Service Is Having a Moment

“Service will save us.”

So said Maryland Governor Wes Moore (sidebar: read his book: The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates) at the August 1 launch of Service United, his signature initiative as newly elected chair of the National Governors Association.

Service United is a bipartisan call to governors to create and expand paid service programs in their states.

Backed by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation and the Schultz Family Foundation, Service United represents the largest philanthropic investment NGA has ever received to advance service, strengthen workforce development, and push back against polarization.

The Service United Fund offers governors’ offices grants of up to $1.5M to plan, build, or grow service programs designed to improve outcomes for young people and their communities. The first round of applications is open now.

Ohmygoodness! Is this cool or what?!

Buuuuuut, Service United isn’t starting from scratch.

It’s building on The Center for State Service Innovation, launched just last year by Service Year Alliance and America’s Service Commissions, with early funding from the Einhorn Collaborative and the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. For the past year, the Center has been on the ground with governors, state service commissions, and community partners, growing paid service-year opportunities state by state and making the case that service belongs on a governor’s priority list.

I LOVE ALL OF THIS. And THIS is some good news to share.

Sarah

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#️⃣ IT’S ABOUT PROGRAMMING, NOT POSTING

As someone who’s run various social accounts and teed up lots and lots of social copy, I found this Substack about the future of brand social super fascinating. And I feel that the author’s main points are one million percent relevant for social impact comms leads.

Nick Cicero, the author, says social teams should consider how to build recurring formats people actually start to recognize and expect: this is programming. Social teams do not need to “post more.” What they do need is a format — a repeatable, ownable thing that’s done on a rhythm to build audience memory.

So good. Read the article here.

📝 WORD IT OUT SHARES WORDS OF MOUTH

And while I’m on the topic of others’ newsletters, have you heard about Words of Mouth? I’m slightly obsessed. Words of Mouth is a very cool weekly newsletter curated and written by Rachel Meade Smith that shares “humane professional and creative opportunities.”

Organizations and individuals can also become a weekly sponsor and/or buy a classified ad, for extremely reasonable prices.

I look forward to reading this newsletter every Monday evening, just to see who’s doing what and all the cool jobs that are out there.

🛫 JUST FOR FUN (?)

I’m sorry, but who are these people trying to take stolen cannonballs, swords, and bottles of ranch dressing on flights?! This Washington Post article about the weirdest TSA finds of the summer (so far) had me questioning (again) some of the people we do life with. It’s an amusing (and consternating) read, to say the least.

💘 NONPROFIT LOVE

Newsflash: young people know what young people need. (Say what?!)

I recently came across a nonprofit built entirely around that idea — trusting young people to help lead the very solutions actually designed for them.

The data behind this is sobering: 52% of schools can’t meet student mental health needs. Good programming exists, but it too often fails to reach the communities that need it most.

Enter Active Minds, the largest nonprofit in the U.S. mobilizing youth and young adults to transform mental health norms. Youth voice is at the helm of Active Minds. The organization’s programming equips students to take an active role in shaping healthier school cultures, leading the conversations and driving advocacy, while giving educators a practical, sustainable way to bring mental health support into their communities.

With support from a recently launched $5M partnership with Google.org, Active Minds is helping to remove one of the biggest barriers schools face: funding. This back-to-school season, Active Minds is offering free, experiential, mental health and digital well-being programming to under-resourced schools across the country.

Do you work at a school or know someone who does? Learn more and sign up for the free programming here (spread the word!). There are lots of other ways to get involved, too; visit the Active Minds website and click Take Action for all the details.