Last week, President Obama announced a national volunteer program entitled, "United We Serve." The program aims to get Americans to volunteer at hospitals, use energy-efficient products and tutor at neighborhood schools. Obama believes that in addition to helping people, United We Serve will also advance the economic recovery of the country by aiding key areas: energy, education and health care. First lady Michelle Obama will kick off the initiative at a volunteer conference in California on Monday, June 22. She says, "Real change doesn’t come from the top down from Washington. It comes from the bottom up — from citizens organizing and mobilizing and serving the nation they love."

 

Find an article in USA TODAY that shows change coming from citizens, or "the bottom up." Then, see if you can locate a story that shows change coming from the top down. For each of your examples, list the reasons for the change and as a class, discuss the benefits and drawbacks of it. Which of the changes you identified is most likely to happen? In general, do you agree with first lady Obama’s statement?

 

Finally, discuss ways that you could contribute to the volunteer initiatives the president has outlined.