Washington, D.C. – Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) applauded the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee for incorporating large parts of his “Service for All Ages” initiative into the Serve America Act, which passed the Committee today. The initiative is a group of four bills that will expand and strengthen opportunities for Americans of all ages to serve their communities. Dodd, who is a senior member of the HELP Committee, was joined by Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) in introducing the “Service for All Ages” initiative last month.
“I am thrilled that The Serve America Act now includes provisions of my ‘Service for All Ages’ initiative,” said Dodd. “In these difficult economic times, we must harness the power of the American people to help strengthen our communities in Connecticut and across the nation. The Serve America Act will help do exactly that – providing ordinary people of all ages with the tools to do extraordinary things.”
“There is no doubt that Senator Dodd appreciates the importance of community service in the development of young people,” said Bob Rath, President/CEO of Our Piece of the Pie in Hartford, Connecticut. “Participating in service projects not only benefits the communities in which we live, it also helps to build a young person’s character by showing them that they really can make a difference. I thank Senator Dodd for sponsoring this important piece of legislation.”
“We are so grateful that Senator Dodd has taken the lead to create more great opportunities for older adults to serve their communities,” said Sheila Greenstein, the Program Manager of Experience Corps in Greater New Haven. “Toward this end, we hope that Congress will follow his lead in improving AmeriCorps for Baby Boomers and other older adults. Experience Corps – Greater New Haven is one example of the type of meaningful service programs that our communities and older adults need. I know our schools would like to have more Experience Corps members helping students learn to read through the AmeriCorps program.”
The Serve America Act includes the following provisions of Dodd’s “Service for All Ages” Initiative:
- The Semester of Service Act will give students in high school the opportunity to spend a semester participating in community service-learning for academic credit.
- The Summer of Service Act will enable states and localities to offer students in middle and high school an opportunity to participate in a structured community service program over the summer months.
- The ACTION Act will not only help many young people realize their dreams of going to college, but will also allow them to afford it by updating the AmeriCorps Education Award to reflect increasing cost of higher education.
- The Encore Service Act will take advantage of all older Americans have to offer communities by providing stipends and educational scholarships to citizens 55 years of age and older who volunteer their time and dedicate their knowledge to help communities in need.
