Everyone Serves is part of the Campaign for National Service, a grassroots project to call our national leaders to create a program of mandatory national service for all Americans between the ages of 18-40.

Why Now?

The Time is Right

The 2008 election gives America a remarkable opportunity, a chance to reshape the nation to face the challenges, opportunities, and responsibilities of the 21st century. Call the next president and congress to create a program of mandatory national service -- a service draft -- that will create a new kind of citizenship in the United States. Help create a citizen ethic built around a common commitment to the strength of the nation and society. Give each generation the chance to learn in their own way the value of shared contribution and sacrifice. Bring credibility to our nation’s dedication to a republic of the people, for the people, and by the people.

Left, Right, or Middle

This call is nonpartisan: the ideas within in it have been supported by people from the right including David Brooks and Melvin Laird, and people from the left including John Edwards and Joe Klein. Some of these have called for a new military draft, and while Everyone Serves supports the continuation of the volunteer military, there is agreement on the core issues.

Service to Many Communities

This call is beyond military. Everyone Serves proposes a program of two years of service for all young people. Though there must be delays and exemptions for extraordinary circumstances, this will be a program for all Americans, and will be built to offer a wide variety of options in service so that a young person may work in an urban library, on a border or port, at a homeless shelter, a national park, a healthcare institution, or at any of thousands of other places. If the individual chooses to volunteer for military service, that service will fulfill the national service requirement.

How You Can Help

Tell your friends about Everyone Serves, sign our petition, tell your candidates (from president to congress) you support mandatory national service, subscribe to our email notices, comment on our postings, read the full list of possibilities and contact us with your suggestions.