Whitmer signs State Service Plan, highlights importance of volunteerism

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the 2020-2022 State Service Plan last week outlining the Michigan Community Service Commission’s vision for volunteerism in Michigan for the next three years.

As the state’s lead agency on volunteerism, the commission and its partners have created a plan highlighting ways Michigan can strengthen its communities through the expansion of national service and volunteerism.

“Volunteerism is vital to helping build stronger communities across our state,” Whitmer said. “The new State Service Plan will help guide collaborative efforts to overcome challenges as well as expand volunteer opportunities and mentoring programs for Michigan’s young people.”

The State Service Plan is a guide for future decision-making, investment and collaboration in an effort to improve Michigan’s communities. The 2020–2022 plan outlines ways to strengthen partnerships to expand the impact of volunteerism, national service, mentoring and disaster preparedness efforts in the state. Key points in this plan include:

• Facilitate collaboration between local leaders, businesses, public officials, education leaders and volunteer program managers to align and grow volunteer impact in Michigan communities.

• Establish a National Service Leadership Council to share resources, identify unmet needs, coordinate effective action and expand national service resources in all regions of the state.

• Launch a youth volunteer movement that engages Michigan youth in solving challenging issues and investing in their communities.

• Expand the number of mentoring programs to positively impact the lives of young people using national mentoring best practices.

• Assist state and local organizations to establish collaborative community plans to support donations and volunteer management to prepare for, respond to, recover from and mitigate disasters.

As the governor’s commission, Community Service Commissioners are responsible for creating a vision and plan for volunteerism and national service in Michigan. The State Service Plan for 2020-2022 is built on the input gathered from a 12-stop statewide regional listening tour, a public online survey as well as the input of Commissioners and staff. The plan will now be submitted to the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency responsible for leading service, volunteering and grant-making efforts.