FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 26, 2007
Contact: Sarah Howe
202-775-9111

PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE LAUNCHES NATION-WIDE CAMPAIGN TO ATTRACT COLLEGE GRADS TO FEDERAL SERVICE

WASHINGTON – The Partnership for Public Service today launched a nation-wide public education campaign – Making the Difference, to persuade talented young people to enter federal service. The campaign kicks off on hundreds of college and university campuses, nationwide already signed up to spread the news of public service opportunities among their students.

The Making the Difference campaign carries an important message to students about government service: It’s not just making a living, it’s making the difference!

“There is no better place to work on critical issues that affect our country on a grand scale than the federal government, said Max Stier, Partnership for Public Service President.  “If you care about fighting poverty, securing our homeland, protecting the environment or any other issue of national importance, the federal government provides hundreds of job opportunities where you can make a difference.”

The Making the Difference campaign is the culmination of two years of research the Partnership gleaned during the Call to Serve Recruitment Initiative – a Congressionally-funded project with the Office of Personnel Management to identify cost-effective and sustainable ways to promote federal service on campuses.

At the campaign launch, the Partnership released its final project report: Making the Difference: A Blueprint for Matching University Students with Federal Opportunities, that outlines what Congress, federal agencies and campuses can do to better recruit the next generation of federal government leaders.

Key findings of the report include:

• The more students know about federal service, the more they like it. On average 60 percent of students surveyed said information provided about federal opportunities made them more interested in pursuing federal careers.
• It is possible to create cost-effective and sustainable federal recruiting efforts that will have an impact on college campuses. Many of the most impactful activities – emails and campus visits from federal employees – have modest to negligible costs.
• Tech plus touch is a good one-two punch.  While emails are a memorable and inexpensive way to raise awareness among students, human interaction in an invaluable tool for driving action.    
• Inspiration is only part of the equation.  Process matters, too.  Despite increases in interest, more efforts such as streamlining the federal application process are needed if agencies expect to bring students on board.

As part of the campaign launch, more than 600 universities across the country have received Making the Difference materials to help them deliver the public service message to students.  Resources include: a Web site -- makingthedifference.org featuring an interactive internship directory; the Red, White and Blue Library of guide books on topics ranging from student loan repayment to  navigating the security clearance process; monthly “hot job” and “cool internship” listings; workshops for students and university career services staff and more.

Young federal workers already making their mark at federal agencies are featured in campaign profiles and a new Annenberg Speakers Bureau brings others in to talk directly with students on campuses about federal service careers.

In addition, the Partnership for Public Service is providing $3,000 grants to help colleges and universities implement the Making the Difference campaign and will connect grantees to university mentors that have already launched the campaign on their campuses with proven results.  The five pilot campuses for the Call to Serve Initiative are Clark Atlanta University, George Washington University, Louisiana State University, Ohio State University, and Stanford University.

A new law signed in September will forgive federal employee’s student loans after 10 years of service; Additional benefits the federal government provides employees include:

• Recruitment bonuses, retention incentives, relocation incentives and graduate school scholarships. And, student loan repayments -- up to $10,000 per year for a total of $60,000 in exchange for at least 3 years of service. 
• Jobs for every interest and skill, with more than 2,000 separate job categories at 15 cabinet-level agencies, 20 large and 80 small agencies. 
• Jobs available all over the world. About 86 percent of federal jobs are located outside of Washington, D.C. and more than 50,000 are stationed abroad. Areas with the highest numbers of federal workers include Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Atlanta, San Diego, New York City, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Oklahoma City and Los Angeles.
• The federal government values diversity. About 17.6 percent of all workers are African-American, 7.6 percent are Hispanic, 5.2 percent are Asian/Pacific Islanders and 1.9 percent are Native American.

“The opportunities for young people to make a difference and have a good quality of life are there,” said Stier. “The Making the Difference campaign will give students the chance to seize them.”

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© 2007 Partnership for Public Service