In April of 2009, the President signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act (formally the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act) at an elementary school in the District of Columbia. At this memorable event, President Obama was joined by Vice President Biden, First Lady Michelle Obama, Dr, Jill Biden, Members of Congress, former President Clinton, and former First Lady Rosalyn Carter.

Open Congress Summary:

Introduced by U.S. Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) on March 8, 2009, “The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act formally the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act) authorizes a dramatic funding increase for AmeriCorps and other volunteer programs, and the creation of new programs for seniors and veterans. It establishes a goal of expanding from 75,000 government-supported volunteers to 250,000, and would increase education funding and establish a summer volunteer program for students, paying $500 (which would be applied to college costs) to
high-school and middle-school student who participate.”

Specific Organizations Supporting H.R.1388

• National Association of Community Health Centers
• American Association of Retired Persons
• Corporation for National and Community Service
• AmeriCorps
• Voices for National Service
• Senior Corps
• Learn and Serve America
• Hands On Network
• Youth Service America
• The Corps Network

The US House of Representatives passed this piece of legislation on March 18, 2009. The Senate passed the legislation on March 25, 2009. The President signed the legislation on April 20, 2009.

Sources: Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. Corp. for National and Community Service. Wikipedia. www.nationalservice.gov.www.opencongress.org.www.independentsector.org.
www.govtrack.us.

Photo credit: Microsoft Clip Art.