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On June 22, President Obama announced a nationwide service initiative, United We Serve, which is the beginning of a sustained, collaborative and focused effort to meet community needs and make service a way of life for all Americans.

The AFT has a long history of community outreach and volunteer service. Building on this history, we are proud to be a partner in the United We Serve effort, and we encourage all our locals and members to get involved. Many local affiliates already work hand in hand with other groups to help your schools, universities, healthcare facilities and neighborhoods thrive. By being a part of the United We Serve effort, you can draw attention to your community service work, increase its impact and raise the level of volunteerism in your area.

United We Serve has four main goals:

• to support education and literacy;
   
• to increase healthcare access, public health awareness and prevention;
   
• to provide community renewal to areas hardest hit by the economic crisis; and
   
• to promote clean energy, energy efficiency and public land restoration.

You already may have a community service program in place, but if you are looking for new ideas, we encourage you to consider sponsoring or participating in programs that fall into the above categories. Ask your members to step up and become active in existing service programs, or develop your own service project tailored to your particular community's needs. While the United We Serve initiative ends on Sept. 11, the AFT will continue beyond then to work with locals to promote community service and outreach year-round.

Go to the United We Serve Web site to register your local union's activities and events.

More information can also be found on the AFT Web site.