FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 25, 2008
Contact: Kristin Esham
202-775-9111

PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE AWARDS GRANT TO CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO

WASHINGTON -- The Partnership for Public Service today announced that California State University, Sacramento will receive one of five Call to Serve grants to help launch the nation-wide public education campaign – Making the Difference, on their campus. 

The campaign will carry an important message to Sacramento State students about government service: It’s not just making a living, it’s making the difference!

Four additional schools were named recipients of the $3,000 Call to Serve grants including Brown University; Washington University in St. Louis; Western Michigan University; and University at Albany, State University of New York.

“The federal government offers tremendous opportunities for Sacramento State graduates to make a difference,” said Max Stier the Partnership’s President and CEO. “The Making the Difference campaign will make sure students are aware of these opportunities and will help connect students to young feds already in service so they can get the real scoop on government service.”

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. The Call to Serve network consists of more than 600 schools and 74 federal agencies.

Making the Difference resources for Sacramento State students 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; and monthly “hot job” and “cool internship” listings. A range of campus activity options include access to the Annenberg Speakers Bureau that brings young federal workers in to talk directly with students on campuses about federal service careers, federal career fairs for students, Find and Apply workshops, career services staff training on how to best promote federal job opportunities and networking opportunities for faculty and federal agency representatives.

Sacramento State representatives will be in Washington, D.C. on January 28th and 29th to attend a Partnership for Public Service conference to learn first-hand from Call to Serve universities about best practices for promoting federal service opportunities on campuses.

Two key findings from the recent Partnership report, Making the Difference: A Blueprint for Matching University Students with Federal Opportunities, are the focus of the conference:

• 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 – e-mails and campus visits from federal employees – have modest to negligible costs.

In addition, conference participants will be briefed on benefits the federal government provides employees. A new law signed in September will forgive federal employee’s student loans after 10 years of service; Additional benefits 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 and 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 Partnership for Public Service works to revitalize the federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve and by transforming the way government works.

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© 2007 Partnership for Public Service