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RELATED LINKS

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service
• USA Freedom Corp
• Corporation for National and Community Service
• Mr. Eisner's bio
• Article on community service

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Tavis: David Eisner is the CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which is the group behind the upcoming MLK Day, MLK Day of service. The program is seeking volunteers around the country to help with service projects ranging from fixing schools to building houses. The theme of this year's event is 'Make It a Day On, Not a Day Off.' David Eisner, nice to have you on the program.

David Eisner: It's terrific to be here, Tavis, thank you.

Tavis: Before I get to what the organization actually does and more specifically the plans for next Monday, how are we doing as a nation with regard to people even getting the King Day off to do anything in memory of Dr. King?

Eisner: Well, we're seeing certainly all the federal employees, and most state and local employees have the day off. It's mixed in the private sector. We also see a lot of schools taking the day off, which is why we have such a terrific opportunity that instead of making it a day people go shopping, they can actually spend the day paying tribute to the memory of Dr. King, and serving others.

Tavis: How does the - I'm not looking for a scientific answer, I'm just trying to get some, in my own mind, juxtapose these holidays. How does the King day stack up against other holidays vis a vis the private sector giving employees off?

Eisner: It's catching up. It's one of the latest ones, and we're seeing probably less than Labor Day, but more than President's and Columbus Day.

Tavis: I only raised that because it seemed to me that if corporations truly believed in the principles of King, one of the things they could do to aid in your efforts significantly is to give employees the day off to have the opportunity to do something in memory of Dr. King.

Eisner: We certainly would like to see that, and we're encouraging more and more businesses to do that.

Tavis: Yeah. Tell me about the organization, and what you all do.

Eisner: Well, I work for the Corporation for National and Community Service. And that's actually a federal agency. And about 12 years ago, Congress asked us to take the Martin Luther King Day holiday and turn it into a day of service. And it's taken off in some cities. For example, in Philadelphia last year, 50,000 Americans in Philadelphia served their communities in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King last year. This year, we're gonna be in 20 more cities, in an intense way. And for the first time, we're gonna have service projects in every single one of 50 states.

Tavis: Wow. Tell me what these projects - I hinted at a couple of them, but tell me what kind of projects we're talking about, and how we come by these specific projects.

Eisner: Well, these projects are really mostly devoted to helping people that need our help in our communities, and also toward racial equity and justice, which are the core issues that we think of when we think of Dr. King. And so whether it's helping sign up to be a mentor for disadvantaged youth, or for someone who's parents are in jail, or signing up to help frail elderly stay independent in their home. Or helping our schools do a better job. We're finding that there's really an infinite number of projects in all these cities.

Tavis: I said a moment ago the organization is seeking volunteers nationally to help in this effort. Tell me how you go about finding the people who you engage in spending a day helping other people.

Eisner: Well, all of the projects are registered at a website called MLKDay.gov. That's MLKDay.gov. And you can go there to find the project in your neighborhood, and to volunteer.

Tavis: Tell me what the make-up is of the persons who are doing the volunteering. To your point a moment ago, Dr. King's holiday is the most recent of the federal holidays, and when we think of Dr. King, we think of him, at least I think of him as the greatest American we've ever produced, that's my own point of view.

But certainly, he would have to be the greatest African American we've ever produced. That said, what's the make-up of the folk who are volunteering on this holiday?

Eisner: Well I can tell you it's sort of good news and bad news.

Tavis: I figured as much. (Laugh)

Eisner: We have - in America last year, we hit a 30 year high in terms of the Americans that volunteer. And MLK Day is made up pretty much the same way. We're seeing some amazing news in that our 16 to 19 year olds are volunteering twice as much today as their predecessors did 15, 16 years ago. And we're seeing the boomers begin to volunteer more.

But we're not doing as well in some of the ethnic communities. African-Americans, in general, are volunteering a little bit less, although they're increasing a lot. They're volunteering a lot through the churches, and in particular we're seeing terrific work in the African American community in mentoring the kids who need it in that community.

Tavis: What's driving - I'm specifically fascinated by these 16 to 19 year olds. What's driving their interested in volunteering?

Eisner: There's really a whole set of issues. It's a fascinating thing to explore. Part of it is, you've got the 9/11 generation. These are the kids that came of age at a time when there really was a very profound question about what does it mean to be a citizen, what does it mean to do my duty in my community. That happened around 9/11.

We're also seeing them sort of reject the me generation that was their parents, that said basically keep your nose clean, don't go out of your way for others, just focus on what's in it for you. We're seeing them turn around and say, 'That's not the way we wanna be.' And in terms of all of our studies about what voting is gonna look like, what civic engagement is gonna look like, this next generation that's emerging is very, very promising.

Tavis: I wonder how much - and I'm always fascinated by this conversation, and I've not done any research on it personally, I admit - but I wonder how much of the disappointment that we feel about volunteering, to your point a moment ago, disappointment about the volunteering, or the lack thereof, comparatively speaking, in communities of color has to do with the hell that people of color catch every day, trying to make their own way in life.

Trying to take care of families, trying to get a job that pays a respectable wage, trying to find some healthcare, etcetera, etcetera. It doesn't leave one much time. I'm not saying it's an excuse. I'm just curious as to whether or not that is driven by, the fact that they don't volunteer is in part connected to the fact that it doesn't leave you much time to go volunteer to help a bunch of other folk, when you are struggling, trying to make it yourself.

Eisner: I think that may be part of it. There are a few things that argue against that, though. One is that we do see that in the African American community, there's a much stronger informal volunteering. People helping their neighbors in a way that's not connected with any formal organization and, therefore, it's not caught in our studies.

But we're also seeing that particularly among kids that have a really hard time looking toward the future and succeeding, those are the folks that can best get engaged in service. And when you look at some of the youth service commissions and the conservation corps, we're seeing that there's a whole generation of kids that are helping now to build their communities and to serve. And in the process, they're learning the skills and the tools of how they themselves are gonna succeed.

Tavis: Let me pick up on that latter part, 'cause I wanted to go there anyway. You're up - we'll do a little role playing here for just a second. You're up talking to an auditorium full of young people. What's your best argument? What do you say to young people about the value of volunteering? Give me your speech.

Eisner: Well, the most important thing that I say is that taking a year off to volunteer in a program like AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps, that is not taking a year off. When I speak to heads of schools, they say that they want these kids who come out of AmeriCorps and out of Peace Corps to be in their schools. And they're, in fact, matching the education award we provide so they can recruit them.

When I talk to CEOs of companies, they say they want these kids that have spent a year doing service or that are engaged in their communities, because they understand teamwork, they understand how to overcome adversity, they understand complex problem solving. They don't get derailed from their objective as easily as someone that hasn't experienced those things.

So the most important thing I tell them is this is a path to the future. And they may not understand this now, but once you start the volunteering, you will never experience anything as fulfilling.

Tavis: I wonder whether or not you think that this trend, um, can be extended. This trend of at least these 16 to 19 year olds volunteering more of their time, whether or not this trend can be extended, given that we do, in fact, I think, live in a nation where people, for a lot of reasons, are becoming more nativist. That is to say, looking inward.

Less concerned about others. One can make that case pretty strongly, as well. So you think this trend can be extended, and if so, what's gonna drive that extension?

Eisner: I think it can be extended, and it can be extended because this next generation wants it to be extended. And when you look inward, Dr. King left us a very important message, which is when you ask yourself the fundamental question, 'What do I do,' he says, 'Life's most pressing and urgent question is what am I doing to serve others?'

And so even when someone's trying to figure out for themselves what do they need, solving that problem, Dr. King says, is about figuring out how are we serving.

Tavis: Mm. So tell me what people do if they're interested in volunteering.

Eisner: Well, if you're interested in volunteering particularly on Martin Luther King Day, go to MLKDay.gov, and you'll be able to choose from a wide variety of volunteer opportunities right in your own community. More broadly, if it's not on Dr. King's holiday, you can go to Volunteer.gov, and be connected to the largest database of thousands of opportunities in your community.

Tavis: How do you screen these opportunities that you put on the website for folk to engage in? There must be a screening process to make sure that you got some high quality stuff.

Eisner: Well, these are, we've asked the folks, we have special folks that put the volunteer opportunities in. They make sure that they're good.

Tavis: Yeah. What will you be doing, specifically? If I can get all up in your business, what will you be doing on the holiday?

Eisner: I believe that I'll be in Birmingham, working in a school on the holiday. And I'm very, very excited about that.

Tavis: Well, I'm glad to have you on the program. Thanks for what you're doing.

Eisner: Thank you.

Tavis: And all the best on the King holiday, the Day On, Not a Day Off.

Up next, a conversation we recorded recently with actress Kerry Washington. You'll recall Kerry, who played Jamie Foxx's wife, the wife of Ray Charles, that is, in the movie, 'Ray.' That movie set her career ablaze. She's been in so many films of late. But now she has a new film just about to come out called 'The Dead Girl.' A conversation with Kerry Washington in a moment. Stay with us.