[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 105 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 105

   Designating April 24 through 26, 2009, as ``Global Youth Service 
                                Days''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 20, 2009

   Ms. Murkowski (for herself, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Begich, Mr. 
 Bingaman, Mr. Burr, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Cochran, Ms. Collins, Mr. Cornyn, 
 Mr. Dodd, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Feingold, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. Gillibrand, 
 Mr. Inouye, Mr. Kennedy, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Lautenberg, 
Mr. Levin, Mr. Lieberman, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Martinez, Mr. Menendez, Ms. 
 Mikulski, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Nelson of Nebraska, Mr. Nelson of Florida, 
  Mr. Specter, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Gregg, Mr. 
 Brown, and Mrs. Hagan) submitted the following resolution; which was 
                        considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Designating April 24 through 26, 2009, as ``Global Youth Service 
                                Days''.

Whereas Global Youth Service Days is an annual public awareness and education 
        campaign that highlights the valuable contributions that young people 
        make to their communities throughout the year;
Whereas the goals of Global Youth Service Days are to mobilize the youth of the 
        United States to identify and address the needs of their communities 
        through community service and service-learning opportunities, to support 
        young people in embarking on a lifelong path of volunteer service and 
        civic engagement, and to educate the public, the media, and policymakers 
        about contributions made by young people as community leaders throughout 
        the year;
Whereas Global Youth Service Days, a program of Youth Service America, is the 
        largest service event in the world and in 2009 is being observed for the 
        21st consecutive year in the United States and for the 10th year in more 
        than 100 countries;
Whereas young people in the United States and in many other countries are 
        providing more volunteer service to their communities than in any other 
        generation in history, thereby demonstrating that children and youth not 
        only represent the future of the world but are also leaders and assets 
        today;
Whereas recent research shows that when high quality, semester-long service-
        learning is used as a teaching and learning strategy that integrates 
        meaningful community service with the academic curriculum, it increases 
        students' cognitive engagement, motivation to learn, school attendance, 
        and academic achievement scores;
Whereas several private foundations and corporations in the United States 
        support community service and service-learning as a means for young 
        people to explore career aspirations and develop the leadership and 
        career-preparedness skills that are necessary for the United States to 
        be competitive in the 21st century, including time management, decision-
        making, teamwork, and problem solving;
Whereas a fundamental and conclusive correlation exists between youth service, 
        character development, lifelong adult volunteering, philanthropy, and 
        other forms of civic engagement;
Whereas community service and service-learning provide opportunities for youth 
        to apply their knowledge, idealism, energy, creativity, and unique 
        perspectives to improve their communities by addressing a myriad of 
        critical issues, such as poverty, hunger, illiteracy, education, natural 
        disasters, and climate change;
Whereas a growing number of Global Youth Service Days projects involve youth 
        working collaboratively across borders to address global issues, to 
        increase intercultural understanding, and to promote the sense that they 
        are global citizens;
Whereas Global Youth Service Days engages millions of young people worldwide 
        with the support of 50 International Coordinating Committee member 
        organizations, more than 150 National Partners in the United States, 75 
        State and local Global Youth Service Days Lead Agencies, and thousands 
        of local organizers; and
Whereas both young people and their communities will benefit greatly from 
        expanded opportunities for youth to engage in volunteer community 
        service and service-learning: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes and commends the significant contributions 
        of the youth of the United States and encourages the 
        cultivation of a civic bond between young people dedicated to 
        serving their neighbors, their communities, and the Nation;
            (2) designates April 24 through 26, 2009, as ``Global Youth 
        Service Days''; and
            (3) calls on the people of the United States to observe 
        Global Youth Service Days by--
                    (A) encouraging youth to participate in community 
                service and service-learning projects and joining youth 
                in such projects;
                    (B) recognizing the volunteer efforts of the young 
                people of the United States throughout the year; and
                    (C) supporting the volunteer efforts of young 
                people and engaging them in meaningful community 
                service, service-learning, and decision-making 
                opportunities, as an investment in the future of the 
                United States.
                                 <all>