Spend a year in service.

I've written before about opportunities to spend two years in service. Now, here's a wonderful opportunity for young people to spend one year in service.

City Year seeks to demonstrate, improve and promote the concept of national service as a means for building a stronger democracy. An action tank is both a program and a think tank - constantly combining theory and practice to advance new policy ideas, make programmatic breakthroughs, and bring about major changes in society.

There are three major program areas:

* Full-time youth service corps - "City Year’s signature program, the City Year youth service corps, unites more than 1,000 young adults, ages 17-24, from diverse backgrounds for a demanding year of full-time community service, leadership development, and civic engagement."

* Large-scale, high-impact community events - "City Year unites thousands of people each year in completing critical service projects to revitalize their communities, fostering a spirit of civic engagement and bringing together community members from all walks of life."

* National service policies and initiatives - "By generating new, innovative policy ideas and leading discussion around these ideas, City Year seeks to build awareness and support for citizen service among leaders and key stakeholders across the country and the world."

Sound like something you or someone you know would be interested in? Then get involved! Check out the City Year sites (the newest one is in Little Rock!) and apply online. If City Year hasn't yet come to your town, start a new site. What a great way to make your city a better place to live.

"Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are." -Benjamin Franklin, statesman, author, and inventor (1706-1790) [But are any of us really unaffected?]