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Civic Engagement in an Older America E-Newsletter May, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act
On the afternoon of April 21, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, the most inclusive and comprehensive national service legislation ever passed. To celebrate the historic occassion, The Gerontological Society of America's Civic Engagement project, Experience Wave, and The Atlantic Philanthropies organized a post-signing reception to congratulate and thank those who worked to advance the bill and further the cause of national and community service. Click here to view a slideshow of photos from the post-signing reception. Senator Harris Wofford of Experience Wave and Gara LaMarche, CEO of The Atlantic Philanthropies, co-chaired the reception's host committee, which included representatives from a wide range of organizations that promote or provide service opportunities for Americans of all ages, including AARP, America’s Promise Alliance, Be The Change, Center for American Progress, City Year, Civic Enterprises, Civic Ventures, the Corporation for National and Community Service, Experience Corps, The National Council on Aging, Points of Light Foundation, ServeNext, Target Foundation, TIME, VolunteerMatch, and Youth Service America. The Serve America Act includes several provisions that specifically benefit midlife and older adults. The law establishes Encore Fellowships that allow older Americans to hold one-year paid management or leadership positions in nonprofit organizations; it targets 10 percent of AmeriCorps funds for organizations that enroll adults aged 55 and older; and it creates Silver Scholarships that provide a $1,000—transferable to children and grandchildren—higher education scholarship to older volunteers who contribute at least 350 hours of service per year. For more information about the Serve America Act, click on the following links: "A Call to Service" (The White House) "Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act (Opportunities for Public Input)" (Corporation for National and Community Service) "A New Patriotism" (The Huffington Post) "Law Opens Up 'Encore' Careers" (Wall Street Journal) "Serve
America Act: Historic Day for Encore Careers" (Encore.org) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The CE E-Newsletter is the E-Newsletter of GSA’s Civic Engagement in an Older America Project. The "Civic Engagement in an Older America" project is supported by a grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies. If you have been forwarded this by a colleague and would like to subscribe, please click here and type "Subscribe" in the subject line. If you would like to unsubscribe to this newsletter, please click here and type "Unsubscribe" in the subject line.
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