From `True Detective’ to Your Favorite Show – Help Make National Service Famous

This post is by Ben Duda and Mary Bruce, co-executive directors of AmeriCorps Alums.

Today, AmeriCorps Alums joined with ServiceNation and 17 of the country’s leading national service organizations in an effort to make a year of service part of the American way of life.

The campaign – ServeAYear.org – will connect the stories and impact that AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps alumni are making every day on some of our nation’s toughest issues to the writers and producers in Hollywood who are ready to tell these stories – from disaster relief and veteran reintegration to college access and childhood nutrition.

Our goal is simple, but ambitious: We envision a day when young Americans turn to each other and ask, “Where will your year of national service be?”

AmeriCorps Alums serves as the national strategic partner for this campaign. We highlight the power of national service as a cross-cutting solution to our country’s most pressing problems, by uniting Americans in common purpose. 

Nearly 820,000 Americans have served in AmeriCorps over the last 20 years and through this historic campaign, we will showcase how these AmeriCorps alumni are still “getting things done” with more impact than ever before. (Find out who else is working with us on this historic campaign here.)

Over the next three years, ServiceNation will lead this initiative, engaging entertainment companies and TV show executives in an effort to integrate powerful stories of service by AmeriCorps members and alumni into the scripts of their shows. Only two weeks ago, AmeriCorps was mentioned in an episode of HBO’s “True Detective,” a direct result of this effort.

In the coming months, the campaign plans to roll out other partnerships with humorous digital platforms, YouTube stars, social-minded brands, athletes, celebrities and more successful integrations that will help tell the story of national service in America.

We also want to hear from you – share this exciting news with your friends and family on social media using the hashtags #serveAyear and #alumsnow. Tell us what you think, or if you have a great idea about how AmeriCorps or AmeriCorps alumni could play a role in your favorite show.

To learn more about ServeAYear.org campaign, click here.