Cities of Service » News http://www.citiesofservice.org Cities of Service is a bipartisan coalition of mayors representing more than 20 million Americans, who will work together to engage millions more volunteers in service. Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:33:24 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Baltimore Mayor Rawlings-Blake, Community Volunteers Transform Vacant Lots into Gardens http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/04/26/baltimore-mayor-rawlings-blake-community-volunteers-transform-vacant-lots-into-gardens/ http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/04/26/baltimore-mayor-rawlings-blake-community-volunteers-transform-vacant-lots-into-gardens/#comments Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:33:18 +0000 Cities of Service http://www.citiesofservice.org/?p=1987 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. The latest such project leveraged a $25,000 donation from Scott’s Miracle Grow and the US Conference of Mayors to build the first of 32 large community gardens across Baltimore. Since the launch of the mayor’s high-impact service plan, stepUP! Baltimore, over 250 vacant lots have been adopted for revitalization by Baltimore volunteers.

Read the article from ABC2 News Baltimore

Read the stepUP! Baltimore service plan

]]> http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/04/26/baltimore-mayor-rawlings-blake-community-volunteers-transform-vacant-lots-into-gardens/feed/ 0 Houston Mayor Parker Launches Love Your Block http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/04/26/houston-mayor-parker-launches-love-your-block/ http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/04/26/houston-mayor-parker-launches-love-your-block/#comments Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:25:56 +0000 Cities of Service http://www.citiesofservice.org/?p=1991 Earlier this month, Houston Mayor Annise Parker launched Love Your Block, a high-impact service strategy to empower community residents to revitalize their neighborhoods. Leveraging a $10,000 grant from The Home Depot Foundation, Houston will fund 20 volunteer-driven revitalization projects throughout the city. With their launch, Houston becomes the 11th City of Service to implement the Love Your Block blueprint.

Read the article from ABC13 Houston

Read the Love Your Block Blueprint

]]> http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/04/26/houston-mayor-parker-launches-love-your-block/feed/ 0 Governing Magazine Highlights Nashville’s Success with Cities of Service Model http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/02/27/governing-magazine-highlights-nashvilles-success-with-cities-of-service-model/ http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/02/27/governing-magazine-highlights-nashvilles-success-with-cities-of-service-model/#comments Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:37:02 +0000 Cities of Service http://www.citiesofservice.org/?p=1900 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. Noting that Nashville has a long history of neighbors helping neighbors, the article cited the role of the city’s Chief Service Officer and the deployment of volunteers to remove tons of debris and help clear and repair over 500 damaged homes.

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]]> http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/02/27/governing-magazine-highlights-nashvilles-success-with-cities-of-service-model/feed/ 0 Cities of Service Website Network Named Finalist for SXSW Interactive Awards http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/02/17/cities-of-service-website-network-named-finalist-for-sxsw-interactive-awards/ http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/02/17/cities-of-service-website-network-named-finalist-for-sxsw-interactive-awards/#comments Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:10:45 +0000 Cities of Service http://www.citiesofservice.org/?p=1886 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.

To win, we need your help. Please vote by clicking here (no registration required).

To view samples of our sites currently in operation, visit:

If your city is interested in launching its own free Cities of Service custom website, please contact us at info@citiesofservice.org.

]]> http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/02/17/cities-of-service-website-network-named-finalist-for-sxsw-interactive-awards/feed/ 0 Kingsport Mayor Phillips Launches Impact Kingsport http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/02/14/kingsport-mayor-phillips-launches-impact-kingsport/ http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/02/14/kingsport-mayor-phillips-launches-impact-kingsport/#comments Tue, 14 Feb 2012 23:16:28 +0000 Cities of Service http://www.citiesofservice.org/?p=1879 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. Skilled seniors will volunteer their time to work with local companies, helping the companies expand operations within the city, ultimately increasing economic opportunities for residents.

This plan was created as part of a unique partnership between Cities of Service and AARP that helps cities with fewer than 125,000 residents develop high-impact service plans under the guidance of a volunteer Chief Service Officer.

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]]> http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/02/14/kingsport-mayor-phillips-launches-impact-kingsport/feed/ 0 Baltimore Mayor Rawlings-Blake and VISTA Team Tackle Vacant Lots http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/01/27/baltimore-mayor-rawlings-blake-and-vista-team-tackle-vacant-lots/ http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/01/27/baltimore-mayor-rawlings-blake-and-vista-team-tackle-vacant-lots/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:20:31 +0000 Cities of Service http://www.citiesofservice.org/?p=1865 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. With the support of the city’s Chief Service Officer, four AmeriCorps VISTA corps members, and dozens of citizen volunteers, over 270 vacant lots have been transformed in the last five months.

Read the article

Read the StepUP! Baltimore Service Plan

]]> http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/01/27/baltimore-mayor-rawlings-blake-and-vista-team-tackle-vacant-lots/feed/ 0 21 Mayors Urge Peers to Support Chief Service Officers and Impact Volunteering http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/01/17/21-mayors-urge-peers-to-support-chief-service-officers-and-impact-volunteering/ http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/01/17/21-mayors-urge-peers-to-support-chief-service-officers-and-impact-volunteering/#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:53:17 +0000 Cities of Service http://www.citiesofservice.org/?p=1826 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.

Read the letter

]]> http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/01/17/21-mayors-urge-peers-to-support-chief-service-officers-and-impact-volunteering/feed/ 0 Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa and AmeriCorps Director Gomperts Encourage Mayors to Leverage Citizen Service http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/01/16/los-angeles-mayor-villaraigosa-and-americorps-director-gomperts-encourage-mayors-to-leverage-citizen-service/ http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/01/16/los-angeles-mayor-villaraigosa-and-americorps-director-gomperts-encourage-mayors-to-leverage-citizen-service/#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:28:08 +0000 Cities of Service http://www.citiesofservice.org/?p=1838 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. Mayors have a variety of tools available to help them tap the power of their residents – for example, AmeriCorps volunteers from the Corporation for National and Community Service and impact volunteering blueprints and technical assistance from Cities of Service.

Read the article

]]> http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/01/16/los-angeles-mayor-villaraigosa-and-americorps-director-gomperts-encourage-mayors-to-leverage-citizen-service/feed/ 0 Chicago Mayor Emanuel Launches ChicagoShovels.org http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/01/04/chicago-mayor-emanuel-launches-chicagoshovels-org/ http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/01/04/chicago-mayor-emanuel-launches-chicagoshovels-org/#comments Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:59:50 +0000 Cities of Service http://www.citiesofservice.org/?p=1812 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. In addition, the website features a snow plow tracker that updates residents in real time on the status of street plowing, as well as downloadable applications that offer a variety of information such as which streets have parking restrictions and if a resident’s car was towed.

]]> http://www.citiesofservice.org/2012/01/04/chicago-mayor-emanuel-launches-chicagoshovels-org/feed/ 0 NYC Service A Finalist for Harvard Government Innovation Award http://www.citiesofservice.org/2011/12/01/nyc-service-a-finalist-for-harvard-government-innovation-award/ http://www.citiesofservice.org/2011/12/01/nyc-service-a-finalist-for-harvard-government-innovation-award/#comments Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:06:19 +0000 Cities of Service http://www.citiesofservice.org/?p=1796 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. The award, which is administered by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, recognizes “excellence and creativity in the public sector.” The six finalists were selected from more than 500 submissions. This year’s top awardee will be named in March 2012 and receive a grant of $100,000.

To view NYC Service’s final presentation before the award judges, click here.

To learn more about the Innovations in American Government Awards, click here.

To learn more about NYC Service, click here.

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