Change Starts With You at the Points of Light Conference - June 22-25 in Washington, DC

Reimagining Service 2035 is a bold effort to reinvigorate volunteering in America. Aiming to bring the benefits of volunteering—stronger connections, increased empathy and trust, and bridge building—to individuals, communities and societies, we’ll double the number of people who volunteer by the year 2035.

Take the community survey to share your experiences and help shape the National Volunteer Strategy. We want to hear from:

• Individuals: People in the U.S. who volunteer, help neighbors, participate in mutual aid, or care about community well-being.
• Organizations: Representatives of nonprofits, faith communities, schools, civic groups, or public agencies that engage volunteers.

The federal budget bill passed by the Senate last Friday, the House on Tuesday, and signed into law by the President Tuesday afternoon includes full year FY26 funding for the Corporation for National & Community Service, with all AmeriCorps programs funded at the same levels as FY25. We are grateful to bipartisan champions in Congress, and to all of you – your advocacy made clear that AmeriCorps programs beloved in communities across the country.

Kids and teens everywhere have world-changing ideas that deserve the spotlight! That’s why the Mott Million Dollar Challenge is going all-in on innovation and backing the next generation of genius. K-12 students across all 50 states and D.C. are invited to pitch ideas that improve their schools, homes, or communities. They just need to record a 30-90 second pitch video and submit it by February 27, 2026. Finalists earn prizes from the $1 million prize pool and an invitation to an epic celebration and live pitch event in June of 2026, happening in Flint, Michigan.

Youth changemakers - ages 5 to 25 - in the U.S. and Canada are eligible to apply for these grants to lead awareness, service, and philanthropy projects or youth voice, leadership, and advocacy events in their communities during Youth Service Month (April 10 - May 10, 2026) & Global Youth Service Day (April 24-26, 2026). This year, youth may apply for grants of $250, $500, or $1,000.

The students of Valley View Elementary, including the schoolmates of Liam Ramos, wrote letters to the ICE agents who have been detaining their friends and families.

From Georgia to Arizona, young people are standing up to federal agents' violent operations in American towns and cities. Students at the University of Minnesota united with hundreds of groups across the country to organize a general strike on Friday, January 30.

Students are walking out of class to protest against ICE, many carrying placards; some read "We are all Renee Good" and "ICE out now."

Stepping Up to Help Those Affected by Cancer

Sixteen-year-old high school athlete Koa Lowe knows a lot about cancer. His mom is a childhood cancer survivor, and his dad is an oncologist. Together, he and his mom started Luna Peak Foundation to support those directly affected by cancer, as well as their loved ones and those experiencing grief. Koa has been working with Luna Peak Links, the student-led branch of the foundation, for multiple years in various roles—secretary, volunteer lead and fundraising chair. Now, as president, he brings together his peers to provide comfort to newly diagnosed children and their families through care packages and to raise funds in creative ways.

Spreading Smiles Among Seniors, One Card at a Time

Aditi Dewangan saw a need for connection and, inspired by the memory of her own grandfather, decided to fill it with heartfelt warmth. Her vision blossomed into Senior Care First, a nonprofit dedicated to brightening the lives of older adults in residential homes. Aditi’s simple but profound idea - personalized, handmade cards - has grown into a global movement of compassion. To grow Senior Care First, Aditi successfully recruited a massive network of over 3,000 volunteers - including more than 1,600 high school students from around the world. Through diligent work, Aditi and her peers have delivered an astonishing over 10,000 cards and crafts to more than 45 senior homes.

Making Food Waste a Thing of the Past

Arianna Sun is still in high school, but she’s already creating a revolution. Growing up, Arianna would sit at the dinner table and hear her grandfather’s stories about growing up during the Great Famine in China. Already shocked by the level of starvation he survived, Arianna was amazed to discover the amount of food waste that occurs in her own community. Arianna founded NoVasta, a youth-led organization that focuses on direct donations through food rescue and food donations alongside policy advocacy. Originally a club at her school, it expanded across the country and eventually went worldwide. Since its establishment in Arianna’s sophomore year of high school, NoVasta has donated over 8,500 meals that would have otherwise gone to the landfill.

Students are standing up. Here are resources they need.

Our Know Your Rights on Student Walkouts infographic that you can share on social media

ACLU | Know Your Rights: Students’ Rights

ACLU | Students’ Rights: Speech, Walkouts, and Other Protest

For student journalists:

Student Press Law Center | Know your rights when covering a protest

To learn more about immigration rights:

ACLU | Know Your Rights: Immigrants’ Rights

Government censorship of free speech and academic freedom has reached unprecedented heights on U.S. campuses as lawmakers extend a web of political and ideological control over the sector. We see this in efforts to undermine shared governance and student activism, as well as in how legislators, under the guise of promoting viewpoint diversity, are trying to impose a new orthodoxy on college leaders and educators. 

This report outlines a set of corps-related occupations that service and conservation corps program leaders can use to align and improve career development.

While plenty of people are familiar with Service and Conservation Corps, far fewer know that these programs can serve as onramps for young people to access well-paying, in-demand infrastructure jobs. That’s why we’re busting the biggest myths about service-to-workforce opportunities.