United We Serve - President Barack Obama Calls for Day of Service to Kick Off Inaugural Festivities

The president is calling on all Americans to participate in our nation's recovery and renewal by serving in our communities. There are many ways to get involved. America's new foundation will be built one community at a time - and it starts with you. 

President Barack Obama will kick off his inaugural festivities with a national day of service on Jan. 19. The Presidential Inaugural Committee is also announcing that the four living past presidents will serve as honorary co-chairs: Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
A slew of other Obama campaign officials and supporters of the president are also joining the inaugural committee, including actress Eva Longoria. She has been named a committee co-chair.

Obama will take the oath of office in a private ceremony on Jan. 20, a Sunday.  

Volunteering Among Americans Hits Five-Year High. The findings come from Volunteering and Civic Life in America, a report issued by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) in partnership with the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC). 

The report also finds that parents of school-aged children contributed more than 2.5 billion hours of their time to volunteer efforts in 2011, most of it to school-based projects, underscoring the pivotal role that schools play as hubs for local volunteer efforts. 

Overall, 64.3 million Americans (more than one in four adults) volunteered through a formal organization last year, an increase of 1.5 million from 2010. The 7.9 billion hours these individuals volunteered is valued at $171 billion. Among citizens who volunteered through an organization, the top activities included fundraising or selling items to raise money (26.2%); collecting, preparing, distributing, or serving food (23.6%); engaging in general labor or transportation (20.3%); or tutoring or teaching (18.2%).

In addition to this formal volunteering, two out of three Americans (65.1% or 143.7 million individuals) volunteered informally by doing favors for and helping out their neighbors, an increase of 9.5 percentage points from last year. Among other key findings, almost half of Americans (44.1%) actively participated in civic, religious, and school groups.

President Barack Obama delivers remarks at Browne Education Campus in Washington, D.C., before participating in a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day service event with First Lady Michelle Obama and daughter Malia, Jan. 16, 2012. January 16, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 

To find a volunteer opportunity please visit http://www.serve.gov/