On April 9, mayors across the country will highlight the impact of national service in their cities and thank the individuals who serve during the first-ever Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service. The initiative will be led by U.S. Conference of Mayors President and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), Cities of Service, and other organizations.

Mayor Nutter announced the event at the group's annual winter meeting in Washington, DC, where he told the assembled mayors that more than 90 of their colleagues across the country have already signed on to the effort.

“Today I want to call special attention to the role that national service members play in helping to making us all stand tall in the challenging issues that we face every day in our cities,” said Mayor Nutter. “Across our country, national service programs provide a cost-effective strategy for managing disaster relief, stemming the dropout crisis, engaging at-risk youth, enhancing environmental sustainability, catalyzing community revitalization, and so much more.”

“Mayors are leaders who get things done, responding every day to needs in their cities,” said Wendy Spencer, CEO of CNCS. “I commend Mayor Nutter for his outstanding leadership, and thank all those mayors joining in this important effort to recognize the impact of national service on the critical challenges facing our cities.”

Highlighting the Importance of Service

On the Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service, mayors will participate in a variety of activities, including visiting national service programs, hosting roundtables at City Hall, issuing proclamations, and communicating about national service through social media. Participating in the day will highlight the importance of citizen service, show support for nonprofit and national service groups, recognize the role national service members play in focusing community volunteers, and inspire more residents to serve in their communities.

“National service is a vital resource for America's cities,” said Mayor Nutter. “By unleashing the power of citizens, AmeriCorps and Senior Corps programs have a positive and lasting impact – making our cities better places to live.”

The initiative has already gained support from a diverse range of mayors including those from big cities (Michael R. Bloomberg of New York City; Vincent Gray of Washington, DC; Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles; and Rahm Emanuel of Chicago), to mid-size cities (Mark Stodola of Little Rock, AR; Richard Berry of Albuquerque, NM; Jim Suttles of Omaha, NE; and Scott Smith of Mesa, AZ, U.S. Conference of Mayors Vice President) and smaller cities (Walter Maddox of Tuscaloosa, AL; Robert Macdonald of Lewiston, ME; and John Engen of Missoula, MT). A full list is available here.

For more information on the Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service, including background and participating mayors, visit nationalservice.gov/mayorsforservice.