Seasons of Service from the National Service Briefing

National African American Read In (February)

Green Education Foundation (GEF) is mobilizing two million children to participate in environmental educational programs during National Green Week 2010 (Feb. 1-5, 2010). The objective is to empower students to become environmental stewards within the context of their own lives. GEF provides all the educational content for the program including standards-based environmental lessons that are easily incorporated into science, math, language arts, social studies, and creative arts curriculum. www.nationalgreenweek.com

The Corporation for National and Community Service is teaming up with StoryCorps on its 2nd Annual National Day of Listening, November 27 to highlight the value of service during this holiday season.

We are inviting the public to interview everyday service heroes who help to shape the future of communities across the country-from volunteer firefighters to youth mentors to veterans returning from active duty-as part of the National Day of Listening. Woven together, these stories will help illustrate how volunteering can answer national challenges and trumpet the extraordinary acts of service that make a difference in the lives of so many Americans.

Autumn is a special time for the March of Dimes because Prematurity Awareness Month is in November! This is our chance to spread the mission of this wonderful cause, educate others about what we do, and recruit young volunteers to fight for our nation's little ones. Join the March of Dimes this November. Download our toolkit.

One in eight babies is born too soon in America. But what about the rest of the world? The March of Dimes just published the results of the first-ever study into the global problem of premature birth. And the news is disturbing:

Make A Difference Day is the most encompassing national day of helping others -- a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors. Everyone can participate. Created by USA WEEKEND Magazine, Make A Difference Day is an annual event that takes place on the fourth Saturday of every October.

Millions have participated. In 2008, 3 million people cared enough about their communities to volunteer on that day, accomplishing thousands of projects in hundreds of towns.

The week of October 18-24, 2009 is National Safe Schools Week (NSSW). According to the Centers for Disease Control, over 1 million students across America take a weapon to school each month, and over 1.3 million students are injured or threatened with a weapon each year. National Safe Schools Week provides an opportunity to empower students to keep their schools safe by encouraging them to speak up against school violence. http://www.safeschoolsweek.org/

The United Nations has designated the first Monday of October every year as World Habitat Day. The idea is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities and the basic right of all to adequate shelter. It is also intended to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat. The United Nations chose the theme Planning our urban future to raise awareness of the need to improve urban planning to deal with new major challenges of the 21st century. Learn how to participate at: www.unhabitat.org/whd