Underlying the sweeping reforms and essential institutional responses to disaster, to poverty, to environmental degradation and to all forms of need has been the one reliable but often unheralded individual volunteer. This volunteer could be a Red Cross worker, the soup kitchen cook, the foster grandparent or the patient tutor...

It is not often that presidents share a legacy. More typically, the history books and the leaders themselves prefer a unique stamp, a signature achievement that defines their tenure in the highest office.

Multiple presidents, however, can lay claim to the fabric that is comprised by the array of service...

On Sept. 22, 1961, Congress approved legislation creating the Peace Corps. This organization was born not of politics, but rather the enthusiasm and idealism of students responding to a speech by President John F. Kennedy that lasted less than five minutes. These students gathered signatures on a petition expressing support...

When terrorists struck New York on 9/11, Ann Seligman wanted to help. So, like thousands of her fellow citizens, she volunteered.

Working with New York Cares, a local volunteer organization, Ann helped people affected by the attack receive the assistance and care they needed to rebuild their lives. She...

Community service is changing. It is now strongly reliant on active strategic involvement by the private sector. Multinational organizations are now expected to participate in creating the common good and to do so in ways that leverages their people and core assets. It's the cost of doing business. And that's...

At times of great upheaval and uncertainty, the willingness of selfless people in this country and around the world to step up and make a difference is a singular constant. In the aftermath of the devastating Tohoku earthquake earlier this month, Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan called his countrymen to...

The kitchen table is a potent symbol. During recent elections, it became the metaphorical site where families wrestled with the household budget, struggling to make ends meet in an unforgiving economy.

Yet, the image of a modest table where families gather is more than just a...

As we approach the election, a barrage of political advertisements and commentary showcase the current and future electoral leaders of our nation. Unfortunately, the reaction from the majority of the public seems to be one of profound disappointment and a collective shudder. Politics increasingly feels like a game, but one...

This past Saturday hundreds of young people joined together to launch generationOn, a global youth service movement that encourages all kids to discover their power and potential to solve real world problems through service. Powered by Points of Light...

What do you get when you combine a school system with some of the nation's lowest fourth grade reading scores, an innovative superintendent and a business volunteer council eager to create direct and lasting impact?

• You get committed, working volunteers spending their lunch hours with students reading, instructing and instilling...

Commencement address to Wesleyan College, Macon, Ga., on May 15, 2010

Thank you -- President Knox, faculty, graduates-to-be and most honored guests. President Knox, thank you for that overly generous introduction. And thank you for embodying servant leadership and for embracing a vision for Wesleyan that restores to higher education...

"What do you want to do when you grow up?" It's a timeless question every youngster gets asked repeatedly. Innocent enough, but the inquiry seems to assume that as a youth, you can't do very much at all, other than wait for adulthood to reveal your potential.

However, today's youth...

For the next three days, more than 6,000 leaders from the corporate, nonprofit and public sectors will gather in New York City to develop strategies on how we can collaborate to strengthen our communities through volunteerism. The National Conference on Volunteering and Service is the largest gathering of volunteer leaders...

Maybe Woody Allen had it wrong.

Maybe 90 percent of life is NOT just showing up because, every day, in countless ways, individuals, organizations and corporations around this country don't just show up; they show up and give back.

April 18-24 is National Volunteer Week, an apt occasion to pause...

If it weren't for the distinctive 1960s fashion, it would be easy to mistake the picture of the 1963 March on Washington for 2010. The placards in the grainy photo of the thousands gathered on the national mall express the concerns of the day: jobs, access to quality education, housing....

Demand, idealism and presidential impact are leading American volunteerism to its third and most important stage - the movement of service to a central role in our national priorities. Boomers and teens are leading a record surge in overall volunteering even as millions of Americans are unemployed, homeless or hungry,...