, let me first outline the bigger picture, as framed by the Clean Energy Corps White Paper. 

Most basically and most broadly, the Clean Energy Corps, or CEC, seeks an integration of civic, workforce, and economic development that creates value for workers, employers, communities, and the planet. 

The CEC accomplishes these ambitious and important goals through three interrelated parts: job creation, job training, and pipelines to job training—particularly 

for disadvantaged and disconnected youth—that begin with service. 

These three components will be intentionally connected though state and local 

partnerships to create well-defined career pathways for CEC participants, moving 

them from the entry point of service, to specific skills training, to placement, job 

retention and careers in energy efficiency, energy service, and other industries of 

the green economy. 

To succeed, the CEC will require: 

• New funding for a public revolving loan fund that would enable researchers, developers, business, and entrepreneurs to pursue new green technologies and products. • Full appropriation for the Green Jobs Act to develop a green workforce. • Increased funding for the Corporation for National and Community Service to 

increase and improve energy and conservation-related service opportunities through 

a Clean Energy Service Corps, Senior Corps, and Learn and Serve programs. 

It is about this last piece, increased support for national service, and specifically 

for a Clean Energy Service Corps, that I am here to talk about this morning. 

Service is central to the CEC. The Clean Energy Service Corps is designed to utilize service as a strategy for engaging disadvantaged and disconnected young people 

in energy and conservation related service while at the same time introducing them 

to and preparing them for, careers in the green economy. The nation’s youth Service 

and Conservation Corps have been doing this for decades and, with your support, 

they can do much more. 

Background 

We have seen in history how service in conservation can repair the environment 

and strengthen the spirit of Americans in hard times. Seventy-five years ago, the 

stock market crashed and millions of Americans lost their jobs. In 1933, in response 

to the Depression, President Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps 

(CCC). To this day, the CCC is still considered one of the most successful programs 

in American history. It provided work and vocational training for 3.5 million unemployed single young men while conserving the country’s natural resources and building its infrastructure. By some estimates, the men of the CCC planted as many as 

3 billion trees, protected 40 million acres of farmland from erosion, built 47,000 

bridges, drained 248,000 acres of swamp land, replanted almost a million acres of 

grazing land, built 125,000 miles of roads, fought fires, and created 800 state parks 

and 52,000 acres of campgrounds. At the same time, the CCC provided hope and 

support to both the young men and their families. 

It is time for a new CCC focused on creating the green economy. Youth in the 

United States are facing an employment crisis. According to the Center for Labor 

Market Studies (CLMS) at Northeastern University, the employment rate for teens 

is at its lowest rate in more than 60 years—with only 32.8 percent of all teens and 

only 22.7 percent of black teens in the workforce. Further, of the 1.2 million jobs 

that were lost last year, approximately 60 percent were held by workers under the 

age of 25. Not only are these young people not working, they are not attending 

school either. Even before this recession, one out of every three ninth graders failed 

to graduate from high school in four years and more than half of all young people 

of color from low-income communities drop out entirely. Currently, nearly 4 million 

young people, ages 18 to 24—roughly 15 percent of all young adults—are neither 

in school nor working. Tragically, too many of these young people will wind up in 

prison or dead. 

We have a solution. Like Roosevelt, we simply need to put the pieces together 

with a unifying, mobilizing call for national service to join the urgent effort to curb 

global warming and help build a green economy, supported by adequate funds to 

ramp up models that have proven their effectiveness and develop new ones where 

necessary. The call must also ask that we connect environmental work with the 

proven, but overlooked, ability of national service programs to play a unique role 

in building job readiness, particularly in building pathways to prosperity for poor 

people and communities. The Clean Energy Service Corps, the national service component of the CEC, will leverage the energy-saving efforts of public agencies; galvanize communities; and successfully apply technical skills, project management ex-
31

pertise, and the power of service to make a difference in energy use and the impact 

of fossil fuels on our environment, while enabling young men and women to produce 

valued and visible change in communities, gain skills relevant to the growing green 

economy, advance educationally, and become responsible and engaged workers and 

citizens. 

Unlike Roosevelt, however, we do not have to start from scratch. We already have 

a model and a network from which to work. Modern day Service and Conservation 

Corps have an established and proven record of providing educational and economic 

opportunities to disadvantaged and disconnected young people through energy and 

conservation related service. 

A Modern Day CCC 

With support from AmeriCorps and other federal, state, and local funding sources, 

as well as public and private sector partners, the nation’s 136 Service and Conservation Corps operate in 46 states and serve 26,000 young people every year. Fifty-one 

percent of these young men and women are people of color, 53 percent come from 

families living below the poverty line, and 60 percent do not have a high school diploma. In terms of service ranging from four to 24 months, these young people serve 

in cities, suburbs, and rural areas performing energy audits and retrofits, 

weatherizing homes, creating community gardens and green spaces, running recycling programs, building trails, planting trees, removing invasive species, reducing 

hazardous fuels, and fighting wildfires. 

Serving in teams, Corpsmembers learn how to solve problems, take responsibility, 

and take pride in a job well done—all foundational workforce competencies. In return for their efforts, Corpsmembers receive guidance from adult leaders who serve 

as mentors and role models. They have access to a wide range of supportive services, such as child care, transportation, and counseling. They also have opportunities 

to further their education and earn money for college or additional training. 

To advance educational progress, many Corps have created their own charter 

schools, either in partnership with public schools or on their own. Many grant diplomas as well as prepare Corpsmembers for the GED. Many also have strong relationships with community colleges. 

Through intentionally designed service projects, Corps provide training in a wide 

range of job skills, many of which lead to employer-recognized certifications, including weatherization certification (which can be national), OSHA certification (a 30-

hour course), power tools (including operations and maintenance), welding, skilled 

trades apprenticeship readiness training certificate, hazardous materials handling, 

plumbing, commercial drivers’ licenses, and other operators’ licenses (e.g. forklifts). 

Many of these certifications can lead to green jobs—jobs in energy efficiency retrofitting and wind turbine production, for example, look a lot like traditional construction and manufacturing jobs, and the early training and certification paths are similar. 

Overall, Corps raise the quality of workforce readiness, increase educational 

gains, and nurture sustained, intentional engagement with the community. Service 

enables Corpsmembers who have gotten off track to reverse former patterns of behavior, not only to find new values, but to be accountable for living those values. 

They create visible and valued contributions. They identify and solve public problems. 

Corps witness a transformation in the young people they serve, especially those 

that have been left behind by other initiatives. What they need is a real opportunity: someone who will challenge them and support them. Where that has happened, the results are significant. Here are just a few examples of how Corps across 

the country are improving lives, communities, and the environment. 

Examples 

Members of the Montana Conservation Corps, as part of a state-wide governor’s 

initiative, Warm Hearts Warm Homes Montana, have weatherized and retrofit more 

than 4,000 homes in low-income communities and reservations across the state, significantly reducing energy costs for low-income home owners and renters by installing inexpensive improvements, such as window kits, hot water heater blankets, 

weather strips, and energy-efficient light bulbs. As you know, 40 percent of our energy costs come from energy use in buildings. This is hands-on work that requires 

a major mobilization. 

In Denver, Colorado, members of the Mile High Youth Corps, approximately 50 

percent of whom are high school dropouts, perform energy audits and retrofits that 

produce $110 in annual utility savings for low-income home owners. In just one 

year, Corpsmembers saved over 16 million gallons of water, over one million kilowatt-hours of energy consumption, and created a life cycle air pollution reduction 
32

of over 6 million pounds of carbon monoxide—the equivalent of removing 540 cars 

from the road for a year. Many of these Corpsmembers, having obtained their GED 

during their term of service, will be placed in positions with local utility agencies. 

In Freemont, Ohio, the WSOS Quilter Civilian Conservation Corps is housed in 

a Community Action Agency. Leveraging additional resources from the community, 

Corpsmembers learn weatherization skills on the job. This training, which is complemented by relevant college coursework, leads to nationally recognized certification. WSOS graduates have been deployed to other CAAs throughout the state to 

help meet the needs of other under-resourced rural communities. 

In Madison, Wisconsin, Operation Fresh Start, which runs a Civic Justice Corps 

model that serves formerly incarcerated and other court-involved youth, builds energy efficient low-income housing that meets or exceeds Wisconsin energy standards 

buy up to 25 percent. By installing high quality insulation and energy efficient appliances, Operation Fresh Start Corpsmembers enable low-income residents to save 

on their energy bills year round. 

In my own home town of Oakland, California, Civicorps, which is also a Civic Justice Corps model, works in partnership with the Mayor’s office, the Department of 

Human Services, local law enforcement, and a local Sustainable Business Alliance, 

to reintroduce non-violent juvenile offenders into the community through a variety 

of green service projects that enable Corpsmembers to gain skills and employment 

opportunities with green employers. Civicorps uses service projects as field work for 

science, math, and English classes—and as experiences that, reflected on, enable 

Corpsmembers to see themselves as valued contributors to the common good. To 

date, the majority of Civicorps Corpsmembers have obtained their GED and gained 

exposure to and funding for postsecondary education. A large number have received 

apprenticeships or employment with partner businesses. Overall, Civicorps boasts 

an impressive eight percent recidivism rate in a county where the overall recidivism 

rate is nearly 80 percent. 

The Case for Expansion 

Just in case the above examples failed to convince you, the CEC makes good economic sense. According to a cost-benefit analysis conducted by Oak Ridge National 

Laboratory, every dollar invested in weatherization produces $3.71, of which $1.83 

is energy-related benefits and $1.88 is non-energy-related. The National Consumer 

Law Center reports that energy efficiency benefits low-income households through 

reduced housing loss and abandonment, reduced loss of service due to terminations, 

improved property values and reduced health effects. Not to mention the savings 

and benefits of having a skilled, competitive workforce as opposed to large populations of out-of-school, out-of-work young adults. 

Despite having weatherized more than 5.3 million homes, much work remains to 

be done. Oak Ridge National Laboratory found that only 16 percent of households 

eligible for the Weatherization Assistance Program have been served. Altogether, 

more than 27 million homes are currently eligible for assistance, of which 10 to 15 

million are good candidates for weatherization. 

Conclusion 

We are going to need many hands to build a new, green workforce. Not only can 

the nation’s Service and Conservation Corps help to meet this need, but in doing 

so they can change the lives of disconnected young people and the communities in 

which they live. For low-income, low-skilled young people, the emerging green economy offers pathways out of poverty. Corps, with their emphasis on learning and 

growing through service projects that meet community needs, provide an ideal setting for that journey. 

Last Congress, you had the foresight to include a Clean Energy Service Corps in 

the GIVE Act. Even before the economy took a downward turn, the Energy Conservation Corps would have enabled Service and Conservation Corps and other nonprofit organizations to serve thousands of additional young people. Given the current economic crisis and the need for a new green economy, the Clean Energy Service Corps is even more critical than it was just last year. 

By providing an environment in which young men and women make meaningful, 

tangible, and lasting contributions to their communities, experience success, develop 

positive leadership skills and move toward a lifetime of service to their communities 

and the nation, the ECC will play a role like that of the CCC of the 1930’s: it will 

instill hope and love of country in a new generation of young Americans. 

I hope that it is your intention to, once again, include a Clean Energy Service 

Corps in your forthcoming bill and I hope that you will continue to view service as 

a strategy for solving all kinds of challenges that face our young people, our communities, and our nation. 
33

Thank you. 

Chairman MILLER. Thank you very much. 

We are going to recess here. We have three votes. And then we 

will come back, and Sgt. Major, we will begin with you. 

In the meantime, Mr. Harris, you see if Mr. Jones is worth doing 

a demo with or not. Okay? [Laughter.] 

And then we will get back to you. We are looking for the results 

when we get back. 

Mr. JONES. I need you, brother! [Laughter.] 

[Recess.] 

Chairman MILLER. The committee will come back to order. 

Look at that, James. You get the big microphone and go silent. 

Thank you for putting up with the inconvenience of the votes 

that we had, but that is sort of regular order around the Congress. 

Questions were being asked by my colleagues. The leading question was, James, how come you have all those notes but you never 

used them? You just spoke like you had it all down pat. They wanted to know if you are giving lessons. Maybe later you can help 

them out with their floor speeches. [Laughter.] 

Mr. HARRIS. Well, it is easy for me to speak on something that 

I am very passionate about. And, you know, it has been ongoing 

for like these past 3 years now, and it has been having a dramatic 

change just on my life, period. So, you know, it just flows out. 

Chairman MILLER. There you go. Thank you. 

Sgt. Major, welcome to the committee. And thank you for being 

with us. 

STATEMENT OF KENNETH O. PRESTON, SERGEANT MAJOR OF 

THE U.S. ARMY 

SMA PRESTON. Chairman Miller, Representative McKeon, sir, 

great to see you. Other representatives and committee members, 

thanks very much. It is an honor for me, personally, to be here, a 

farm boy from the mountains of western Maryland. 

But, sir, as, chairman, you mentioned in your opening statement 

a quote from President Kennedy from his inaugural address on the 

20th of January, 1961: ‘‘Ask not what your country can do for you, 

but ask what you can do for your country.’’ And it is our responsibility as Americans to volunteer our time and effort to make our 

nation and our local communities better places to live and thrive. 

And this holds true from a global perspective, as America is a 

member of the global community and serves to ultimately have a 

positive impact here at home. 

Today we are focusing on national service, which is often defined 

as volunteering one’s efforts to a cause greater than oneself. This 

past July, we celebrated the 35th anniversary of the all-volunteer 

force. Today, the Army has more than 247,000 soldiers forward deployed in 80 countries around the world. We have more than 

135,000 soldiers currently deployed in support of Operation Iraqi 

Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. In addition, there are 

more than 50,000 National Guard and 28,000 Army Reserve soldiers mobilized today, serving all around the world in those 80 

countries. And they are also assisting here with homeland security 

and community needs at home. 
34

The Army’s mission is to fight and win our nation’s wars. The 

Army’s capabilities provide the nation with support across the full 

spectrum of conflict. And this full spectrum spans from general war 

to stability and civil support operations to humanitarian relief. 

And, of course, humanitarian relief includes responding to emergencies and natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina and most recently the severe storm damage in Kentucky. 

Careers in the Army consist of more than infantry soldiers and 

tank commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan. We offer 28 career 

management fields containing 221 different military occupational 

specialties, and these specialties range from general construction, 

veterinarian, diver, to multimedia illustrator. 

In 2008, we recruited approximately 170,000 young men and 

women across all three components of the active, Guard and Reserve. The active Army recruited 80,000 of those soldiers, the National Guard 62,000, and the Army Reserve more than 26,000. 

Army retention programs are also a success story as the Army continues to retain our very best soldiers. In 2008, we exceeded our 

retention goals in the active component by 14 percent and 11 percent in the Army Reserve. The National Guard intentionally finished the year at 93 percent of their retention mission to maintain 

their authorized end strength cap. The first 3 months of 2009 have 

been the most successful retention period in Army retention history. 

These incredible accomplishments, while fighting the global war 

on terror, are directly attributed to the hard work of our recruiters, 

all the leaders in our units and organizations that support this 

Congress and support the Nation. 

Throughout history, volunteers played an integral role in the life 

of soldiers and their families. In the early years of our country, volunteers mended uniforms, cared for the sick and wounded, and 

comforted families of the fallen soldiers. Today our volunteers are 

found throughout the military community. Soldiers, civilians, retirees, spouses and youth provide services in schools, hospitals, sports 

fields and in many organizations and offices across the country. 

Through their dedicated service, volunteers transform military 

installations into communities. Each military community has an 

Army volunteer corps coordinator who is responsible for volunteer 

activities in and around their area. Army Community Service is 

one of many installation organizations that have a volunteer program. Volunteers come to us from both the active and reserve component. Now, this common bond between these volunteers is the 

desire to meet the needs of our Army community. The Army Community Service has more than 10,000 volunteers who contribute 

more than 1 million hours of service every year. 

I am proud also that this year we will celebrate 2009 as the Year 

of the Noncommissioned Officer. The three objectives behind the 

Year of the Noncommissioned Officer is to recognize the leadership, 

professionalism, commitment, courage and dedication of our noncommissioned officers. The Noncommissioned Officer Corps is the 

reason behind our success on the battlefield today and why other 

armies around the world aspire to be like us. 
35

And second, we want to inform the American people and members of Congress and our government of the roles and responsibilities and quality service of our NCO Corps. 

And third, to enhance our Noncommissioned Officer Corps’ education, comprehensive fitness, leadership manage and recognize 

their pride of service. 

Mr. Chairman and committee members, thank you. And I look 

forward to your questions. 

[The statement of SMA Preston follows:]

Prepared Statement of Kenneth O. Preston, Sergeant Major of the U.S. 

Army 

Chairman Miller, committee members, thank you for the opportunity to sit before 

you today and discuss National Service. 

President John F. Kennedy said during his January 20, 1961 Inaugural Address 

‘‘ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.’’ 

It is our responsibility as Americans to volunteer our time and efforts towards making both the Nation and our local communities better places to live and thrive. This 

holds true from a global perspective as America is a member of the global community and are efforts that ultimately have a positive impact here at home. Today we 

are focusing on national service which is often defined as volunteering one’s time 

and efforts to a cause greater than one’s self. This past July we celebrated the 35th 

anniversary of our All-volunteer force. 

Today, the Army has more than 247,000 Soldiers forward deployed to 80 countries 

around the world. We have more than 135,600 Soldiers currently deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. In addition, 

there are 51,000 of our National Guard and 28,500 Reserve Soldiers mobilized 

today, serving all around the world and assisting with Homeland Security. 

The Army’s mission is to fight and win our Nation’s wars. The Army’s capabilities 

provide the Nation with support across the full spectrum of conflict. This full spectrum includes general war to stability and civil operations to humanitarian relief. 

This is more than combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Full spectrum includes 

border patrol along the Mexican border to weather disasters in New Orleans and 

Kentucky. 

Careers in the Army are more than the infantry Soldier and tank commander in 

Iraq and Afghanistan. We offer 28 Career Management Fields with 221 Military Occupational Specialties. These specialties range from general construction, veterinarian to diver and multimedia illustrator. 

In FY08, we recruited 169,859 young men and women across all three components—Active, Guard and Reserve. The active Army recruited over 80,000, the National Guard 62,000 and the Reserve over 26,000 Soldiers. Army retention programs 

are also a success story as the Army continues to retain Soldiers at tremendously 

high levels. In 2008, we exceeded our retentions goals in the active component by 

14 percent and 11 percent in the Army Reserve. The National Guard intentionally 

finished the year at 93 percent to maintain their authorized end strength cap. The 

first 3 months of FY09 have been the most successful retention period in Army Retention history. 

These incredible accomplishments, while fighting the Global War on Terror, are 

directly attributed to the hard work of our recruiters, the support of our Army leaders, elected officials, and the support of the Nation. 

Throughout history, volunteers played an integral role in the life of Soldiers and 

their Families. In the early years of our country volunteers mended uniforms, cared 

for the sick and wounded, and comforted Families of fallen Soldiers. Today our volunteers are found throughout the military community. Soldiers, civilians, retirees, 

spouses and youth provide services in schools, in hospitals, on sports fields, and in 

many other organizations and offices. Through their dedicated service, volunteers 

transform military installations into communities. Each military community has an 

Army Volunteer Corps Coordinator (AVCC) who is responsible for volunteer activities in and around their area. Army Community Service is one of many installation 

organizations that has a volunteer program. They come to us from both the active 

and reserve components. The common bond of these volunteers is the desire to help 

meet the needs of Army community members. Their desire is to assist ACS in its 

Mission of ‘‘Self-Help, Service and Stability.’’ The ACS has more than 10,000 volunteers who contribute approximately 1 million hours of service. 
36

I am proud that this year we will celebrate 2009 as the Year of the Non-Commissioned Officer Corps. During this year, we will recognize the leadership, professionalism, commitment, courage and dedication of the NCO Corps. Recently GEN 

Casey, Chief of Staff, Army stated he believed the NCO Corps was the glue holding 

our Army together. The NCO Corps is the reason behind our success on the battlefield today and is the standard to which other nations’ armies aspire. NCOs provide 

invaluable service and have made great sacrifices in the line of service. NCOs continually prove their dedication to service and a willingness to make great sacrifices 

on behalf of our Nation. We also seek to inform the American People of the roles, 

responsibilities and the quality of service of our NCO Corps. NCOs provide inspiration and motivation. NCOs are outstanding role models for all Americans and are 

exemplary subjects that are truly representative of the Nation’s moral character and 

strength for all men, women and children. During the course of this year we will 

continue to enhance our NCO Corps’ education, fitness, leadership development, and 

pride in service through the implementation of programs and policies that support 

the sustainment and growth of our NCO Corps. 

Mr. Chairmen, committee members, thank you. I look forward to your questions. 

Chairman MILLER. Mr. Capara? 

STATEMENT OF DAVID L. CAPRARA, DIRECTOR AND NONRESIDENT FELLOW, BROOKINGS INITIATIVE ON INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERING AND SERVICE 

Mr. CAPRARA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member 

McKeon. 

I am pleased to speak about the powerful work of faith-based and 

community volunteers with you today and the powerful impacts 

they are having on many of our nation’s pressing social issues. 

I applaud President Obama for his signal leadership in making 

the cause of service a centerpiece of his presidency—indeed, President Bush on the state of the union in 2002, President Clinton, 

President Bush 41 before him. We heard a little bit about the 

founding earlier today. Certainly Tocqueville noted this to be in our 

DAA [sic]. We talked about Ben Franklin—certainly he was our 

first faith-based proponent. And, in fact, according to Walter 

Isaacson’s book was carried in his funeral by all the faith traditions 

for his promoting the social glue that became our great country. 

During my tenure at the Corporation for National and Community Service, I was tasked with leveling the playing field and advancing innovative models across VISTA, AmeriCorps, Senior 

Corps, and Learn and Serve. We teamed up also with HHS in 

leveraging these volunteers with family strengthening economic 

asset programs like People for People, ‘‘the praying running back’s’’ 

program in Philadelphia, the Latino Pastoral Action Council in the 

Bronx. The Potters House of Bishop T.D. Jakes led a massive nationwide effort promoting fatherhood and ex-offender reentry. 

Cambridge researchers have noted that children of prisoners are 

far more likely to become involved in crime than kids from other 

backgrounds. The Amachi Initiative, founded by former Philadelphia Mayor Wilson Goode, provides vulnerable youth with caring 

and adult role mentors who guide them in success through life. In 

fact, 3,000 congregations have enrolled as partners, mentoring 

more than 100,000 children of prisoners nationwide, supported by 

AmeriCorps member who recruit volunteers in congregational mentoring hubs. In 2008 alone, Senior Corps volunteers served nearly 

14,000 children of prisoners with loving role models. 
37

Bob Woodson, the founder of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, in his landmark book The Triumphs of Joseph notes that 

faith-based grassroots organizations are closest to problems in the 

communities. They are often off the radar, but they are the most 

trusted often by residents in times of need. The center reaches out 

to former gang members who have been transformed by their faith 

in God in providing life skills and access to jobs, connecting them 

with other adjudicated youths as ambassadors for peace in highcrime schools. 

Baylor University researchers recently documented the impact of 

the center’s violence-free zone programs in six Milwaukee public 

schools. Violent incidents were reduced 32 percent, along with decreased suspension rates and increased student GPAs. Significant 

decreases in gang violence were also achieved and documented in 

violence-free zones in Baltimore, Dallas, Atlanta, Richmond and 

Washington. 

The administration and private foundations should advance such 

partnerships, leveraging effective grassroots efforts with the volunteer power at CNCS and programs in education, labor and justice. 

Our nation’s volunteers have also made headway in promoting 

global solutions. Freedom from Terror noted a marked drop in violent terrorism and a dramatic increase in positive views toward the 

U.S. in Muslim countries like Indonesia, Bangladesh and Pakistan 

following our volunteer responses after the tsunami and earthquake disasters. The International Volunteering Project at Brookings has achieved solid gains in its goal of doubling a cohort of 

50,000 to 100,000 volunteers through the Building Bridges Coalition, which consists of 180 NGOs, faith-based groups, universities 

led by American and corporations. 

The Brookings team, with the leadership of our colleague here 

today, Senator Wofford, and John Bridgeland crafted a design for 

a Global Service Fellowship that would empower tens of thousands 

of new international volunteers with modest stipends redeemable 

through NGOs and faith-based entities. The Global Service Fellowship bill has attracted broad bipartisan support. Supported by 

Betty McCollum here in the House and Mark Kirk in the Senate, 

the measure passed unanimously right after the Service Nation 

Summit that Time hosted the next week, with the leadership of 

Russ Feingold, who will soon reintroduce the measure with republican co-sponsorship in the Senate. 

Along with congressional action on Global Service Fellowships, 

the Service Nation global service platform calls for doubling the 

Peace Corps and authorizing Volunteers for Prosperity at USAID 

to leverage private sector support. My recent travels in hot spots 

of Israel and Palestine, Kenya, Philippines, Brazil and other nations supported ongoing Global Peace Festival initiatives and service initiatives on every continent. 

I witnessed first hand, Mr. Chairman, the tremendous power of 

inter-faith and volunteering partnerships to heal conflicts across 

tribal and religious divides. Over 120 global leaders recently gathered to call for a new global service alliance to build a vital link 

between volunteering and development to impact peacebuilding. 

And in conclusion, faith-based and community volunteers, Mr. 

Chairman, are effective allies in our nation’s response to critical 
38

challenges at home and abroad. We have just scratched the surface 

of the incredible wisdom and transformative hope embodied in today’s Josephs like Mr. James Harris we heard from today from 

Usher’s foundation. 

I hope we can rally across party lines with this president to connect these groups in a grand domestic and global force for good as 

proven allies in the fight against poverty and disease, environmental degradation, and global conflict. Such an alliance would 

show our world the full potential of America’s best diplomats—our 

volunteers. 

Thank you. 

[The statement of Mr. Caprara follows:]

Prepared Statement of David L. Caprara, Director and Nonresident Fellow, 

Brookings Initiative on International Volunteering and Service 

Chairman Miller and Ranking Member McKeon, Members of the Education and 

Labor Committee: Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony at today’s 

hearing on the vital topic of our national call to service. I am pleased to speak about 

the powerful work of volunteers serving through faith-based and community organizations and the positive impacts they are having on our nation’s most challenging 

social issues. I commend you for recognizing the potential of these dedicated volunteers. 

I also applaud President Barack Obama for his signal leadership in making the 

cause of service a centerpiece of his presidency. His call to a new generation to give 

national and even global leadership in service to others has the potential to become 

a defining legacy of this Administration. 

Expanding partnerships with neighborhood mediating institutions has proven to 

be an effective path in addressing many of the social difficulties we face as a country. 

During my service at the Corporation for National and Community Service, I was 

tasked with leveling the playing field and advancing innovative service programs—

VISTA, AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and Learn and Serve America. I often considered 

the insightful words of one of my mentors, Robert Woodson, founder and president 

of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, and author of the landmark book, Triumphs of Joseph. 

Woodson, who has been frequently called to testify about grassroots community 

remedies by the Congress and our nation’s governors, told me that faith-based initiatives are not about promoting a particular faith, but rather, advancing secular 

outcomes that faith-based and other grassroots groups are uniquely positioned to effect. He notes that not only are these groups generally the closest to the problems 

in a community, they are the ones most often trusted by residents, particularly in 

times of need like our present economic crisis. 

Volunteer efforts brought to bear by faith-based groups, since Tocqueville first 

noted our nation’s founding charitable traditions and social capital in the 19th century, have been immensely important throughout America history. In fact, according 

to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, more Americans volunteer through religious 

groups than any other kind of organization. 

A CNCS Research and Policy Development report, entitled ‘‘Volunteer Management Capacity in America’s Charities and Congregations,’’ found that volunteers can 

boost both the quality of services and delivery capabilities in charities and congregations while reducing costs. 

We could cite many examples of successful faith-based models, such as the Latino 

Pastoral Action Center of Rev. Ray Rivera in the Bronx, which has made great use 

of AmeriCorps volunteers in building community capacity. Southeast Idaho’s Retired 

and Senior Volunteer Initiative and the Columbus, Ohio, based Economic and Community Development Institute serving Muslim refugees from Somalia and Ethiopia, 

as well as Jewish and Pentecostal Christian refugees from the former Soviet Union, 

provide other models. 

At the Corporation, we teamed up with HHS’ Administration for Children and 

Families in leveraging volunteer expertise with family strengthening, fatherhood 

and healthy marriage programs, and economic asset development with groups like 

People for People founded by Rev. Herb Lusk, the former Philadelphia Eagles ‘‘praying running back.’’ Bishop Joseph Henderson converted a former juvenile detention 

facility into the Bragg Hill Family Life Center in Fredericksburg, Virginia, sup-
39

ported by Doris Buffett’s Sunshine Lady Foundation. The Potters House of Bishop 

TD Jakes in Dallas launched a nationwide initiative promoting responsible fatherhood and ex-offender reentry with faith-based volunteers and new media technology. 

Amachi Mentoring Children of Prisoners Initiative 

I would like to touch more deeply upon two innovative program models—one, the 

Amachi Initiative, which utilizes CNCS volunteer resources, and another, the Violence Free Zone Initiative engaging former gang members and other forms of indigenous community volunteer capacity. 

Researchers at the Cambridge University Institute of Criminology have shown 

that children of prisoners are far more likely to become involved in crime in the future than children from other backgrounds. The Amachi program, founded by 

former Philadelphia Mayor Rev. Wilson Goode, provides this vulnerable cohort of 

young people with caring adult mentors who help guide them to success in life, 

avoiding a pathway to incarceration which statistics show would too often be the 

case without such intervention. 

Amachi, whose name in Africa means, ‘‘who knows what God will bring forth from 

this child,’’ began training faith-based organizations to play a key role in scaling up 

the program after its founding in Philadelphia in 2003, with the support of Big 

Brothers Big Sisters and area congregations. To date the initiative has enrolled 

3,000 congregations as partners mentoring more than 100,000 children across America. 

The Amachi mentoring model, supported by AmeriCorps members who assist recruitment of community volunteers and form congregational mentoring hubs, has 

proven so effective that it was adopted by the Department of Health and Human 

Services as the basis of the federal Mentoring Children of Prisoners program. At the 

Corporation for National and Community Service, it was our great honor to support 

Dr. Goode in helping to replicate the Amachi success with the help of Senior Corps, 

AmeriCorps, and VISTA volunteers nationwide. We then expanded that effective approach with a new initiative of VISTA and DOJ programs that built mentoring and 

support hubs with faith-based and community volunteers who share their love and 

practical transition support for ex-offenders coming home. 

Violence-free zones 

Robert Woodson’s Center for Neighborhood Enterprise has developed one of the 

most effective gang intervention programs in our country, by tapping indigenous 

community healing agents and volunteers from within crime-ridden neighborhoods. 

The Center reaches out to former gang members who have been transformed by 

faith, and connects them with other adjudicated and at-risk youths in high-crime 

schools and community centers. 

In 1997, CNE stepped in after Darryl Hall, a twelve-year-old District boy, was 

shot and killed in a senseless gang war between the ‘‘Circle’’ and ‘‘Avenue’’ crews 

and others that had already left fifty young people dead in South East Washington, 

DC. In partnership with the Alliance of Concerned Men, many who were ex-offenders themselves, CNE negotiated a truce and helped the young people involved gain 

skills and find jobs as an alternative to drug-dealing and crime. Those young people 

were then engaged as ambassadors of peace in their neighborhoods, motivating 

other youths toward positive attitudes and behaviors. Ten years later, crew-related 

homicides have been eliminated in the area since the intervention began. 

Today CNE is expanding the reach of Violence Free Zones to cities across the 

country including Chicago, where a major spike in gang violence threatens to cut 

short the lives of our young people and their fellow neighborhood residents. 

Baylor University researchers, who Woodson recently cited in testimony before 

the House Judiciary Committee, documented the impact of the VFZ intervention 

model in six Milwaukee public schools where violent incidents were reduced by 32%. 

Suspension rates were also dramatically reduced, and student grade point averages 

rose compared to the control sites. 

Dramatic decreases of violent incidents where CNE grassroots leaders intervened 

were also reported in Baltimore, Dallas, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. 

Congress, the Administration, and private foundations would be well served to advance dynamic linkages and partnerships with such effective grassroots, faith-based 

programs together with the volunteer power of the Corporation for National and 

Community Service and programs at the Departments of Education, Labor, and Justice. Attorney General Eric Holder could be a natural leader for such a cross-sector 

effort. He has been a strong proponent of Violence Free Zones since their inception 

during his prior tenure at Justice. 
40

I believe these initiatives represent ‘‘low-hanging fruit’’ if the new White House 

Council on Faith-Based and Community Partnerships wants to scale up such results-oriented models with expanded private sector and public support. 

Hurricane Katrina response 

In addition to their unique quality of being deeply embedded in communities, 

faith-based organizations are usually much more nimble and innovative than governmental bureaucratic bodies. Take for instance the response to Hurricane 

Katrina. Groups like Lutheran Disaster Response, Islamic Relief USA, and the 

Points of Light and Interfaith Works Faith and Service Institute, directed by Rev. 

Mark Farr and Eric Schwarz, were able to mobilize quickly. They and countless 

other faith-based groups galvanized congregations, synagogues and mosques into action with donations and volunteer ‘‘boots on the ground’’ to help families recover, 

while FEMA and other agencies famously struggled to respond. 

International volunteering 

Our nations’ volunteers have also made great headway in promoting global solutions. Freedom from Terror polls have noted a marked drop in support for violent 

terrorism and a dramatic increase in positive views toward the United States in 

populous Muslim nations like Indonesia, Bangladesh and Pakistan following our national and volunteer responses after the tsunami and earthquake disasters, that 

were sustained beyond the initial period of aid. 

According to a BLS assessment report by researchers with Washington University’s Center for Social Development, approximately 52% of global volunteers from 

America said their main volunteering organization was a religious one. 

The International Volunteering Project at the Brookings Institution, launched at 

a forum with General Colin Powell nearly three years ago, has achieved solid gains 

in doubling a cohort from 50,000 to 100,000 international volunteers through the 

Building Bridges Coalition, comprised of more than 180 US-based international 

service NGOs, faith-based groups, universities and corporations. 

Together with the national policy leadership of John Bridgeland and Senator Harris Wofford, who is here as an expert witness today, the Brookings volunteering 

team crafted a design for a new Global Service Fellowship initiative that would empower tens of thousands of new international service volunteers supported with 

modest stipends that could be redeemed by NGO and faith-based entities registered 

with the State Department. Global Service Fellowship legislation patterned after 

our research has attracted broad bipartisan support, with leadership from Senators 

Russ Feingold, Chris Dodd, and Norm Coleman in the Senate last year, and Representatives Betty McCollum, Mark Kirk and many others in the House and Senate. 

Our team also helped to craft the Service Nation global volunteering platform, 

which calls for doubling the Peace Corps, enacting Global Service Fellowships, and 

authorizing Volunteers for Prosperity at US AID. 

In the past year my travels have included visits to hot spots of Israel and Palestine, Kenya, the Philippines, Brazil and other nations supporting ongoing Global 

Peace Festival initiatives on each continent. Through these efforts I have witnessed 

first hand the tremendous power of interfaith partnerships and volunteering to heal 

conflicts across tribal and religious divides. Upcoming Global Peace Festival initiatives in Mindanao, Jakarta, and other cities including an International Young Leaders Summit in Nairobi next month hold particular promise. Over 120 global leaders, 

NGOs and faith-based groups have supported the call for a new Global Service Alliance in these endeavors. Such a ‘‘global peace corps’’ will build a vital link between 

volunteering and global development to impact peacebuilding outcomes. 

Closing 

In conclusion, faith-based and community volunteers are not only effective but 

they are an essential element of our nation’s response to critical challenges we face 

at home and abroad. Now is the time for our national leaders and the private sector 

to tap into their full potential in light of our massive challenges ahead. 

We have only begun to scratch the surface of the incredible wisdom and resources 

of transformative hope, embodied in today’s grassroots ‘‘Josephs.’’

I hope we can rally across party lines with this President to connect and support 

these groups in a force for good, as proven allies in the fight against poverty and 

disease, gang violence, environmental degradation and global conflict and disasters. 

Such an alliance would show the world the full potential of America’s best diplomats, our volunteers. 

I would like to close by quoting Dr. King’s words that my former mentor and boss 

Jack Kemp, the distinguished former House member and President Bush 41’s HUD 

Secretary, often cited in his testimony: 

‘‘I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future.’’
41

Thank you very much. 

Chairman MILLER. Ms. Hamilton? 

STATEMENT OF LISA HAMILTON, PRESIDENT, UPS 

FOUNDATION 

Ms. HAMILTON. Chairman Miller, Ranking Member McKeon and 

committee members, thank you so much for convening this hearing 

on the importance of volunteerism and for giving UPS the opportunity to share its views. 

During my 12 years with UPS, I have had the honor of working 

4 years in the company’s charitable arm, The UPS Foundation, and 

have served as its president for the last 2 years, responsible for 

leading philanthropic and volunteer efforts worldwide. 

Community service has always been a part of UPS’s 102-year 

history. That is due, in part, to our unique view of the world. Each 

day, thousands of UPS drivers deliver in every community across 

this nation. We see the hungry, the homeless and the hopeless. 

And because we see firsthand the challenges facing our society, we 

want to make a difference. 

While the UPS Foundation donated more than $46 million to 

charitable organizations in 2008, we believe that our employees’ 

volunteerism is an equally important contribution to local communities and nonprofit agencies. 

The UPS Foundation’s efforts and strategy are employee driven. 

UPSers are encouraged to provide time, leadership and expertise to 

organizations working to meet critical needs. Each year, they give 

back in record numbers, enabling the UPS Foundation to tie half 

of its grantmaking to our employees’ volunteer effort. 

In 2008, UPS employees, retirees and their families volunteered 

nearly 1.3 million hours, largely through the company’s employee 

volunteer program Neighbor to Neighbor. And during UPS’s global 

volunteer month, our opportunity each October for UPSers around 

the world to focus on volunteer engagement, 16,000 employees in 

55 countries volunteered 140,000 hours. 

In the U.S., UPS developed its future leaders through a unique 

volunteer opportunity called the UPS Community Internship Program. Through CIP, as we call it, UPS managers leave their jobs 

and homes for a month of service in one of four sites run by nonprofits in New York, Chattanooga, Tennessee, McAllen, Texas and 

San Francisco. 

Since the program began more than 40 years ago, 1,300 UPS 

managers—including me—have participated in CIP. I can tell you 

that it is a life-changing experience. And participants return to 

their jobs with more compassion for their fellow employees, more 

knowledge of our operating environment, and a greater commitment to serve others. 

UPS also takes the time each year to recognize outstanding volunteer effort. Each year, one employee, essentially our volunteer of 

the year, receives the Jim Casey Community Service Award named 

after our founder. 

This year’s award recipient, Richard Koch, has volunteered over 

60 hours per month for the past 12 years as a coach and tournament director for Special Olympics, Virginia. Rich represents the 
42

best in UPS employee volunteers through his sincere commitment 

to serve others. 

UPS believes this spirit of volunteerism shouldn’t stop at our 

company’s doors. For over 10 years, one of the key areas for our 

foundation has been volunteerism. To date, we have donated more 

than $15 million in an effort to help nonprofit organizations do a 

better job of recruiting, managing, and retaining volunteers. 

For example, our funding helped the Peace Corps recruit former 

volunteers back into short-term assignments through the Peace 

Corps Encore program. UPS led a disaster volunteerism initiative 

and partnership with the Points of Light Foundation and leading 

disaster response agencies. And we funded the development and 

implementation of the National Park Foundation’s Volunteer Senior Ranger Corps. 

Targeting our grantmaking to help nonprofits better manage the 

precious gift of volunteer resources helps build their capacity. As 

demands on nonprofit services continue to increase while nonprofit 

budgets decrease, organizations will increasingly rely on volunteers. We must work together to ensure that all Americans have 

pathways to service to meet this challenge. Companies are competitive in a lot of ways, but this is one area where we can work together for the common good. 

Thank you again for the opportunity to share UPS’s views, and 

we look forward to answering any questions you have. 

[The statement of Ms. Hamilton follows:]

Prepared Statement of Lisa Hamilton, President, UPS Foundation 

Statement of Lisa Hamilton President, The UPS Foundation Before the Committee on Education and Labor U.S. House of Representatives February 25, 2009

Chairman Miller, Ranking Member McKeon, and committee members: Thank you 

for your focus in this hearing on the importance of volunteerism and for the opportunity for UPS to present its views. 

From decades of active involvement, UPS knows the value of volunteerism in communities across our country, and we also know its importance to our company as 

a core value and key element of our culture. 

In my 13 years with UPS, I have had two opportunities to work within the company’s charitable arm, The UPS Foundation, and have served as its President for 

the past two years, responsible for leading the company’s philanthropic efforts. 

While The UPS Foundation distributed more than $46 million to charitable organizations in 2007, today I’ll share with you examples of why we believe that effective volunteerism is just as, and perhaps, more important to the long-term sustainability of our nation’s communities and nonprofit organizations. 

UPS is the nation’s second-largest private employer, with more than 355,000 U.S. 

employees, and more than 425,000 employees worldwide. Community service has always been a part of UPS’s nearly 102-year legacy. That is due, in part, to the 

unique vantage point we have of the community. 

Each day, UPS people go to doorsteps in every community across our nation. We 

see the hungry, the homeless and the hopeless. We see the ills impacting our society—whether it’s the need for aid in recovery from a natural disaster or the need 

for revitalization in a struggling neighborhood—and we want to make a difference. 

Our employees drive our volunteer engagement strategy. They play a pivotal role 

in identifying the needs of the community. As a result, approximately half of The 

UPS Foundation’s grants are tied to our employees’ volunteer efforts. 

UPS employees are encouraged to volunteer, to give to local charities, and to provide leadership and lend their expertise to organizations that work to address the 

challenges in communities in the U.S. and around the world. 

In 2008, UPS employees and their families volunteered nearly 1.3 million hours—

most of which was accomplished through the company’s employee volunteer program, Neighbor to Neighbor. 

My basic point is that this is not hard to do. Companies large and small, and their 

employees, can benefit enormously with just a modest effort. 
43

Here in the U.S., UPS takes a unique approach to community service and volunteerism as part of its leadership development initiatives. The UPS Community Internship Program takes UPS managers from their jobs for a ‘‘month of service’’ in 

one of four sites run by non-profits in New York, Chattanooga, Tennessee, McAllen, 

Texas, as well as in your home state Chairman Miller and Ranking Member 

McKeon, in San Francisco. 

In San Francisco, the Community Internship Program is based at the Donaldina 

Cameron House and our employees participate in activities ranging from helping to 

cook and serve food at Glide Memorial Methodist Church, to volunteering at SelfHelp for the Elderly, which provides social services and meals to more than 25,000 

seniors in San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Alameda counties. 

More than 1,360 UPS managers have left their families to participate in CIP since 

its inception in 1968. Several years ago we had our first international participant, 

and we are now considering the development of an international site for the program. 

We also take the time to recognize the volunteer efforts of our employees. Since 

1995, UPS has awarded the Jim Casey Community Service Award, which is named 

after our founder and serves as our Volunteer of the Year Award. 

Just yesterday, I had the pleasure of presenting this year’s award to Richard 

Koch, an employee in Richmond, Virginia, who has done phenomenal work as a volunteer coach and tournament director for the area’s Special Olympics. 

Richard represents the best in UPS employee volunteers—a commitment to community and a desire to help by leveraging one’s expertise to the benefit of those in 

need. 

He embodies our belief that that through volunteer leadership we can make a difference. 

This spirit of volunteerism should not stop at our nation’s shores. Companies and 

their employees are as much the face of America as our official aid organizations 

and our military hospital ships. 

UPS employees abroad volunteer through the company’s Global Volunteer initiative. Celebrated in October, Global Volunteer Month provides a formal opportunity 

for UPS employees outside of the United States to get involved in local communities. 

Last October, 140,000 volunteer hours were contributed by nearly 16,000 UPS employees in 55 countries. 

Global Volunteer Month activities have included refurbishing hospitals in China, 

clearing farm land and planting trees in the Philippines, and organizing a distribution network for 700 schools in Berlin. 

We know we are a better company and that our employees live richer lives as a 

result of these volunteer efforts. 

Whether it is through our employees who volunteer in their communities, our 

Loaned Executives who contribute expertise to organizations such as United Way 

or FEMA, or the UPS managers who provide guidance to CARE in an effort to improve that organization’s supply chain and distribution capabilities, the spirit of engaged and effective volunteerism flows through UPS and into communities around 

the world. 

I began my testimony by asserting that community service is entrenched in the 

UPS culture as a core value. 

For us, volunteerism is not a once-a-year or once-a-month effort. It is people involved in their communities every day, all year long. 

Companies are competitive in many ways, but this is one area where we can work 

together for the common good. 

Thank you again for the opportunity today to share UPS’s views on this important 

matter. I look forward to the opportunity to answer any questions you may have. 

Chairman MILLER. Well, thank you very much. 

And thank you to all of the panelists for, again, giving us your 

time and your expertise. 

It was the—you know, we have had, in the last session we had 

great bipartisan support for this legislation. And it was the intent 

of this hearing this morning to kick off and renew that support for 

this legislation in this session of the Congress following the directions of the new president last night and to get this legislation to 

the floor in the House and the Senate and on to the president’s 
44

desk. And I think that, clearly, you have certainly met and exceeded my expectations. 

We also wanted to make sure that the committee saw, and America saw, that the sprit of volunteerism, of service, spans American 

society—through the corporate world, through the faith community, 

the military, entrepreneurial, philanthropic, and the intellectual 

community that understand that this is really at the core of America. 

This is fundamental to our being. This isn’t something that we 

are trying to add on. This isn’t something that we discovered. This 

has been, as Richard pointed out, with us from the beginning of 

this nation. And if you close your eyes and you think about all the 

times in your lives that volunteers have showed up and crossed 

your path, it is a remarkable intersection of America where people 

come to assist others—to teach, to mentor, to encourage, to support. It is a remarkable story. 

What we are trying to do, as I think as the president said last 

night, is to see whether or not the government can be a catalyst. 

The government can help to support the network, and it can provide some incentives for the private sector and individuals to participate. And those incentives very often are key to making the connection that James showed us here that started out with an opportunity to participate, and then to connect to an educational opportunity, and then the vision of the whole other world that was out 

there. 

And to the extent to which this legislation and the federal government in partnership with states and local governments and 

with the private sector we can provide that, that is a very exciting 

idea. Again, not new in America. I have been in Congress long 

enough to have gone through all of the ideological fights on various 

components of what now we consider the National Corporation for 

Service to America. And I think those are behind us. We now recognize that this is really a great engagement taking place in our 

nation. And so I want to thank you. 

We are going to be interrupted with another vote. I do not want 

to hold you before we leave for that vote. 

I would just like to go back for a moment, Mr. Harris, because 

we had a chance to talk before the hearing. And we were talking 

about what it meant to be given the opportunity, and you had to 

make up your mind whether you were going to take advantage of 

that opportunity. But when the opportunity was presented to you, 

and you were discussing with me a little bit that absent that opportunity life was just going to go on on another track. And I just wondered if you might share some of that with the committee. 

Mr. HARRIS. Right, because like I said, it is a lot of kids who 

have the ability to do the work and actually follow through, but 

without an opportunity to showcase our abilities, we will be stuck 

into situations that we are in right now. 

For instance, like how he was saying where you can’t just introduce me to something new and then not have any follow-through 

with that. If I am in a situation to where I have to sell drugs to 

provide for myself or to provide for my family, you can educate me 

and tell me why it is not right to sell drugs. You can tell me that 

you can’t mix negative with positive, you can’t bring joy and happi-
45

ness into your life by causing the destruction of another person’s 

life, and I can understand that. But then, how am I going to make 

money? 

You must introduce—you have got to show me both elements. 

You have got to tell me why this isn’t right, and also provide another avenue to where I can continually to provide for myself in a 

positive way. If you don’t have both of those elements, the person 

is going to be stuck in the situation that they are in. Because when 

it all comes down to it, it is really all about providing for oneself 

and providing for their family. And then they are going to be thinking about what is best for the next person. 

But if you show both of those things, they will be thinking about 

themselves, the people around them and everybody else, so you will 

be motivated to do what is the greater good. 

Chairman MILLER. Thank you. 

Dr. Dorsey and Mr. Jones, I have a question. You already answered, Mr. Jones, but I am going to——

[Laughter.] 

So I am just going to state my question for the record, and then 

we will follow up. And I just want to know, want to make sure, 

that we are doing everything we can—and this is also for UPS—

to encourage, you know, entrepreneurs, to encourage the private 

sector in these partnerships. 

You don’t have to answer that now, because I am going to get 

back to you in detail as we go through the final runs on the legislation. But I just, you know, I just find out that there is great leverage to be had out there. 

And I am stunned sometimes—we have done some things on 

higher education with the private sector—how much leverage there 

is with a little bit of participation by the government. And I am 

very interested in maximizing that. And you both have been very 

involved in that, both as generating entrepreneurs for that purpose 

and also recipient and the next generation, Mr. Jones. So I just 

want to pose that question, and I will leave it because I don’t want 

to take up my time. 

So I want to turn to Mr. Thompson for any comments that he 

may have, and we will just——

Okay. 

Mr. JONES. I would be wrong if I didn’t correct the record, 

though, as we do wrap up. We have an extraordinary number of 

opportunities to grow people like Mr. Harris, and the Corps Network is frankly the number one entity in America right now that 

has brought together programs like the one Mr. Harris has benefited from, got them together. They are in a strong position, the 

Corps Network, and it is led by Sally Prouty. And I just wanted 

to make sure the record reflects that organization’s contribution. 

Chairman MILLER. Mr. Thompson? 

Mr. THOMPSON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Well, this is such an important subject, near and dear to my 

heart as a volunteer in my community is where I came from, and 

in the fact that volunteers make such a difference, whether we are 

talking about our communities or our all-volunteer military force 

we are so proud of, our churches, our business communities and 

our schools. 
46

And, actually, just within this past weekend in my districts, the 

students, just the students at Penn State University, put on the 

largest dance marathon in the country. They raised almost $7.5 

million in one day for pediatric cancer research. That is volunteerism. That is making a difference. It just touches the lives of 

families, of kids. It will support research for pediatric cancer. 

So, just one question in the—because I know that we are time—

and this is for Mr. Caprara. In reviewing your written testimony, 

I see that you have worked with many different types of faithbased organizations. Can you discuss why it is so important to 

have faith-based organizations involved in efforts to promote volunteerism? 

Mr. CAPRARA. My mentor Bob Woodson once said, it is not about 

the particular faith of the groups but the secular outcomes that 

they bring. Teen Challenge, for example, had three successive federal evaluations including NIDA showing an 86 percent success 

rate. 

Truth be known, this whole faith-based revolutionary idea in the 

1990s came when they were going to be shut down in the state of 

Texas because they didn’t have the right—you know, you had 

former drug addicts, former felons that, you know, were transformed by their faith. They didn’t have PhDs to handle methadone. 

They didn’t need methadone. The violence-free zone—I quoted 

Baylor University’s data showing a 32 percent drop in violence. So 

it is about these outcomes. 

And I think them being close to the problem, this so-called neighborhood mediating institutions of grassroots volunteers, faith-based 

groups, churches, schools—these are the fabric that make our country great. So I think it is their closeness to the problem and, as I 

said with Joseph, like our witness here today, their innovativeness 

to go outside the box along with other social entrepreneurs. 

But it is the results, I think, that really speak volumes. 

Mr. THOMPSON. Thank you, sir. 

Given the need to vote, I will yield my time. 

Chairman MILLER. Which I appreciate, Mr. Thompson. 

Mrs. Davis? 

Mrs. DAVIS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Thank you to all of you for being here. You have all spoken so 

eloquently. And I think we all have some connection to this. This 

is why it should be such an important bipartisan effort, and I certainly hope it is going to proceed in that direction. 

I wanted to just mention very briefly the Mentoring for All Act 

was actually put across the desk this morning—it is 1165. And that 

will try and bring that infrastructure that we know exists in state 

and localities but more on the national level and try and connect 

up. 

What I was wondering from you, and perhaps you can respond 

later in some way, is how you see that as really critical, because 

sometimes I think people believe that this does just happen on its 

own. We know that that is not true. But there is kind of a push 

back sometimes of doing this on a greater scale at the national 

level. Help me to understand how you see that as helping to create 

the 5 or 6 million that we still need in this country. What is it that 

that kind of support would bring, and, perhaps, what is it that in-
47

hibits people from mentoring? Sometimes it is just a matter of good 

information, not knowing where to go. Do you see that kind of 

structure as being helpful in this regard? 

You can answer, or if the chairman has to go to other folks, I just 

wanted to throw that out there——

Chairman MILLER. We are going to take the answer off the air 

here. 

Mrs. DAVIS. Okay. We can take your——

Chairman MILLER. Because I have to go to Mr. Kucinich, and 

then——

Mrs. DAVIS [continuing]. Concerns about that. Thank you. 

Chairman MILLER [continuing]. And then I think Mrs. McCarthy 

is on her way back, and she would like to ask—the subcommittee 

chair would like to ask——

Mr. Kucinich? 

Mr. KUCINICH. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

In listening and reading Usher’s comments, when people act on 

a desire to change the world to make it a better place, that is the 

genesis of causing other people to become involved. And when you 

discover the power to help, as Mr. Harris speaks about, you then 

inspire to community service. 

Now, Mr. Stengel provided a structure, which I think is worth 

looking at. And the bill that Mr. Wofford is working on is important. 

Now, one quick question to Mr. Jones. You know, you and I have 

talked for years about a Works Green Administration. Can you see 

a fit between environmental movement, a structure of a Works 

Green Administration to help transform not only a volunteerism for 

environmental but also to fit into a national policy that would restore manufacturing? 

Mr. JONES. With chair’s——

Chairman MILLER. Yes. 

Mr. JONES [continuing]. The chair’s permission. 

Yes, we do. And we actually have a proposal called the Clean Energy Corps that I think you would be very interested in, sir. It directly aligns service opportunities with job training with actual jobs 

that can advance the agenda that the president has put forward in 

terms of repowering, retrofitting America. 

And it draws on the—as was pointed out by Mr. Stengel earlier—

it draws on the proud tradition of the Civilian Conservation Corps. 

The last time we got in this much trouble, both with the environment and with our economy, FDR had the wisdom to put forward 

a Civilian Conservation Corps, which took the people who most 

needed work and let them do the work that most needed to be 

done. 

We have a proposal I would love to get your feedback on, sir. 

Mr. KUCINICH. Thank you very much. 

Chairman MILLER. We—I would just say, or the chair would just 

say—that we expect that to be a component. It is in the current 

legislation as we hope to be able to report it from committee. 

I am waiting for Mrs. McCarthy to come back. Her subcommittee 

is handling this legislation. I know she has questions. 

Mr. JONES. Well, I——

Chairman MILLER. Are you going to run the filibuster on me? 
48

Mr. JONES. I didn’t—I didn’t——

Chairman MILLER. Watch this, James. This guy is going to start 

talking and never going to stop. Watch. [Laughter.] 

Mr. JONES. I will shock you, sir, and limit it to two sentences, 

just to the congresswoman’s point. 

I think people need help to help. I think that there is a tremendous amount of goodwill in this country, but there are also people 

who don’t know how to connect with certain communities. I think 

people need help to be able to help. And I would love to support 

your effort to make that more possible and more available. 

Chairman MILLER. And one of the great things I have discovered 

in this is the unusual turns you get sometimes. Mr. Jones, you are 

familiar with Richmond BUILD——

Mr. JONES. Yes. 

Chairman MILLER [continuing]. And where we have taken not 

just young people but older young people who have come to us who 

have been living on the streets, who have had, you know, tough 

lives, and to prepare them for the solar energy and wind energy industries. 

And sort of the interesting surprise was that Chevron is now taking them to be welders inside of the refinery in my hometown. And 

so all of a sudden they are working at a pay scale with a skill that 

they never imagined. And it is really quite a remarkable—so now 

we have to backfield to get people back to the original intent, which 

was welding in the solar energy industries. But you just see—I go 

back to Mr. Harris: If you can connect somebody with that opportunity, you will never cease to be amazed at what may come out 

of that connect. 

And Usher, we want to thank you so much. Again, to see someone who has taken their good fortune and passed it along to the 

next generation is very, very exciting for all of us. You are one of 

many in America who have made a wonderful decision about helping other people and providing that opportunity. Not everybody will 

take advantage of it. But the trick is to have that opportunity there 

for those who will make that decision. And I really want to thank 

you for taking your time. 

And I know we are going to have a chance to meet up in a more 

formal fashion—this is pretty formal, though, right? [Laughter.] 

I have got to quit screwing around with the microphone. 

Harris, thank you so much. You bring so much history to this 

and so much commitment. And hopefully we will have this on a 

regular order fast track—full participation of all members of the 

Congress, because I think the president touched a nerve last night. 

With that, I would like to turn the chair over to Carol McCarthy, 

who has just been a workhorse on this issue for the last many 

years to get us to this point. 

Thank you again for your participation. 

Mrs. MCCARTHY. Thank you. And it has been a pleasure listening to all the testimony. 

I want to say thank you to Ms. Hamilton for the work that UPS 

does. I have been working with UPS probably for 13 years in my 

district, working within the community on special projects. And 

they have always stepped up to the plate, and they were terrific. 
49

And, you know, my experience with the faith base, especially 

after Katrina and going down there and seeing how our faith-based 

organizations were there and setting everything up and how the organization was there. I am talking about almost 8 months after 

Katrina, they were still there working. And as far as I know, they 

are continuing their work there. So I want to thank. 

And certainly Sgt. Preston, thank you again for serving our country. And thank you for bringing in all the volunteers. You have a 

very unique opportunity to bring these volunteers in from so many 

parts of the country and even overseas. So I thank you for that. 

The question that I wanted to ask, and I wanted to talk to Mr. 

Harris about this: You know, when we heard your testimony and 

how you got involved in Usher’s New Look program, it opened up 

doors for you. And I know that you are going to be looking and 

opening up at your hometown an organization working with Mr. 

Raymond’s organization to do the work that you have been doing. 

I guess the question would be, how do you plan on going about 

it? How are you going to start it? How are you going to get involved 

when you go back home to open up that program? 

Mr. HARRIS. First, you got to get hands on. So I decided to hook 

up with an organization back in my hometown, Cross-Lines. It is 

a charitable organization. They do various things for the community as far as they do, not a food banking, but they do have somewhat of a soup kitchen. They also, like, during schools times—at, 

like, at JC Harmon High School, during prom times they actually 

offered and provided prom dresses and suits for those students who 

couldn’t afford to get one. So they do various works. 

So in the sense of serving, and serving in my community, I have 

to get hands on first with another organization that is already established. Meanwhile, I am talking to my peers and talking to 

other adults in my community, addressing issues that are directly 

affecting us in our community, and then also coming up to plans 

of action amongst each other and building my own proposals. So 

one day when I do have everything drawn up into the way I want 

it in my vision, I can actually reach out for funding to actually see 

my plan actually working all the way through, you know. 

And just from watching my mentor and my friend Usher and seeing how he started with the one thing and went to another thing, 

and to see his vision all the way out. I know that things won’t come 

as quickly as I want them to, but I know with hard work that I 

can accomplish anything. And, like I said, I learned that from New 

Look, and I learned that from Mr. Usher. 

Mrs. MCCARTHY. Well, I thank you for your work. 

And, my goodness, nobody else is here. So I have it on my own. 

One of the things that, you know, I just want to say is that we 

have been working on the reauthorization of this for quite awhile. 

And I think that we have an absolutely wonderful opportunity at 

this particular point, especially with—unfortunately with—the 

economy the way it is, let us make some lemonade out of a lemon. 

And we are going to have an awful lot of students that are graduating from college; they are not going to find a job. It is a wonderful time to reach out to them to be able to do service in this country 

and get them involved. Because we know that if we get involved 

in volunteerism, the younger we can get them, they stay that way 
50

for years and years and years. So it is really important that we do 

that reach out. 

I know my grade schools and certainly my high schools are very 

involved in volunteerism. The country—and let us face it, our country is a great, giving country. And it truly is. Maybe people don’t 

notice it, but I have noticed after every disaster that we have had 

in my 13 years here, whether it was hurricanes, whether it was 

fires, you know, just terrible times around the country, people are 

there to volunteer. They want to give. 

And our mission is to get the word out on how to do this. Our 

mission is to help you and all your organizations to get out there 

and do the work that needs to be done. We are Americans, and certainly we have a lot of work to do, but I know we can work together. 

I already asked my question. 

Hey, Rob, do you want to ask? Mr. Andrews? 

Mr. ANDREWS. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. 

I would like to thank the panel. I have had the privilege of serving on this committee for quite a few years. And I think this is one 

of the best panels I have ever heard, I have to tell you, in the incredible diversity of opinion and experience. 

Senator Wofford and I have worked together on so many things 

over the years. And Harris, I will always associate you with national service in the most positive way possible. 

Mr. Stengel, my subscription is paid up on Time—pun intended. 

And we appreciate what you have done in the world of journalism. 

And really, all the witnesses are just phenomenal, just phenomenal. 

I would like to start with Usher—can I call you Usher? Is that 

okay? I will tell you that my daughters, who are 16 and 14 now, 

finally believe I have done something of meaning in my career here 

because we are having this conversation today. 

I am very impressed by the foundation that you have created. I 

think it is incredibly selfless and forward thinking. Are your earnings the only source of contribution to that foundation, or have others chipped in and helped? 

Mr. RAYMOND. No, we have other donors. And I share the same 

sentiment in this being a true purpose over platform. The platform 

of what I have done for so many years——

Mr. ANDREWS. Right. 

Mr. RAYMOND [continuing]. Gave me this opportunity to be here, 

more than anything just to simply be of a service to underserved 

communities and give them the opportunity to know that there is 

opportunity there for them, to track them throughout their careers 

and give them that opportunity first and foremost by putting them 

in the position through the internship programs. 

This year we did something with NHL where we allowed our 

kids to go in and apply what they learned. When they come up 

with plans, we definitely entertain partnering as well as sending 

them off in the right direction. 

For me, like I said, this is purpose over platform. For what I 

have done that makes your daughter enjoy what I do——

Mr. ANDREWS. Too much. [Laughter.] 
51

Mr. RAYMOND [continuing]. It gives me an opportunity to have 

money to invest in my foundation. But, you know, to have proper 

bills passed and proper funds to, you know, implement this practice 

into charter schools or wherever, you know, I do it from my heart, 

and——

Mr. ANDREWS. Obviously. 

Mr. RAYMOND [continuing]. This is the result. 

Mr. ANDREWS. Well, you know, the reason I asked this question 

is I think one of the things we can look at in this legislation is trying to attract more private sector contributions to the work that 

you have already done, to use this bill as a magnet as you have 

with your abilities to attract more money. 

And, Ms. Dorsey—is it Dr. Dorsey or Ms. Dorsey? Well, I wonder 

what you think of the idea that I was thinking about when I heard 

your testimony, was the possibility of incentivizing banks that have 

taken TARP money to have some sort of obligation to participate 

would be social venture capital funds that you are talking about. 

Has the banking industry been active in helping to do the things 

that you have done, or not as much as it should be? 

Dr. DORSEY. Well, I won’t—I don’t know the specifics of TARP to 

speak to that. 

But I can tell you what you see from corporate banks today. 

Today we are very involved, obviously, with CRA legislation 

and——

Mr. ANDREWS. Right. 

Dr. DORSEY [continuing]. How to give back through the Community Reinvestment Act. I also do think that corporate philanthropy, 

including in the banking industry, is an incredibly important engine for philanthropy. Every year, Americans give about $300 billion, and the vast majority of that comes from individuals like us, 

about 83 percent. About 4-5 percent comes from corporations. And 

I think we will probably see some decrease of that in this economic 

downturn. 

Mr. ANDREWS. I am sure. 

Dr. DORSEY. But there is a way to incentive that. I think——

Mr. ANDREWS. Yes. Here is what I am wondering: You mentioned 

the Community Reinvestment Act, which is Mr. Frank’s jurisdiction, the Banking Committee. But he is a big believer in what we 

are doing, I know. 

Banks under the CRA get credit, they get points toward their obligations. And I am wondering if a contribution to a social venture 

capital fund gets them a credit or not. If it doesn’t, we should make 

sure it does, because it would be a way of making sure that some 

of that bailout money that some of us are wondering a little bit 

about could be invested in a broader and more significant purpose. 

Mr. Harris, let me say to you. I have heard hundreds of witnesses testify before this committee over the years. You have been 

one of the absolute best. 

Mr. HARRIS. Thank you. 

Mr. ANDREWS. I was most impressed by the fact that you 

had——

[Applause.] 

Mr. ANDREWS. Wasn’t he fun? It was great. 
52

I was impressed by the fact you had those note cards in your 

hand but didn’t look at them because what you said came from 

here and not from the note cards. 

This may shock you, but members of this committee—most especially me—know very little about how to effectively communicate 

with someone your age and from your circumstances. I know that 

is hard to believe, but that is the case. 

If we wanted to get the word out about the virtues of national 

service and how it has affected you and your life, what do you 

think the most effective way is for us to do that? 

Mr. HARRIS. The most effective way to reach youth is, first, you 

must identify: Where are the youth during school? 

Most of the time during the day, we are at school. So if you can 

incorporate the actual importance of serving and maybe some actual service into the curriculum, that is key. Appealing to their 

emotion and getting those kids involved, because junior high and 

high school is a critical point in any person’s life. 

Mr. ANDREWS. Sure is. 

Mr. HARRIS. Even though it might be a young age, that, really, 

your decisions from there on up will depict the person that you are 

going to become. 

Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Harris, you may have just written a part of 

the next No Child Left Behind Act. I see our——

[Applause.] 

One of the things the committee will consider this year under 

Chairman Miller’s leadership is the rewriting of that law. 

And, yes, I think you have come up with a great idea, which is 

to somehow incentivize or require schools to put into their curriculum the idea of teaching subjects through service. 

And I again want to thank the whole panel. I think this is great. 

And I feel an incredible sense of optimism from two things this 

week. One is from all of you and the great job you have done today. 

But the second is hearing the president last night say very explicitly that he is ready to sign the Hatch-Kennedy legislation. 

And, you know, we feel very enthusiastic under Chairman Miller’s 

leadership of moving that forward and getting it on the president’s 

desk. And maybe we can have a concert to celebrate the signing of 

the bill. 

Mr. RAYMOND. You are hosting it. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. ANDREWS. Oh, no. 

[Laughter.] 

Mrs. MCCARTHY. I would like to call on our colleague, Mr. 

Loebsack. 

Mr. LOEBSACK. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

It is great to be here. I am sorry I had to miss the testimony of 

three of you while I was doing other things and voting and what 

have you. But this is a great panel. I would concur with what Mr. 

Andrews just said. I am really impressed. Not only did Mr. Harris 

not read his notes, but Mr. Jones didn’t either, and I—well, I 

went—I know you don’t want to hear this—I went to the back 

room, and I was talking to my staffer wondering when you are 

going to run for this office at some point. But at any rate, this is 

really fantastic, and I really appreciate everything everyone said. 
53

I am glad to be here today, and I want to thank all of you for 

your testimony. 

Volunteerism is really important to me for a lot of reasons, not 

the least of which is because in the second district of Iowa in June 

we had dramatic floods that some of you probably saw on CNN and 

other cable news networks. A lot of volunteers came not only from 

other parts of Iowa to Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, the little town of 

Oakville—they are still coming to this little town of Oakville that 

was totally inundated where the Iowa River comes together with 

the Mississippi River, a tiny town just wiped out. And there are 

still volunteers there today from all over America. So AmeriCorps 

and VISTA came, faith-based organizations, it was absolutely fantastic. 

I think that really demonstrated the American spirit, and I want 

to thank Senator Wofford for all the work you have been doing on 

this issue for so many years. 

Also, I should just say—and be a little careful, since the camera 

is on I suppose—but I have learned in my 2 years here that politicians are usually, if not always, very fearful of YouTube, you know 

that might catch you at the wrong time, the wrong place, saying 

the wrong thing. But I am on YouTube with AmeriCorps VISTA 

volunteers mucking out a basement in Cedar Rapids Iowa, and I 

am really proud that I was able to do that with those folks. Great 

work. 

I do want to ask Mr. Jones, I know that you are—you know, I 

really commend what you are interested in as far as greening 

America. Mr. Kildee here and our chair, Mr. Miller, have allowed 

me to take a leadership role in the Green Schools legislation. Unfortunately, it didn’t get into the stimulus bill, although people still 

may be able to use some of the funding for Green School modernization. 

I think that you have at least some familiarity with Kirkwood 

Community College, which is in my district, too, because the leadership there when I was back mentioned your book. I was wondering if you could elaborate a little bit on how you see community 

colleges in particular fitting into all of this, especially on the job 

training front. 

Mr. JONES. Well, first of all, Mr. Harris is an example of the fact 

that the very next step in his journey was a community college. 

Many of us think about the 4-year college experience as sort of 

the penultimate. But the reality is many of the people from our 

communities, the first opportunity they are going to have is going 

to be community college. 

And we have an incredible infrastructure already in this country 

to do the things that need to get done. We already have the vocational schools in place—you don’t have to go build them. We can 

green them, but we don’t have to build them. We have the community colleges. We have the infrastructure. We have the teachers 

who are willing to teach. We have people who are willing to learn. 

What we haven’t done is, as I have said, taken things that already work, grab them, grow them, and green them. And the community colleges are going to be in the leadership. They can turn 

fastest. They can actually change curriculum faster than the 4-year 

colleges. They are more accessible. 
54

But I will say this, it is a tragedy—at least in Oakland, where 

I am from—the accessibility even now for our community colleges 

is going down, down, down, as the scholarships go away and as the 

costs go up. And this is the worst time in the world to make it hard 

for young people to get a job, or to continue their education, or to 

go into service. We have got to do—hopefully all three—but we 

can’t pull the ladder of opportunity up on all three of those fronts. 

Mr. LOEBSACK. I am really happy that in stimulus bill that we 

just passed, the Recovery and Reinvestment Act, that we did increase the Pell Grant by $500, which I think is a good thing, obviously, especially for community college students. 

And I want to thank Senator Wofford. I think you were at Cornell College, where I taught for 24 years, with President Obama 

when he was Senator Obama where he gave, really, that landmark 

speech, I think, on volunteerism. And I want to thank you for being 

with him and going to Cornell College. 

And I do have one last question to ask all of you. I know I have 

very limited time here. I am from a rural state, but not all of my 

district is rural. It might surprise some of you. 

Mrs. MCCARTHY. Excuse me. 

Mr. LOEBSACK. Yes, ma’am. 

Mrs. MCCARTHY. If you would cease for a moment. 

I know that you have to leave. So we thank you very much as 

we continue this session. 

Mr. RAYMOND. You guys gotta carry on. 

[Laughter.] 

Mrs. MCCARTHY. Yes, people are getting nervous. They want you 

to leave. 

Mr. LOEBSACK. Thanks, Usher. 

Mrs. MCCARTHY. Thank you very much. 

Mr. LOEBSACK. Thank you. 

I want to ask everyone here if you might have any thoughts at 

all about how we increase volunteerism in rural areas in particular. Does anybody have any thoughts on that? 

Mr. WOFFORD. Make one point pertinent to that: The stimulus 

package effort is dealing with getting people to work. 

Roosevelt at a somewhat similar economic crisis faced hundreds 

of thousands of young people—rural young people and urban young 

people—out of work, out of school. And he insisted that the four 

key departments that put together the Civilian Conservation Corps 

have within 4 months a quarter of a million boys in the woods 

planting, ultimately, in the Civilian Conservation Corps 3 billion 

trees, all of the other things that the CCC members did. 

By 4 months, they had more than 300,000 young men in full-time 

service in 1,600 camps. It was a big investment that paid off fantastically in the 31⁄2 million CCC members. 

There are corps in this country now, more than 100, that are 

service and conservation corps and other forms of full-time service. 

At the other end of the spectrum from Teach for America or even 

most of the VISTAs, there are going to be rural, especially young 

people, and inner city young people having a very, very hard time 

getting a job and being out of work and out of school. 

And I think it is the moment in the quantum leap for full-time 

service that is proposed by President Obama, to grow from 75,000 
55

AmeriCorps members to 250,000 that we look at that example of 

how in such a short period of time 300,000 and then it got to 

500,000. Young people were transforming our public lands. 

And there is no bigger challenge, I think, to us than, out of history, than that first great wave of civilian national service, most of 

whom then graduated into the military national service of World 

War II. 

Mr. LOEBSACK. Well, thank you all. 

And I have run over my time. So thank you, Madam Chair. 

Mrs. MCCARTHY. I want to say once more, thank you for your 

participation in this hearing. 

You know, we have a lot of work ahead of us, obviously, with the 

economy the way it is, with the budget, which we will receive from 

the president tomorrow. But I heard that there is money in that 

budget for this particular program, so we are all happy about that. 

We don’t know how much, though. It is always the details that we 

need to look at. 

So with that being said, I am going to close this hearing. Without 

objection, members will have 14 days to submit additional materials or questions for the hearing record. 

[Prepared statement of James P. Firman, submitted by Mr. 

Hinojosa, follows:]

Prepared Statement of James P. Firman, Ed.D, President and CEO, 

National Council on Aging 

Thank you for this opportunity to submit these comments on behalf of the National Council on Aging regarding the importance of civic engagement in meeting 

critical economic needs. 

The unique power of volunteer service has contributed to the vitality of our nation 

since its birth. In the mid-nineteenth century, historian Alexis de Tocqueville noted 

the unique contributions of voluntary organizations as core strength of our young 

democracy. In the following two centuries, our Presidents have recognized that volunteering is one of America’s greatest exports. President Obama participated in the 

first National Presidential Candidate Forum on Service last year, and agreed that 

developing an informed and engaged citizenry through expanded national and community service (both military and non military) is a fundamental building block of 

a strong democracy and nation. 

From our experience, we have learned that service has touched the lives of millions of Americans, both those serving and those served, young and old alike. It is 

the best of example of democracy in action, and instills the principle of citizenship 

as a continuing ingredient of successful life. 

Service is a significant and valuable force in life transitions, from youth to adulthood; from career to service, and from adulthood to later life. Service brings people 

together and promotes collaboration at all levels of society and builds bridges among 

seemingly disparate groups to improve the quality of life of people in our nation. 

People from diverse backgrounds and age groups working together through service 

can solve problems, learn by doing, and get great things done for America. 

When well planned and organized, civic engagement enables public and nonprofit 

service agencies to be more effective. Volunteerism leverages human resources to 

serve greater numbers of citizens who are vulnerable or living in poverty, and enhances problem-solving initiatives in education, public safety, the environment, and 

other human needs. 

Beginning in 2011 and continuing over the next 30 years, the largest cohort of 

citizens the nation has ever seen will turn 60. Their vast numbers combined with 

their longevity will increase demands on social services and health care systems, 

while record retirement rates will create job market shortfalls. However, unlike past 

societal challenges, embedded in the challenge itself is the solution. ‘‘If society can 

tap [Baby Boomer] talents, employers will benefit, living standards will be higher, 

and the financing problems of Social Security and Medicare will be easier to solve.’’ 

(Business Week, June 27, 2007) 

The current economic crisis highlights the importance of tapping the social capital 

of older adults. The talent, experience, and availability of rapidly growing numbers 
56

of adults 55+ can be mobilized to solve local problems in myriad ways. For example, 

there are several million young people who would benefit from adult mentoring, yet 

there are currently fewer than 500,000 mentors. Many informal caregivers of children with special needs and frail elderly desperately need some respite care. The 

growing legions of unemployed and underemployed also need experienced coaches 

to learn new skills to fill essential jobs in industries experiencing workforce shortages. 

The benefits of civic engagement extend to older Americans themselves as well 

as to their neighbors and communities. The mental and physical well being of older 

volunteers will be maintained and improved through purpose and meaningful activity. Youth involved in intergenerational mentoring programs have demonstrated improved grades, decreases in school absences and suspensions, and decreases in drug 

and alcohol abuse. Investments in civic engagement projects also contribute to a 

community’s economy by mobilizing volunteers; Independent Sector currently estimates the value of volunteer time at $19.51 an hour. 

Research conducted by NCOA demonstrates that adults approaching retirement 

age are concerned about the future of the country and want to give back—but in 

new ways with more impact. Many of them will be interested in exploring service 

opportunities, but may need some incentive and encouragement to get involved. 

NCOA believes that our nation should adopt public policies that empower older 

adults to make a commitment to remain active citizens in their communities in 

ways that address critical human needs. 

To that end, NCOA strongly supports: 

• Section 417 of the Older Americans Act which authorizes appropriations for 

multigenerational and civic engagement initiatives; 

• Proposals, such as Silver Scholarships, to provide incentives for older Americans 

to volunteer their time, included in legislation re-introduced by Congressman Sestak 

this month, and in the GIVE Act introduced by Congresswoman McCarthy and the 

Encore Service Act introduced by Senator Dodd in the 110th Congress. 

Again, thank you for this opportunity to share the views of the National Council 

on Aging regarding civic engagement initiatives for older Americans and the difference such investments can make in our national economy and our local communities. 

The National Council on Aging is a non-profit service and advocacy organization 

headquartered in Washington, DC. NCOA is a national voice for older Americans—

especially those who are vulnerable and disadvantaged—and the community organizations that serve them. It brings together non-profit organizations, businesses and 

government to develop creative solutions that improve the lives of all older adults. 

NCOA works with thousands of organizations across the country to help seniors find 

jobs and benefits, improve their health, live independently and remain active in 

their communities. 

[Prepared statement of Christopher P. Golden, submitted by Mr. 

Courtney, follows:]

Prepared Statement of Christopher P. Golden, Service Nation 100 ‘‘Young 

Leaders,’’ Co-Founder, myImpact 

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, America finds itself at a critical 

crossroads. Every day brings more news that is further evidence of the systemic 

problems that our nation faces. The challenges that my generation, the Millennial 

Generation, is inheriting are profound and pronounced. As such, they require a committed response consistent with our country’s greatest legacies and traditions. I am 

privileged to submit to the Committee today some personal thoughts on how national service can be a solution and how, through service, this generation is answering the call to renew America. 

In September 2008, I had the tremendous opportunity to attend the ServiceNation 

Summit in New York City as part of a group of 100 young leaders. The two-day 

event, planned to coincide with the anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, was an unprecedented gathering of federal, state and local politicians, corporate and nonprofit leaders and advocates for service from all generations. If ever 

there was a moment for this movement to unite under a single charter, it was then, 

within the vision of the ServiceNation Declaration of Service. 

‘‘We believe there is no challenge that cannot be met with the energy, creativity 

and determination of the American people,’’ the Declaration reads. 
57

It continues, ‘‘We call on each other and leaders from all sectors of American life, 

private, public and non-profit to work together to create ample opportunities for citizens to serve their communities, their country, and the world.’’

A call to service, reenergized at the summit, has continued to echo across the nation. Today’s committee hearing is evidence of the rising tide of voices coalescing 

around a common goal: to build a country where service is seen as a civic rite of 

passage for every willing and able young American. It is this ultimate vision that 

is commonly shared between my organization, myImpact, and the nearly 150 other 

organizations in the ServiceNation Coalition. We are encouraged by the signals from 

the Obama Administration and by the early actions of the new Congress. I join the 

hundreds of thousands of young people around the country who have made service 

a part of their daily lives, to encourage your continued leadership on this very important issue. 

The Millennial Generation must not be overlooked. We are a generation of diverse 

opinions and of strong passion. Coming of age at a difficult time, with a nation challenged and a world redefining itself, we are committed to civic participation and 

service and are volunteering at higher percentages than our parents did. The full 

impact of our generation’s contribution, in energy and ideas, is just beginning to be 

realized. 

It is at this time, more than any other in our recent history, that we call on the 

Congress to recognize this growing effort and to provide the resources, both institutionally and fiscally, to ensure that if a young American steps forward wanting to 

serve they are not turned away. Further, we believe that service and education go 

hand-in-hand and believe strongly in the President’s statement in his Address to 

Congress that, ‘‘if you are willing to volunteer in your neighborhood or give back 

to your community or serve your country, we will make sure that you can afford 

a higher education.’’

This Congress faces many pressing issues, beginning with stemming the economic 

crisis, but through these challenges can come tremendous opportunity. On this 

issue, there are several important pieces of legislation, including the Kennedy/Hatch 

Serve America Act, the US Public Service Academy Act and the package of Service 

for All initiatives introduced by Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd and Representative Rosa DeLauro that advance our common cause and move us closer to 

realizing our ultimate goal. 

In conclusion, I would like to thank the Committee for the opportunity to present 

these words as part of the record of this hearing, to Representative Courtney for 

his support, and especially for the Chairman’s leadership on this issue. 

[Additional submission by Mr. Wofford follows:]

AGE FOR CHANGE NETWORK, 

Washington, DC, February 25, 2009. 

COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR COMMITTEE MEMBERS: We the undersigned members of Age for Change Network represent organizations committed to strengthening service and civic engagement programs. Age for Change encourages people 50+ to create and pursue opportunities to be dynamic advocates, committed volunteers, and valued workers in society. During the election campaign, many candidates and policy makers called upon 

people of all ages to get involved in shaping the future of their communities and 

our country. Now we write to ask you to help us start the shift from vision to reality. 

Our organizations and many more with like interests have been involved with the 

development and support of ideas and programs that will: 

• Expand opportunities for people to serve at every stage of life; 

• Encourage and guide public institutions and nonprofit organizations to implement the necessary organizational and structural changes that will significantly increase their effective use of retirees and boomers. 

• Motivate the public, particularly individuals 50+ to undertake life-long learning 

as a key to continued involvement in community and work activities and improved 

health and well-being. 

• Clear the way for paid work for older workers who want to or must continue 

working by amending discrimination and pension laws and instituting flexible work 

places. 

• Connect leaders, employers, and community organizations to create new opportunities, tap the potential of workers and volunteers 50+, leverage scarce resources, 

and build infrastructure and momentum to support a nationwide call to service. 
58

Therefore, we write in support or your efforts and urge you to: 

• Support the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act (GIVE 

Act—H.R. 5563) that includes programs to encourage boomers and older adults to 

volunteer. These programs offer a range of opportunities including: Next Chapter 

Grants to fund organizations such as community colleges and other nonprofits to 

serve as one-stop resources for finding paid or volunteer jobs that provide service 

to the community; Time Banking which would create local service exchanges where 

both parties are compensated with reciprocal amounts of volunteer service and no 

money changes hands; requirements that states develop comprehensive plans to tap 

the resources of boomers and older adults for volunteer and paid work; and Bilingual Volunteer Recruitment to enhance outreach for senior volunteer programs so 

that bilingual volunteers are recruited, expanding the reach of programs and services for which older Americans typically volunteer, including the Silver Scholars program. 

• Support expansion of the highly successful Senior Corps programs—RSVP, Foster Grandparent Program, and the Senior Companion Program. 

• Support the creation of additional programs to help ensure that low income 

Americans, including older adults, have opportunities to serve. 

• Support the innovative programs and current program expansions included in 

the Serve America Act (S.3487), including Senior Corps, introduced by Senators 

Kennedy and Hatch. 

• Support the creation of the programs included in the Encore Service Act introduced by Senator Dodd and Representative Rosa DeLauro, which also includes Silver Scholars program, as does Representative Sestak’s legislation. 

As you have taken action to respond to the crisis of the economy by new efforts 

to invigorate the nation’s physical infrastructure—roads, bridges, schools—we urge 

you to strengthen the nation’s civic infrastructure. People of all ages, including 

those recently retired and those nearing retirement, are a resource waiting to be 

tapped. 

In order to maximize the opportunities of service for the rising wave of retirees, 

we offer the above agenda for legislation and regulatory action and for implementation on the ground in every community. 

Respectfully, 

AGE FOR CHANGE NETWORK, 

COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE PARTNERSHIP, 

EXPERIENCE WAVE, 

GRANTMAKERS IN AGING, 

MINNESOTA VITAL AGING NETWORK, 

NATIONAL ACADEMY ON AN AGING SOCIETY, THE GERONTOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF

AMERICA, 

NATIONAL COUNCIL ON AGING, 

PORTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE, 

THE COUNCIL FOR ADULT AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING (CAEL), 

THE OASIS INSTITUTE.

For more information about the Age for Change Network, contact Sabrina Reilly, Age for 

Change Steering Committee member at 202-479-6680 or sabrina.reilly@ncoa.org. 

Without objection, this hearing is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 12:31 p.m., the committee was adjourned.]

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