The Case For National Service

The Activists
Mark Richards for TIME

VolunteerMatch

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Founder: Jay Backstrand and Craig Jacoby

When: 1998 in Palo Alto, Calif.

Website: volunteermatch.org

Bright Idea: Use the Internet to connect those who are interested in community service with organizations in need of volunteers.

Impact: This search engine for volunteerism has made more than 3 million referrals to socially responsible Web surfers. Some 52,000 nonprofit organizations recruit help through the site.

The Next Wave: Other nonprofits are finding new ways to harness the Web to leverage the talents and enthusiasm of volunteers.

—Donors Choose: Teachers submit online requests for materials and activities for their students. Donors search the site to decide which ones to fund.

—SmartVolunteer: This site takes VolunteerMatch a step further by letting people search for projects that require specific skills, such as accounting or medical training. Programmers and students created it pro bono; almost 200 organizations are using it.

—Idealist.org: This online supermarket for social action, matching people with ideas, jobs, news and resources, was founded by Ashoka fellow Ami Dar.

—Change.org: Mini social networks gather people around an issue to build virtual foundations. Users can bundle donations and coordinate e-mail lobbying or fund-raising efforts with data from VolunteerMatch and Idealist.org.

—Kiva.org: A market for micro-lending on the Web, Kiva helps small lenders (as little as $25) make loans to borrowers trying to start or expand businesses in developing countries.

—by Jeremy Caplan and Kristina Dell

Next: Ashoka >>

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Michael Kinsley thinks TIME editor Rick Stengel's call for compulsory national service is naïve. What we really need is better free-market capitalism

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Abroad, civilian service ranges from diplomacy to firefighting

Election 2008

What These Presidents Would Ask of You

The candidates push for cash incentives, loan help, new service corps

Influentials On The Ground

The Activists

These nonprofit stars started small but took on big problems, from education to poverty to making volunteers more effective. The clearest sign of their success? The spin-offs built on their bright ideas

Get Involved

Resource Guide

Here, TIME provides a variety of websites to help you get started on giving back

Podcast

A Call For National Service

Caroline Kennedy and Jeff Sachs talk with TIME Senior Editor Jyoti Thottam about the value of community and national service in the U.S. and abroad, their concerns about required national service, and the role of a universal national service program

Interviews

Voices of the Volunteers

Four volunteers, and the founder of Teach for America, talk about what motivates them, and what they have learned

Military Service

Would National Service Be Better Than the Draft?

Some argue that a military option as part of a national service requirement would be good for the country. Others say it would be bad for the military

Talkback

How Do You Serve Your Community?

Now it's your turn to speak up about the value of volunteering and national service. Why do you volunteer? What impact do volunteers make in your community? Do you think the United States should have a national service program?

For the Kids

Young Volunteers, TIME For Kids Wants You!

Nominate an American kid or youth group involved in a remarkable volunteer or service project. Each month, TIME For Kids will choose one project to feature in its pages