The Case For National Service

Community Service

Special Report

A Time To Serve

In a changing society facing all manner of new challenges, volunteers are helping bind America together. Why the U.S. and the next President should make a new commitment to national service

Commentary: Caroline Kennedy

Making a Difference at Home

Inspired by their work abroad, Peace Corps volunteers return to the U.S. as teachers, bringing the lessons they learned to the kids who need them most

Commentary: Michael Kinsley

National Service? Puh-lease

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

Service Abroad

How Others Serve

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