News
News included here courtesy of Cities of Service.
Baltimore Mayor Rawlings-Blake, Community Volunteers Transform Vacant Lots into Gardens
Through her high-impact service initiative, Power in Dirt, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is engaging community residents in revitalizing blighted areas - one vacant lot at a time.
Houston Mayor Parker Launches Love Your Block
Earlier this month, Houston Mayor Annise Parker launched Love Your Block, a high-impact service strategy to empower community residents to revitalize their neighborhoods.
Governing Magazine Highlights Nashville’s Success with Cities of Service Model
In an article this month, Governing Magazine highlighted Nashville Mayor Karl Dean’s successful use of impact volunteering as a reliable, viable strategy in the city's response to the historic floods of 2010.
Cities of Service Website Network Named Finalist for SXSW Interactive Awards
The Cities of Service website network, used by coalition members to connect volunteers to impactful service opportunities in their cities, is a finalist for the prestigious SXSW (South by Southwest) Interactive Award in the community category.
Kingsport Mayor Phillips Launches Impact Kingsport
Kingsport, TN Mayor Dennis Phillips launched Impact Kingsport, the city’s high-impact service plan. The plan targets the city’s priority area of economic development.
Baltimore Mayor Rawlings-Blake and VISTA Team Tackle Vacant Lots
Power In Dirt, an initiative of Baltimore Mayor Rawlings-Blake's high-impact service plan, StepUP! Baltimore, was launched in 2011 to transform the city's vacant lots into community maintained green spaces.
21 Mayors Urge Peers to Support Chief Service Officers and Impact Volunteering
This month, Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter, Vice President of the US Conference of Mayors, was joined by 20 other mayors, including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, President of the US Conference of Mayors, in urging their peers across the nation to adopt the Cites of Service model of impact volunteering and to establish or sustain a Chief Service Officer in their administrations.
Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa and AmeriCorps Director Gomperts Encourage Mayors to Leverage Citizen Service
On Martin Luther King Day, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and AmeriCorps Director John Gomperts encouraged mayors to use citizen service as a reliable, viable strategy to address local challenges.
Chicago Mayor Emanuel Launches ChicagoShovels.org
This week, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel launched ChicagoShovels.org, a one-stop shop for city residents to learn how they can help their neighbors during snow emergencies. A key component of this program will be the Snow Corps initiative, which matches volunteers with residents in need of snow removal like seniors and people with disabilities.
NYC Service A Finalist for Harvard Government Innovation Award
NYC Service, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's high-impact service plan – which pioneered impact volunteering – has been named one of the six finalists for this year's Innovation in American Government Award. Click through to watch their presentation in the final round of competition at Harvard University.