National grassroots initiative promotes service during 60 minutes gained or lost during daylight saving time weekends

Arlene Pitterson and Nickay Penado attend “The Boomerang Effect” with SERVE 60 in Chicago.

Last weekend, Daylight Saving Time began with one simple request of all Americans— asking them to move their clocks forward by 60 minutes. Wisconsin based SERVE 60™ hopes Americans not only moved their clocks forward but also gave back in the process.

Launched in fall 2009, SERVE 60™ continues its efforts to promote and encourage volunteerism by asking all Americans to join the SERVE 60™ movement. The national grassroots organization asked them to participate with them during the start of Daylight Saving Time this year by volunteering at a nonprofit within their communities.

“In spring, we all lose an hour including the nonprofits so we encourage individuals to help by volunteering for at least 60 minutes to help them make up that deficit. We moved our clocks forward but at the same time we asked everyone to also give back by saying ‘yes – I will SERVE 60 (minutes) in my community,’” said SERVE 60™ founder L. Maxwell McKissick.

During the weekend of March 12, SERVE 60™ along with its partner, The Marcus Graham Project, produced events, entitled The Boomerang Effect in multiple cities including New York City, Detroit, Washington DC, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Miami and London. The networking events served as the official launch parties of The Marcus Graham Project and were designed to recruit mentors and volunteers for future SERVE 60™ activities. This effort also encompassed the first ever 60 hour global tweet-a-thon which was held immediately after the events concluded Friday night. The tweet-a-thon took place on Twitter through Monday March 15 in order to raise awareness and resources for The Marcus Graham Project, a nonprofit organization focused on increasing diversity within the advertising and marketing industry.

Other attendees of SERVE 60’s “The Boomerang Effect” recently held in Chicago.

During Daylight Saving Time weekend, SERVE 60™ also partnered with First Lutheran Church in Gainesville, FL on their mission trip to build homes for the poverty stricken in Nicaragua. The church volunteer group, led by Suzy Bamberg and Mark Natzke, departed on Friday March 12 and will return on Saturday March 20. “This year we have taken our efforts to promote and encourage volunteerism to a global level.

We have been able to accomplish this feat because of the tremendous efforts of our SERVE 60™ team members and co-partners such as Lincoln Stephens of The Marcus Graham Project and Suzy Bamberg of First Lutheran Church in Gainesville, Florida,” said McKissick. “Their efforts along with our altruistic mission proves that we can all help better our communities across the globe from a grassroots level, sixty (60) minutes at a time,” he added.

SERVE 60™ is a national grassroots initiative designed to increase service and volunteerism across America by asking each American to donate the 60 minutes lost or gained twice a year during Daylight Saving Time weekends. The website, www.serve60.com offers a searchable database of volunteer opportunities throughout the country which is powered by Volunteer Match, one of the largest volunteer service organizations in the country.

Twice a year you change your clock by 60 minutes. You lose ‘em. You gain ‘em. Just where do those minutes go? Good question. We don’t know either. What we do know is from this moment on, we can all make a difference by donating those lost or gained minutes to our communities in the form of volunteerism.

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Popular Interests In This Article: Daylight Saving Time, SERVE 60, Twitter, Volunteering