Creating a Service Nation: What Will it Take to Finally Break Through?
ServiceNation Summit, Sept. 11-12 in New York city, will bring together 500 leaders of all ages and from every sector of American life —from universities and foundations, to business and politics—to celebrate the power and potential of citizen service, and lay out a bold policy blueprint for addressing Americas greatest social challenges through expanded opportunities for volunteer and national service- ServiceNation
Bio
LTG Benjamin Freakley
General Freakley is from Woodstock, Virginia. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1975 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant, Infantry, Regular Army.
He has a Masters of Military Art and Science Degree in Operations. His military schooling includes the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, British Long Armor/Infantry Course, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, School of Advanced Military Studies, and the Army War College. Freakley is now the Commanding General U.S. Army Accessions Command and the Deputy Commanding General for Initial Military Training.
Mallory Josol
Mallory Josol has participated in AmeriCorps and City Year in the city of New Orleans. She is a youth service activist and has led many youth organizations.
Vanessa Kirsch
Vanessa Kirsch is the President and Founder of New Profit Inc. Vanessa has more than 17 years of experience in developing innovative solutions to social problems and is widely recognized as a leading social entrepreneur. Her experience, combined with a trip around the world in 1995 when she met with other social entrepreneurs, citizen leaders, philanthropists, and political officials, led her to start New Profit.
Prior to launching New Profit, Kirsch founded and led two nonprofit organizations, Public Allies and the Women's Information Network.
Michelle Nunn
Michelle Nunn is the co-founder and CEO of Hands On Network. Nunn is the founding director of Hands On Atlanta, a nonprofit organization that helps individuals, families, corporations, and community groups find flexible volunteer opportunities at more than 400 service organizations and schools.
Hands On Atlanta now has 25,000 volunteers who work every day of the year building community and meeting critical needs in schools, parks, senior homes, food banks, pet shelters, low-income neighborhoods, and more.
Under her leadership, the organization has grown from a grassroots startup in 1989 to one of the nation's largest community-based volunteer organizations.
Usher Raymond
Usher Raymond is an R&B recording artist and was the Service Nation Summit Youth Chair. To date, Raymond has sold approximately 35 million albums worldwide and has won five Grammy Awards.
Raymond is a part owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise, and has his own record label, US Records. On September 13, 2008 Raymond has been inducted into the All time Hot 100 Artist by Billboard.
When asked how the youth can be mobilized to national service, R&B singer Usher Raymond says that by "incentivizing" service work and encouraging responsibility, young people will become more involved in service work.
Youth activist Mallory Josol believes that, given the opportunity, youth in America will answer the call to national service and volunteer to help communities in need.
Josol advocates for using new communication networks like Facebook to get the message across to young people about service opportunities.
Lt. General Benjamin Freakley raises the fact that 70% of young Americans are ineligible for military service due to conditions like obesity and reliance on prescription drugs.
He believes recruiting with social networking sites will connect service opportunities with US youth.
Children today are exploited by commercial TV. Those with non-stellar parents are probably the 70%. Children and young adults are hypnotized by the messages they receive by watching television. The knowledge which has been attained by scientists on how the mind works is used to destroy young minds in the means to aquire wealth for the educated (without morals).
Ronald McDonald selling happy meals by seducing children with toys and then hooking them with scientifically addictive chemicals in the hamburgers is no better than drug dealers except that McDonald's is legal because it increases the stock holder's value.