Today Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger addressed the ServiceNation Summit in New York City via video message, calling the next President and nation's other governors to establish cabinet secretaries for service and volunteering.

"The next President of the United States should appoint a cabinet secretary of service and volunteerism, because its time our nation recognizes the vital role of nonprofits and their volunteers -and gives them a voice in Washington," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "And we should not stop there.  Every Governor across the country should appoint such a person at the state level, just like we did California."

In his remarks, Governor Schwarzenegger noted the importance of volunteering and urged every American to find ways to give back to their communities. 

"Government alone cannot address our nation's challenges without the active engagement of the people," said Governor Schwarzenegger.  "Our great nation has blessed us all with freedom, unlimited opportunity and a chance to reach for the stars and now we must give back to America as America has given to us - so that she too can reach for the stars."   

Yesterday at the Summit, New York Governor David Paterson announced the creation of a new a cabinet-level position dedicated to service, becoming the second Governor after Schwarzenegger to elevate service and volunteering to his cabinet. 

"I am excited to partner with New York's Susan Stern on new initiatives to expand service in our respective states," said California's Secretary for Service and Volunteering, Karen Baker. "The ServiceNation campaign shines a direct spotlight on the critical work of volunteers and nonprofits across the country."

The ServiceNation Summit brought together 500 leaders from every sector, including corporations, universities, foundations, and politics, to celebrate the power and potential of service and volunteering.  The ultimate goal of ServiceNation is to shape federal legislation aimed at increasing national and community service so that by 2020, 100 million Americans will volunteer time in schools, workplaces, and community organizations each and every year (up from 61 million today), and one million Americans annually will commit one year of their lives to national service.  The Summit will be followed by a Day of Action on September 27, on which more than 2,000 community events are planned that will highlight the need for expanded national service and launch a 12-month grassroots campaign.

In February 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger took first-in-the-nation action by creating a state cabinet secretary for service and volunteering in California.  This action gave California's volunteers and nonprofits a voice a the highest level of state government; improved coordination of vital volunteer activities statewide and support local service efforts; encouraged more Californians to volunteer or serve; strengthened California's ability to respond to natural disasters and emergencies; all without adding any new net costs to the state budget.