As our days here in Tucson quickly dwindle we are still leaving our mark on the community that we’ve called home for the last two months. On Sunday all of our hard work and planning finally came together in the execution of an amazing Day of Service. The team was up at 7:30 a.m. to load all of the donations we’d collected, along with all of the cleaning and painting supplies in our vehicles. With the help of Sun 1’s team leader Jordan we were able to get everything to the park in one trip and began setting things up around 8:00. By 10:00 we’d gotten booths set up for each of the sponsoring organizations, laid out several trash bags under the railings we were painting, and organized the snacks (an awfully in-depth process taken on by Ian and I which included a full cardboard display for the array of granola bars). We also were fortunate enough to have the Sheriff’s Department let us borrow their orange Hummer with an amazing sound system to play a four-hour mix that Ian worked tirelessly on the day before.

The turnout included all of Sun 1, several community volunteers, and people from each of our partnering organization. I was pleasantly surprised by how many people came out, around 30 in total and the amount of work we got done was impressive. We spent all morning picking up trash from the wash (including six shopping carts), painting over graffiti, pulling up buffle grass (which is an invasive species in the Tucson area), and painting the railing which separates the wash and the park trail. Around noon we took a break for lunch: a huge amount of pizza donated by a local pizza place and Tucson’s Sheriff’s Department.

After everyone was fed we all gathered to hear sponsors from Open Inn and Youth On Their Own (the two organizations for which we acquired donations) speak about what their groups do for the Tucson community. We were also fortunate enough to have Michael (a student involved with Youth On Their Own) share his story with us. It was so touching to hear his story of such loss and how Youth On Their Own helped him back onto a path of promise. He shared with us that he has found his life goals through the program and now wants to be a part of the Arizona Symphony after attending college at the University of Arizona as a music major. The impact of his journey made me realize just who we were helping with all of our donations and how far our help will hopefully reach.

At the end of the day we had made 36 care packages for homeless youth in the area and managed to clean up the vast majority of the park. I left feeling the accomplishment of what we did for the community and was relived at how smoothly it had all gone.

Monday started with another early morning. We were out the door by 7 a.m. and headed to Saguaro National Park East to help out with the 2010 cactus census. We met up with three supervisors from the Parks Department, split into three groups, and spent the morning counting Saguaro cacti. The groups spread out over a predetermined plot and proceeded to flag each Saguaro we came across. We determined each cacti’s height, how many bird holes it had, it’s number of arms, and any other notable characteristics. Ian, Shiny, Chris (our awesome supervisor) and I named each one of our cacti with ridiculous names, ranging from Betty to Montezuma. Overall, even despite the overcast weather and the cold (by Tucson standards) the ISP was a lot of fun.

With only a little over a week left in Tucson things are still going well. We are proud of the work we’ve done here, from taxes to Community Unity Day, and are already starting to feel the sadness that comes with the end of each project.

You can follow Sarah and the rest of the Water 4 AmeriCorps NCCC team on their service adventures at their Water Log blog.

It’s been a great first week. I’ve had the opportunity to meet our extraordinary staff and to hear directly from some of them in my first of many small listening sessions. I met with the Inspector General and received a number of in-depth briefings – and I’m even starting to find my way around the office.
 

Imagine a problem facing a community—unemployment or homelessness, poverty or environmental degradation—and there is a good chance that a group of college students are finding a way to tackle it. At the Corporation for National and Community Service, we honor these students and their universities with the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. The Honor Roll is the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement.
 

Wow! What a special day it was! On King Day, January 18, 2010, Boulevard Townhomes (BTH) came to life as the children put aside their own desires to make life for some local senior citizens a little bit fresher.
 

On my first full day in office, I want to tell you how excited and honored I am to be serving as the CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service.
 

This morning Patrick Corvington was sworn in as the new CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. It was a fun and exciting morning and we snapped a couple of pictures to share with you. It’s a great time for service – and Patrick is the right leader at the right time for the Corporation. Learn more about Patrick Corvington.
 

America is facing some of the greatest challenges in a generation. At the same time, promising nonprofit organizations across the country are making heroic efforts to meet overwhelming need and, implement effective and innovative ways to meet these challenges. But their impact is often hampered by a lack of resources and support to evaluate and improve their programs, and expand them so they can serve more communities of need.
 

While a record snowstorm has quieted much of official Washington this week, we have exciting news to share: the Senate yesterday evening unanimously confirmed Patrick Corvington as the next CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service.
 

Hi – my name is Ashley and I am a team leader in AmeriCorps NCCC. NCCC is a 10 month residential service program and our mission is to strengthen communities and develop leaders through direct, team-based service. This is my second year in NCCC, and it has been an incredible experience.
 

Yesterday was a busy and exciting day at the Corporation for National and Community Service, as we rolled out the President’s FY 2011 budget request for our agency. After briefing our staff, Acting CEO Nicola Goren and Chief of Program Operations Kristin McSwain hosted calls all afternoon to share the details with our grantees across the country.
 

Monday was not an average day on the road for us. We’re in the middle of a long eight game road trip and flew into Washington, D.C. late Sunday night after tough game in Toronto. Fortunately, Monday had a couple opportunities for us that kept the team’s energy high despite the minimal sleep.
 

I spent most of my MLK Day in silence. The sound of keyboards clicking was pretty much the only sound that you heard during my service project. The only weather we faced was a draft in the cafe that forced us to keep our coats on. And at the end of the day all of our hard work fit on a single tiny flash drive.
 

This Sunday, Jan 24, ABC will air an extended two-hour episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, about an extraordinary story of hope from the west side of Buffalo. In November 2009, the show came to one of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods in our nation’s third poorest city to build a green home for the family of Delores Powell. What happened next has never happened in the history of the show. More than 6,300 volunteers turned out to help, building not only a home for one deserving family but transforming an entire community through service. The volunteers worked on projects for 164 families– replacing roofs, rebuilding steps, painting, hanging siding, landscaping and other needed projects for neighborhood.
 

In preparing for Monday's Energy Canvass in honor of the MLK Day of Service, I restored in my mind Dr. King's vision of the attainable "Beloved Community," where the all-inclusive spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood nurtures an environment of conversation, reconciliation, and progress. Over 40 volunteers of all ages joined WeatherizeDC Monday ready to serve and in pursuit of this Beloved Community, but in a bit of a new way: by talking about energy.
 

January is National Mentoring Month – we officially take time to shine a spotlight on the importance of mentors and the need for every child to have a caring adult in their life. Today the President and First lady will announce a new mentoring initiative and you can watch live at whitehouse.gov/live (4:05 EST). To learn more and how to get involved, visit serve.gov/mentor.
 

Yesterday, the President and the First Lady dedicated their morning to serving the community here in DC.
 

I spent my MLK Day volunteering at Bruce Monroe Elementary School with Greater DC Cares. Armed with only barebones project details, I wasn’t quite sure how I would be serving. I did know that we would beautify the school. I was also fairly sure that paint brushes would be prominently involved. I was excited for the day.
 

And the stories of service have started coming in…we thought we would share some pictures from Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs Eric Shinseki. Sec. Shinseki helped prepare food for distribution to area soup kitchens at DC Central Kitchen. Thanks to Sec. Shinseki for sharing his pictures. Now it’s your turn – share your stories and pictures from today by visiting our MLK Share site.
 

This morning the President, First Lady and their family visited So Others Might Eat, an organization dedicated to helping people get off the streets – the first family served food to homeless and hungry men, women and children. “Dr. King dedicated his life to advancing social justice and equal opportunity for all,” President Obama said. “But more than forty years after his death, there is still much work left to be done. Through service, we honor his legacy by helping our neighbors, strengthening our communities and meeting the challenges we face together. I encourage all Americans to not only continue Dr. King’s work through service today, but to make service a part of your lives every day.”
 

We want to share with you an idea of what is happening across the country today - this is just a glimpse at the 10,000+ service projects found in serve.gov/MLKDay.
 

Like Martin Luther King, Jr., I was born and raised in Atlanta. I am fortunate, however, that because of Dr. King’s tireless contributions to the betterment of humanity, he and I knew and love(d) two very different Atlantas. But long before there was a federal holiday or the national day of service or even before Stevie Wonder’s harmonious “Happy Birthday” homage to the fallen drum major for justice, Atlanta honored her favorite native son.
 

This morning over 200 volunteers arrived at the Sunlight Foundation in Washington, DC to code for the crisis in Haiti. Convened by CrisisCamp DC, volunteers are collaborating on technology projects that aim to assist in Haiti's relief efforts by providing data, information, maps and technical assistance to NGOs, relief agencies and the public.
 

During my relatively brief tenure in Washington, I have had the privilege of working with technology professionals who share a sense of purpose that often extends beyond corporate walls and into their local communities. This year, the Administration wants to tap into that spirit of generosity by collaborating with the Corporation for National and Community Service during the MLK Day of Service to launch the MLK Technology Challenge (on Twitter: #MLKTech). Our goal is to connect technologically thirsty schools and non-profits with IT and web professionals, developers, graphic designers, and new-media professionals who are willing to volunteer their skills for the common good.
 

Monday is the Martin Luther King Day of Service – people across the country will come together to honor Dr King by serving in their communities. We want to hear from you and how you plan to serve - or you can check in next week and let us know how your service project went.
 

 The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service is all about individuals serving in whatever capacity they can - as Dr. King said, “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.” Service doesn’t have to be formal and volunteering on Monday doesn’t necessarily have to be connected to an official MLK Day event. When you visit Serve.gov to find volunteer opportunities and other resources you will notice that there is a lot of language around “service projects.” So what exactly is a service project? A service project is your way of giving back to the community.
 

The President has been receiving updates on the urgent situation in Haiti late into last night and throughout the day, and top members of his team have been convening to formulate the government response.
 

If you are like me, you made New Year’s resolutions this year that were fairly similar to the ones you made last year. Each year in late December, I resolve to “turn over a new leaf” and make better use of my spare time. Some of the items that reappear most frequently on my list are: volunteer more, learn more about my community, connect with my neighbors, and do something that benefits others. Although these resolutions seem simple enough, I often need a little push to translate them into reality. Instead of taking the initiative, I make excuses that “I don’t have enough time; I don’t know where to volunteer; I don’t know what opportunities are out there.”
 

The Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service is one of those days when everyone can come together around a common cause and mission. Throughout the week we will be highlighting stories of service from across the country and today we have the opportunity to share with you our 2010 Ambassadors of Service.
 

Everyone has a wish list – we know that many schools have tech wish lists – nagging projects that just never seem to get completed; or fun, new and innovative projects that you need just a bit more capacity to get off the ground. The MLK Tech Challenge is here to help. The aim is simple: to connect schools that have technology needs with IT and web professionals, developers, graphic designers and new media professionals who are willing to volunteer their skills for good, by taking on these technology projects and giving back to a school in need.
 

 Town Park Village, a residential complex in the Overtown neighborhood of Miami, will welcome seven hundred volunteers to landscape and green the community as a way of honoring the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr. This January 16th event is only the latest in a series of projects that Hands On Miami has coordinated in Overtown, one of Miami’s most underserved communities. Last year, Hands On Miami helped to create and furnish two community centers for the seniors and young people of Town Park Village, and two kindergarten classrooms at the neighboring charter school, among several other projects.