Washington, D.C. — As part of the Students in Service to America initiative, the Corporation for National and Community Service and the U.S. Department of Education are encouraging educators and students to honor September 11 victims through community service projects. The agencies are suggesting that educators and others who work with students begin incorporating service activities into their plans for spring term courses and programs.

President George W. Bush launched Students in Service to America at the start of the 2002-2003 school year. He urged all American students to begin a volunteer service activity or project this school year as part of the USA Freedom Corps effort to create a culture of service, responsibility, and citizenship. Students in Service to America is being led by the Corporation for National and Community Service and the U.S. Department of Education in connection with the Points of Light Foundation.

More than 130,000 public and private elementary and secondary schools, homeschools, and after-school programs around the country received the Students in Service to America guidebook, CD-ROM and other teaching materials earlier this year. The materials offer research, guidance, tools, and other resources for planning service activities and service-learning programs. The materials are also available online at www.studentsinservicetoamerica.org.

"We are pleased to be part of this important effort to build the habit of service and civic engagement in the rising generation," said Leslie Lenkowsky, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. One of the Corporation's main programs, Learn and Serve America, provides $43 million in grants each year to schools, colleges, and community organizations to promote service-learning programs that engage approximately 1.5 million students in service to their communities.

Through the Points of Light Foundation, educators can access hundreds of Volunteer Centers around the country to find service opportunities. This school year, they can also take part in the effort to designate service projects of all kinds as memorials to individual victims of the terrorist attacks through the Unity in the Spirit of America (USA) initiative. Originally set to close the initiative in 2002, the Points of Light Foundation has extended the USA initiative at the request of volunteers and families of September 11th victims until March 1, 2003. Educators and students planning for the upcoming academic terms can register new or ongoing volunteer projects as official USA initiative projects until March 1, 2003. All projects must be scheduled to be complete by the end of National Volunteer Week, April 27, 2003 - May 3, 2003 in order to qualify. Information on registering for the USA initiative is available at www.usa.pointsoflight.org.

Through the USA initiative, volunteers can designate hands-on service projects such as food drives, tutoring projects, park cleanups, community gardening, or playground building as memorials to September 11th victims. Through the Students in Service to America effort, they can expand upon the tradition of community service in schools that includes service-learning and service projects organized by individual students, student groups, or teachers. By serving something greater than themselves, young people will learn about their rich democratic traditions as Americans, meet vital community needs, and become responsible and engaged citizens.

To assist schools and community groups that support student service, President Bush also announced that the Corporation for National and Community Service will dedicate the time and talents of 25,000 AmeriCorps members and Senior Corps volunteers to support student service activities and service-learning programs around the country. Information about how to apply for AmeriCorps and Senior Corps grants to support service coordinators is available at www.nationalservice.org.

The Corporation for National and Community Service provides opportunities for Americans of all ages and backgrounds to serve their communities and country through three programs: Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America. Working with national and community nonprofits, faith-based groups, schools, and local agencies, the Corporation engages more than two million Americans each year in meeting critical needs in education, the environment, public safety, homeland security, and other areas. The Corporation and its programs are part of USA Freedom Corps, a White House initiative to foster a culture of citizenship, service and responsibility, and help all Americans answer the President's Call to Service. For more information, visit www.nationalservice.org.