Days of action take a lot of work and coordination. So do forums and summits. And movements ... well, we can't even cover all that in a blog post.
But take each of these elements one day, one person, one activity at a time, and you might just create something huge. That's the cumulative effect of ServiceNation [1], a campaign amibitously designed to "enact a new era of service and citizenship in America ... in which all Americans will work together to try and solve our greatest and most persistent societal challenges."
And they really do mean ALL Americans -- from the presidential candidates who will kick off the ServiceNation Summit [2] on the anniversary of 9/11; to the 500 business, nonprofit, and government leaders convening there; to the countless community members participating in the national Day of Action [3] on Sept. 27; to the most important participant of all ... YOU.
It's true. This campaign is gunning to be a movement, with 1 million Americans in full-time service and 100 million in part-time service every year. But it won't reach that goal if it doesn't reach you. So here's how you can make it happen in three easy steps:
Step 1: Show our leaders how ready you are by taking a simple poll and and submitting the burning questions [4] you have for our candidates about their vision for citizen service.
Step 2: Glue thineself to the Web for Summit coverage. I'll be reporting directly from ServiceNation on Thursday and Friday, with live blogging here and on Twitter. (Find me at RocchiJulia [5] -- tag is #sn08 [6].) You can also find ServiceNation info on Facebook [7], Flickr [8], YouTube [9], and more.
Step 3: Join the Day of Action [10] on Sept. 27 once the hubbub of the Summit is past. IMHO, this is where the rubber meets the road. It's the grassroots yin to the Summit's treetops yang. And we need both to gain traction, so throw yourself into the mix!
So stay tuned to my first honest-to-gosh press coverage tomorrow, and chime in with any or all of the discussions springing up about this historic cause. As my colleague Jonathan wisely wrote, "If there's one thing that John McCain and Barack Obama can agree on, it's that Americans are ready and willing to serve their country in a post-9/11 world." Now that's something we can all get behind!
