Service-Learning Advocacy Toolkit
Take Action
Become a Service-Learning Champion
Youth Service-Learning Champions work alongside Coalition for Service-Learning members to represent the field of service-learning at the local, state, and federal level. Champions have an opportunity to use their talents and strengths to help shape the national agenda so that all young people will have the opportunity to civically engage through service-learning.
CHAMPION GOALS AND OUTCOMES
Champions will have full, intentional partnership within the Coalition, opportunities for personal and professional development, and an authentic voice in decision-making.
Champions will build the capacity of the Coalition to advance service-learning policy at the local, state, and national level.
Champions will advise their peers and adults on topics related to service-learning such as youth voice, youth leadership, community engagement, and civic life.
Champions will:
Additionally champions will:
• Understand the functions of a national coalition;
• Learn from experienced coalition members to build personal, social-emotional, leadership, and professional skills;
• Increase the ability to think critically and strategically; and
• Build a resume in unique and powerful ways.
Learn more and apply to become a Service-Learning Champion
Advocacy Training
Calling all youth! Want to tell your service-learning story? We need YOU to share the importance of using service-learning with people who make decisions about its availability. Relate how you developed leadership skills, acquired new knowledge and worked with others to solve community problems using this teaching and learning experience. You’ll learn who to talk to, how to reach them, what to say to them, and why it’s so important. NOW is the time to share the power of your story. Your voice and story matter to others - let’s make sure others have these same opportunities to create the change they want to see in their world.
Contact Your Federal Legislators
Lend your voice and advocate for the funding of service-learning to support young people, communities, and our democracy! The goal is to have all 535 members of Congress receive multiple emails and phone calls in support of restoring funding to Learn and Serve America (H.R. 1388, Public Law 111-13).
Reach the staffers for your legislators in the U.S. House and Senate to request a meeting about service-learning. Below are sample communications to support your efforts:
REQUEST A MEETING
Meeting with our Members of Congress (or more likely, their staff) is a great way to directly engage them in conversation. Here’s how:
Research your Members of Congress. Look up who your Representative and Senators are, and locate their contact information by clicking on this link and typing in your address.
Request your meeting. Three tips:
Send the request for a meeting (perhaps through the form on their website or an email address for their scheduler or district office). Most offices are scheduling meetings via Zoom.
Be persistent. If you haven’t heard back in a few days, call to follow up. Persistence is key. Most likely, you will meet with a staffer rather than the MoC. You should for sure accept a meeting with the staffer. Members of Congress rely on their staff to make decisions on legislation.
Be flexible with timing.
Sample Letter Language:
Dear (Insert name and title):
I believe that service-learning is critically needed for our country’s future, now more than ever. The 170+ member Coalition for Service-Learning is advocating for restoring funding to Learn and Serve America in the FY23 appropriation to the Corporation for National and Community Service. (Insert name of organization/person) would very much appreciate the opportunity to meet and discuss our request with you.
Funds appropriated to Learn and Serve America will be used to develop and implement service-learning programs and opportunities for hands-on community service for K–12 and post-secondary students across the country. The Coalition’s request builds upon the comprehensive report and recommendations of the Congressionally-mandated and bipartisan National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service. One of the Commission’s recommendations is to establish a Service-Learning Fund at the Corporation for National and Community Service; a summary of this recommendation can be found here. The National Commission explained the need for a Service-Learning Fund as follows:
“(T)o strengthen the ethic of service in the nation’s youth, the Commission’s proposals seek to significantly expand the practice of service-learning in our nation’s schools and higher education institutions…Incentivizing states and school districts to implement service-learning and dedicated service terms will help students cultivate important skills for future education or careers, pursue service in the future, and promote a nationwide culture of service.”
We agree with the Commission’s recommendation to establish a $250 million competitive Service-Learning Fund in the FY 2023 Labor HHS Education appropriations legislation for the Corporation for National and Community Service. Funds will be awarded to eligible SEAs, LEAs, IHEs, State Service Commissions, and nonprofit organizations. These funds would support three programs:
$100 M for Summer of Service program for students in grades 6-12
$100 M for Semester of Service program for students in grades 9-12
$50 M for service-learning programming for students
All funds would be competitive. Additionally, to reach the schools with the fewest resources, 50% of funds would be reserved for schools serving low-income students and would require no match.
Learn and Serve America is still authorized in Subtitle B of the Edward M Kennedy Serve America Act (2009) but has not been funded since 2011. The Commission’s recommendation to create the Service-Learning Fund, in effect, would restore funding to Learn and Serve America and was the impetus for us to form the Coalition for Service-Learning to advocate for such funding. We believe that since the authorizing legislation exists, that this might be accomplished through the FY23 appropriations process by adding $250M for Learn and Serve to the Corporation’s FY22 appropriation. The Coalition submitted a formal request to Senate Appropriations (letter attached).
Please let me know a few times that work well for you next week and I would be happy to follow up with a scheduling invite.
We appreciate your support and attention to this timely request.
Sincerely,
Call Your Legislators
Look up who your Representatives and Senators are, and locate their phone numbers by clicking on this link and typing in your address.
A sample script for your phone call is below:
Hello. My name is _________ and I’m a ________ [title i.e. civics educator / parent / position at _____ member organization] and a constituent of Representative / Senator ______ . I’m calling to encourage the Representative / Senator to support restoring funding to Learn and Serve America (H.R. 1388, Public Law 111-13) housed at CNCS with an appropriation of $250M annually to award competitive grants to SEAs, LEAs, IHEs, State Service Commissions, and nonprofits to develop and implement service-learning programs for K–12 and post-secondary students across the country. This move will expand access to comprehensive, equitable, and effective education.
As a _______ [Insert title], I know how important it is to prioritize service-learning in education across the United States. [Insert your individual reason for supporting the bill]. Can we count on Representative/Senator X to support our cause?
Thank you for taking the time to hear my request.
***Leave a voice message if nobody answers.***
Email to Schedule Meeting
To (insert name/title),
Hi my name is <NAME> and I live in <TOWN>. I am a constituent of <MOC> and I am writing to schedule a meeting about supporting service-learning and Learn and Serve America (H.R. 1388, Public Law 111-13). <One or two sentences on why you care about this issue.>
Would <MOC> be available to meet on <GIVE 2-3 DAYS AND 2-3 TIMES>. I can be reached at <PHONE> and <EMAIL>.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Prepare for your meeting
Your meeting may be between 15 minutes to 1 hour. Modify the sample agenda (below). Invite other students/parents/educators who are passionate about service-learning and are constituents of the MoC to also join you. The most important part of your meeting is the “ask,” the commitment you ask your MoC to make.
Sample Agenda for Meeting
Introductions, thank the MoC of staff for their time
Presentation on Learn and Serve America (H.R. 1388, Public Law 111-13) , including local impacts or constituent stories
The “ask”: restore funding to support service-learning
Discussion of ask and any next steps
Wrap-up, thank yous, confirm next steps
Remember, it’s okay to not know all the answers! If you don’t know the answer to a question, let the MoC or staff know that you will get back to them. They do not expect you to be a policy expert.
Follow up
Celebrate the important action that you just took together and debrief with your group. Did the MoC commit to co-sponsoring? If so, be sure to follow up with the staff with any information they may need to sign on.
Post about your experience on social media. Use the sample below and modify with how your MoC responded to the meeting:
“Today we met with [MoC] to discuss Learn and Serve America (H.R. 1388, Public Law 111-13), a bipartisan bill that will transform service-learning across this country. [Thank you Congressman/Senator for agreeing to support our Nation’s youth through service-learning.]
Other Methods to Connect
Photo Petitions
We are working to show the breadth and depth of support we have across the country for Learn and Serve America (H.R. 1388, Public Law 111-13). Please consider posting a photo, sharing why you care about service-learning on social media tagging your Members of Congress.
Here’s how:
Brainstorm why service-learning is important to you. Make it personal! How does this impact you? Your community? Share your story so we can show how this program will impact YOU. That’s one of the most powerful things we can do.
Write your reason for supporting Learn and Serve America (H.R. 1388, Public Law 111-13) on a piece of paper, and take a selfie with it.
Post your selfie on social media
Be sure to tag your Members of Congress
Contact Your Local Newspaper
Getting your perspective in your local newspaper or on social media can help educate the public and engage people in action. The most powerful tool we have is our story, and we can use that to breathe life into why equity-focused service education really matters in schools, cities and towns across this country.
A letter to the editor (LTE) is a generally short (typically under 200 words) piece that is written in response to a published article in the same paper.
Tips to writing a strong LTE:
Keep your argument concise
Make it relevant and timely
Make it personal
Below is a sample LTE that you can personalize to your local publication:
Our democracy depends on a national-wide culture of service and that begins with service-learning opportunities for our nation’s youth . [Ideally, reference a recent article and draw a connection in this short paragraph.]
As an [educator / parent / position at _____ organization], [insert story about why service education is important to you.]
It is critical that Senators [add their names here] and Representative [add their name here] support restored funding for Learn and Serve America (H.R. 1388, Public Law 111-13) to expand access to service-learning as a method of education. Service-learning shouldn’t be an optional part of a good education or one available only to some students. This is America and we must commit to every student receiving equitable, experiential service-learning education to keep our nation strong. I urge our local Congress members to support Learn and Serve America and invest in our youth and in the future of our democracy.
Sample Social Media
SAMPLE TWEETS TO SHARE ON TWITTER:
The time is now to expand access to service-learning for all young people. Support the refunding of Learn and Serv. #servicelearing #coalition4sl
Join efforts to expand #servicelearning in classrooms and afterschool programs across the country. #coalition4SL
Take action NOW to ensure all young people become informed and engaged participants in our democracy #servicelearning #coalition4SL
SAMPLE POSTS TO SHARE ON FACEBOOK:
Championing support for Learn and Serve is more important than ever. Join me by joining the #Coalition4SL #servicelearning
The time is now to invest in our nation’s young people by expanding #servicelearning opportunities for all K-H students. I urge you to support the refunding of Learn and Serve by joining the Coalition4SL.org
Let Us Know About Your Outreach
Why Supporting Service-Learning Matters
“(T)o strengthen the ethic of service in the nation’s youth, the Commission’s proposals seek to significantly expand the practice of service-learning in our nation’s schools and higher education institutions…Incentivizing states and school districts to implement service-learning and dedicated service terms will help students cultivate important skills for future education or careers, pursue service in the future, and promote a nationwide culture of service.”
Service-learning is a proven strategy to engage students in their education when they understand that their service is authentic, has substance over time, and can be understood in the context of academic or civic content.
Service-learning recognizes that young people have the strength and capacity to contribute to our democracy, even while they are still in school. It views all people as citizens with the capacity to contribute - regardless of their age, economic background, educational attainment, race or ethnicity, or physical or learning challenges.
Support for Service-Learning
“Inspired to Serve”, (May 2020) a report from the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service’s, calls for a $250 million Service-Learning Fund to be administered by AmeriCorps (Corporation for National and Community Service), to train educators and support Summer of Service and Semester of Service service-learning programs, organized locally. The report calls for the revitalization of civic education and the expansion of service-learning over the next 10 years.
“A Republic (Still) at Risk- and Civics is Part of the Solution” (2017) includes service-learning as one of six proven practices for restoring faith and participation in our democracy. (The list further includes student voice in schools, and student-led voluntary associations).
Stanford education professor and California State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond noted in a July 2020 article in EducationDive, schools that are successful are "connecting lessons to real world applications, allowing students to explore the world around them.”
Funding History
The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act or Serve America Act (H.R. 1388, Public Law 111-13) was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on March 9, 2009, by Representative Carolyn McCarthy of New York. Originally titled the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act (GIVE Act), the bill reauthorizes and expands the AmeriCorps program that was first established in 1993. It passed in the House of Representatives on March 18, 2009.
The U.S. Senate debated and approved an amended version of the bill on March 26, 2009, renaming it the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, after Senator Ted Kennedy. The House of Representatives voted on the bill a second time, approving the amended version on March 31, 2009. It was signed by President Barack Obama on April 21, 2009.
A significant setback occurred in April 2011 when Congress passed the fiscal year 2011 budget and eliminated funding for Learn and Serve America, the sole federal funding stream dedicated to service-learning. Congress passed the FY 2011 budget that cut the Corporation budget by $74.6 million. This cut included a $40 million reduction of LSA funding, which effectively eliminated LSA. Although the Obama administration requested $39.5 million for LSA in FY 2012, this request was not funded.
The Recommendation
Establish a $250 million competitive Service-Learning Fund in the FY 2023 Labor HHS Education appropriations legislation for the Corporation for National and Community Service. Funds will be awarded to eligible SEAs, LEAs, IHEs, State Service Commissions, and nonprofit organizations. These funds would support three programs:
$100 M for Summer of Service program for students in grades 6-12
$100 M for Semester of Service program for students in grades 9-12
$50 M for service-learning programming for students
All funds would be competitive. Additionally, to reach the schools with the fewest resources, 50% of funds would be reserved for schools serving low-income students and would require no match.