This is a guest post from Caryn, who is an intern at Equal Justice Works through summer 2009.  She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, where she majored in Criminology, Criminal Justice and Sociology.

Last week I attended the Corporation for National and Community Service’s (CNCS) public listening session in response to the signing of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. The board members of CNCS are making their way to different cities across America to garner feedback on the Act, and hopefully implement some changes before it goes into effect on October 1, 2009. As the event was about to begin, an announcement was made for any stragglers wishing to speak to hurry and sign up—the list of speakers was already four pages long! These speakers, often working for or affiliated with a nonprofit, got three minutes to speak directly to the board members of the CNCS about any issues or suggestions they had surrounding the Act. Many of the spokespersons came with personal stories of strife or narratives about how their organization was helping the community.

Many groups are benefiting from the Act—a complete copy of which, along with highlights, can be found here. One of the main goals of the Act, which reauthorizes and expands national service programs administered by CNCS, is to strengthen the nonprofit sector. AmeriCorps specifically will be able to increase their number of volunteer positions from 75,000 to 250,000 by the year 2017, and will focus efforts on education, health, clean energy, veterans and the economy. Online AmeriCorps applications have already tripled within the past five months, so this grant money will greatly aid in achieving social justice goals.

If you are interested in speaking to the CNCS about the Serve America Act, visit the new website devoted entirely to public feedback.

-Caryn

UPDATE 5/29/09: Cole McMahon delivers testimony on the Serve America Act in New Orleans. Read the prepared testimony here.