Cities of Service Declaration

Robin Popik - Marketing Committee Member

Mayors all over the country are signing the Cities of Service Declaration, an initiative started by Mayor Bloomberg of New York, encouraging cities to recognize the importance of service and volunteerism in meeting critical community needs. The Cities of Service initiative is a national, bi-partisan coalition of mayors representing a total of 106 national cities that have made a commitment to service and volunteerism as a strategy to engage citizens in meeting urgent community needs.

City of Plano’s Mayor Phil Dyer just signed the Declaration and is working with their Volunteer Resources Group to:
• Develop a comprehensive service plan and a coordinated strategy focused on matching volunteers and established community partners to the areas of greatest local need.
• Collaborate with other mayors and elected officials to advance strategies and best practices that accelerate the service movement and produce measurable results.
• Encourage other mayors to join this national effort to engage more citizens in volunteerism.
• Ensure that the voice of cities is heard in federal legislative, policy and program discussions related to services, that will help the country achieve the well stated goals of the Serve America Act.

The Cities of Service initiative is in response to the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act which assists all communities in finding innovative ways to harness the power of volunteers. City of Plano is very proud to be its newest member and promises to continue to promote volunteerism through its VIP Program and throughout the community.

If your City is part of the Cities of Service innovative, please email Robinp@plano.gov to share your stories with other members.