Cities of Service: Building a Blueprint for Change

120 representatives of 42 city governments and nonprofits across the country assembled in Philadelphia last week--not to take in Philadelphia’s history (though many did in their spare time), but to learn how to make volunteer service a powerful solution to challenges confronting our urban communities.

The two-day conference, called “Building a Blueprint for Change,” represented the second stage of the Cities of Service initiative (check out their website).  ServiceNation is working to support the initiative that launched in New York City this past September. Cities of Service is working to build a network of Mayors all across America who are committed to leveraging the power of volunteer and community service in their towns and cities.

Last week's event was hosted by the Corporation for National and Community Service.  ServiceNation and coalition partners HandsOn | Points of Light, AARP, and Bloomberg’s office supported the training, along with corporate sponsors The Home Depot Foundation and Citi Foundation.  Topics included using service as a strategy, overcoming obstacles and identifying opportunities, empowering citizens to create solutions, and measuring success.  Participating cities ranged from Catoosa, Oklahoma to Los Angeles, California.

ServiceNation was proud to sponsor a lunch panel (thanks to a gift from the Home Depot Foundation) on business and philanthropy. From this panel, the audience walked away with a better sense of how to partner with corporations and foundations who often can provide the much-needed resources necessary make volunteer projects a tremendous success.

— Tony Woods