Inspiring future social entrepreneurs - Boston - 2004 home of the Democratic Convention

Boston Globe ^ | July 5, 2004 | Alan Khazei and Earl Phalen

[Cincinatus' Wife]

......Establish and build upon funds specifically for social entrepreneurs. A robust capital funding system is needed to start new social ventures, invest in organizational development, and take tested initiatives to scale.

Build a headquarters for social entrepreneurs. Housing creative, committed people and organizations under one roof would promote collaboration and innovation.

Offer social entrepreneurial fellowships. Providing Boston area college, business, law, and medicine graduates the opportunity to compete for two-year social entrepreneurial fellowships and loan forgiveness programs will encourage new generations of young leaders to act on their idealism.

Require service and civic curriculums. Boston's colleges and universities, which shape the minds of tomorrow's global leaders, should require students to engage in community service in Boston's neighborhoods and increase the work study allocation for service from 7 to 25 percent to enable all students to do so. Additionally, colleges should emphasize citizenship and public service in their curriculums.

Scale community service initiatives. Since community service experiences are where many new civic ideas are born, Boston should become an "All Star service city," with at least 20 percent of our young people participating in a year of fulltime service, and all elementary, middle, and high schools in the metro region adopting comprehensive community service programs.

By supporting Boston's leadership in social entrepreneurship, we can ensure that Boston's legacy of citizen-led democracy continues through the 21st century.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Kerry and Kennedy country.

[Clock King]

This is seriously disturbing to me. Can't people be free to choose their own lives and make their own mistakes and victories without being "guided"? These leftists have serious emotional problems.

[libertylover]

To the youth of Boston: you are hereby required to "volunteer"...

[raybbr]

President Bush is leading the national challenge to seize this window of opportunity and to redefine the meaning of American citizenship in the 21st century. From the moment he was sworn into office, in his inaugural address, President Bush challenged all Americans to be:

"…citizens, not spectators; citizens, not subjects; responsible citizens, building communities of service and a nation of character."

Then, following September 11, in his State of the Union address, President Bush outlined a plan of great power and leadership for national service, uniting the past good work of several Presidents in a sweeping new vision of civic renewal for our country, when he said:

"My call tonight is for every American to commit at least two years – 4,000 hours over the rest of your lifetime – to the service of your neighbors and nation."

This is a wonderful, measurable goal that if met, will truly transform America for the better. Through creating the USA Freedom Corps and supporting it with his proposed budget, President Bush is calling for the opportunity and means for every American to meet his challenge.

It seems that the socialists have taken ispiration from Bush. Very interesting.

From one of the articles author's testimony to The GOP's Committee on Education and the Workforce