[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6104-6105]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       NATIONAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate now 
proceed to consideration of S. Res. 105, which was submitted earlier 
today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 105) designating April 15, 2005, as 
     National Youth Service Day, and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise in support of S. Res. 105, a 
resolution designating April 15, 2005, as National Youth Service Day. 
S. Res. 105 acknowledges the remarkable community service efforts that 
our Nation's youth are making in communities across the country on 
April 15 and every day, and encourages all people to recognize and 
support the significance of these contributions.
  National Youth Service Day is a public awareness and education 
campaign that highlights the extraordinary contributions that young 
people make to their communities throughout the year. On this day, 
youth from across the United states and the world will carry out 
community service projects in areas ranging from hunger to literacy to 
the environment. National Youth Service Day is the largest service 
event in the world that brings millions of youth and over 50 local, 
regional, and national partners together to support and promote youth 
service.
  In Alaska, the following groups will engage youth in community 
service activities on April 15:
  (1) Anchorage's Promise, along with 70 other youth/family 
organizations from Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley, will mobilize all 
sectors of the community to build the character and competence of 
Anchorage's children

[[Page 6105]]

and youth by fulfilling the Five Promises: caring adults, safe places, 
a healthy start, marketable skills, and opportunities to serve. This 
year's National Youth Service Day celebration in anchorage hopes to 
engage at least 7,000 youth in service-learning projects throughout the 
city.
  (2) Cook Inlet Tribal Council Youth Center will prepare and serve 
traditional Alaska Native dishes to 75-100 homeless people in downtown 
Anchorage.
  (3) As part of the Anchorage Youth Make It Better Project, the 
mountain View Boys and Girls Club, Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice, 
members of the Boy Scouts of America Venturing Program, interested 
AmeriCorps/VISTA volunteers, and the Alaska Points of Light Youth 
Leadership Institute Student Alumni association will organize and 
conduct a Youth Make A Better Community essay contest involving 50 
Anchorage fifth and sixth grade students. The students will write about 
how they would improve the community. In addition, 25 middle and high 
school students will design and paint an outdoor mural in Mountain View 
highlighting important social issues and traits of good character.
  (4) In Koyukuk, young people will be helping elders with household 
chores they cannot do for themselves.
  (5) In the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, Communities In Schools Mat-Su 
has organized 25 students from the Mat-Su Youth Facility School and 
students from the Chickaloon Tribal School to work on building a 
Chicken Coop for the tribal sustainability project.
  Many similar and wonderful activities will be taking place all across 
the Nation.
  I thank my colleagues--Senators Akaka, Allen, Bayh, Bingaman, Boxer, 
Bunning, Clinton, Cochran, Coleman, Collins, Conrad, Cornyn, Craig, 
DeWine, Dodd, Domenici, Dorgan, Durbin, Feingold, Feinstein, Gregg, 
Hagel, Isakson, Johnson, Kerry, Landrieu, Lieberman, Levin, Lott, 
Martinez, Mikulski, Murray, Nelson, Reed, Salazar, Santorum, Schumer, 
Sessions, Snowe, Specter, Stabenow, Stevens, Bunning and Thune--for co-
sponsoring this worthwhile legislation, which will ensure that youth 
across the country and the world know that all of their hard work is 
greatly appreciated.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, 
the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid on the 
table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 105) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 105

       Whereas National Youth Service Day 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 National Youth Service Day are to 
     mobilize youth as leaders in identifying and addressing the 
     needs of their communities through service and service-
     learning, to support youth on a lifelong path of service and 
     civic engagement, and to educate the public, the media, and 
     policymakers about the year-round contributions of young 
     people as community leaders;
       Whereas young people in the United States, and in many 
     other countries, are volunteering more than in any generation 
     in history;
       Whereas young people should be viewed as the hope not only 
     of the future, but also of today, and should be valued for 
     the idealism, energy, creativity, and commitment they bring 
     to the challenges found in their communities;
       Whereas there is a fundamental and conclusive correlation 
     between youth service and lifelong adult volunteering and 
     philanthropy;
       Whereas through community service, young people build 
     character and learn valuable skills, including time 
     management, teamwork, needs-assessment, and leadership, that 
     are sought by employers;
       Whereas service-learning, an innovative teaching method 
     combining service to the community with curriculum-based 
     learning, is a proven strategy to increase academic 
     achievement and strengthens civic engagement and civic 
     responsibility;
       Whereas several private foundations and corporations in the 
     United States support service-learning because they 
     understand that strong communities begin with strong schools 
     and a community investment in the lives and futures of youth;
       Whereas a sustained investment by the Federal Government, 
     business partners, schools, and communities fuels the 
     positive, long-term cultural change that will make service 
     and service-learning the common expectation and the common 
     experience of all young people;
       Whereas National Youth Service Day, a program of Youth 
     Service America, is the largest service event in the world 
     and is being observed for the 17th consecutive year in 2005;
       Whereas National Youth Service Day, with the support of 50 
     lead agencies, hundreds of grant winners, and thousands of 
     local partners, engages millions of young people nationwide;
       Whereas National Youth Service Day will involve 114 
     national partners, including 8 Federal agencies and 10 
     organizations that are offering grants to support National 
     Youth Service Day;
       Whereas National Youth Service Day has inspired Global 
     Youth Service Day, which occurs concurrently in over 120 
     countries and is now in its sixth year; and
       Whereas young people will benefit greatly from expanded 
     opportunities to engage in meaningful volunteer service and 
     service-learning: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved,

     SECTION 1. RECOGNITION AND ENCOURAGEMENT OF YOUTH COMMUNITY 
                   SERVICE.

       The Senate recognizes and commends the significant 
     contributions of American youth and encourages the 
     cultivation of a common civic bond among young people 
     dedicated to serving their neighbors, their communities, and 
     the Nation.

     SEC. 2. NATIONAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY.

       The Senate--
       (1) designates April 15, 2005, as ``National Youth Service 
     Day''; and
       (2) calls on the people of the United States to--
       (A) observe the day by encouraging and engaging youth to 
     participate in civic and community service projects;
       (B) recognize the volunteer efforts of our Nation's young 
     people throughout the year; and
       (C) support these efforts and engage youth in meaningful 
     decision making opportunities today as an investment in the 
     future of our Nation.

                          ____________________