President Obama Has asked for Help - And How You Can
Yesterday our 44th president, Barack Obama, was sworn in and America waited to see what he would say. The economy, the war, energy and a myriad of other concerns have plagued us in 2008 and, in 2009, Americans and the rest of the world have questioned how Obama will rise to face those demands.
Like many listening to Obama's speech I was impressed with the idea that to help America everyone needed to pitch in and do their part. As Obama pointed out,
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Shortly after the inaugration they ran a PSA for USA Service, a website where people can volunteer to help their community with various service projects.
Using a similar idea to Evite and other event planning social sites, USAService.org allows registered users to create service projects, invite other people, export the event to your GCal or Outlook Calendar, Map the location and RSVP for the event.
Setting up an account and an event were super easy. I scheduled a beach clean up event within 15 minutes. Now, a day later, I already have 4 volunteers who are going to be joining me clean up the beach!
If you're interested in helping out, you can search the site without being registered.
Using the power of social connection and the internet, Americans are able to do something good to help our community or country a better place. For more information please check out usaservice.org.