June 19, 2009

Memorandum

To: All DOI Employees

From: Secretary

Subject: United We Serve

Earlier this week, President Obama announced the launch of “United We Serve,” a call to service for all Americans designed to address the Nation’s growing needs as a result of the economic downturn. It will empower ordinary people to take an active role in their communities and in their futures. In announcing United We Serve, the President outlined its purpose to promote health care, support education and improve literacy, provide community renewal, and advance clean energy and public lands restoration. United We Serve will expand upon existing volunteer programs and give everyday Americans the tools they need to develop new service projects.

At the Department of the Interior, we will promote service in the areas of outdoor youth mentoring and public lands stewardship. Across America, our treasured landscapes are in need of restoration, hiking trails are in need of maintenance, invasive species are threatening the health of natural ecosystems, and young people are losing touch with the outdoors. United We Serve presents us with a tremendous opportunity to address these problems in an innovative and broadly accessible manner.

Over the coming weeks and months, the Department will highlight key volunteer opportunities designed to protect and restore public lands and engage young people in the outdoors. We are working with our partners to organize and post service opportunities on www.Serve.gov, a searchable database that allows potential volunteers to locate opportunities around the country. The site also features toolkits that will guide volunteers who prefer to develop their own outdoor youth mentoring or land stewardship projects. These resources will allow Americans to reengage in the outdoors and to serve their country by preserving our natural wonders for generations to come.

On June 22, 2009, I will join my fellow Cabinet Secretaries in a coordinated day of service to formally launch United We Serve nationwide. On that day, I will issue a call to action for Department of the Interior employees to participate in United We Serve and commit to a volunteer service goal this summer. Whether you pledge to take a child fishing once a month, organize a team to restore one mile of trail, or serve dinner weekly at a soup kitchen, I encourage you to set a volunteering goal. I believe the Department of the Interior can be the standard-bearer for volunteerism and service by Federal employees, and this summer is our chance to shine. Watch your mailbox for more details on how to get involved in this initiative as a Department employee.

This summer is a remarkable opportunity for the Department to invest in public lands and achieve long-term benefits for the American public. I hope you will all join me and help make United We Serve a success.

Thank you.