newswire: 6/10/2020
- In an op-ed, volunteer coordinator Josh Fryday asserts that Millennials can become “the next Greatest Generation” by serving their communities during the pandemic. Fryday is the leader of the new “Californians for All” initiative, which is focused on matching young Californians with volunteer opportunities. (San Francisco Chronicle)
- NH: Fryday, who’s in his late 30s and whose official job title is “Chief Service Officer,” heads up California Volunteers, a new state office dedicated to promoting and coordinating volunteering. Those who fill out an application are matched with local nonprofits, food banks, and other organizations that are responding to the pandemic. They’re being directed to make face masks, organize donations, or simply check on their neighbors.
- There are no numbers on how many people have signed up for this. But IMO these sorts of large-scale volunteer efforts are well suited to the Millennial peer personality. Fryday is correct in saying that young people today are civically inclined and eager to make a difference. So when there’s no interest from the federal government in mobilizing them (see “Millennials Lose Their Fabled Optimism”), it’s up to states and local officials to provide the opportunity.
- We will soon see more of these initiatives. At the federal level, two Democratic senators (Sen. Van Hollen, MD, and Sen. Coons, DE) have proposed expanding Americorps and other national volunteer programs to pay for 750,000 new service positions. One possible use for these volunteers? Contact tracing. No state currently employs even a small fraction of the public-health personnel required to implement a COVID-19 containment policy.
