About the Commission
The Maine Commission for Community Service builds capacity and sustainability in Maine's volunteer and service communities by funding programs, developing managers of volunteers and service-learning practitioners, raising awareness of sector issues, and promoting service as a strategy.
The Commission was established in 1994 by Executive Order and under state statute in 1995. The 25 board members of the Commission are appointed by the governor to three-year terms and each represents a specific segment of Maine's volunteer sector.
The board is Maine government’s partner for the federal Corporation for National Service.
The Maine State Planning Office provides administrative support.
Its mission: Foster community service and volunteerism to meet human and environmental needs in the State of Maine.
Its vision: Vibrant, productive communities with involved, responsible citizens.
Its values: Service is a
- community building strategy -- harnessing the energy of a few to the benefit of many;
- problem-solving strategy -- complementing the effort and energy of full-time professionals with the vision and sense of mission of part- or full-time volunteers;
- cornerstone of the educational process; and
- state- and nation-building strategy -- cultivating a sense of civic identity and greater common purpose.
Its beliefs:
- Service is a fundamental building block of a civil society;
- Service cultivates a sense of personal and civic responsibility;
- Service is a strategy for solving a range of community problems;
- Service is an exemplary vehicle for delivering educational content and assessing learning -- and an educational aim in itself;
- Service varies in intensity from part-time volunteerism to full-time paid service;
- Service, when it is well-conceived and implemented, can be a cost-effective complement to the work of professionals;
- Service includes a range of activities performed by different people using different means;
- Service is a lifelong habit that can be most easily acquired early in life;
- Service works best when it is community-led and government-supported; and
- Service is a fundamental American tradition.