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
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.