By Heather Taylor, Communication Director
Citizens\' Campaign
November 4, 2009

Civic JC, the Downtown Coalition of Neighborhood Associations, the Heights Coalition, and the Citizens\' Campaign are leading a Call to Service in Jersey City, to increase citizen participation in community and City service opportunities.

The Call to Service will kick-off on November 19th in City Hall with a free community forum about the appointments process and the political leveraging techniques for getting appointed to serve on a local Board/Commission/Agency/Authority. Speaking at the event will be Jersey City Clerk Robert Byrne. This effort is part of the Citizens\' Campaign\'s \"Jersey Call to Service,\" a statewide public service initiative to inspire citizens to participate in the leadership of their communities and reverse the tide of government waste and corruption.

Jersey City has 39 boards and commissions for residents to serve on, and which offer the opportunity for community leaders to have a substantial impact in city public policy. Attendees to this forum will get inside tips for seeking and gaining appointment, and learn about current service opportunities in Jersey City.

The Call to Service is a free one-hour leadership forum held on Thursday, November 19th, at 7:00 pm in the City Council chambers.

The Jersey Call to Service focuses on four opportunities to serve Jersey City, they are: 1) Serving on an appointed local board or commission; 2) Serving as a neighborhood-level party committeeperson; 3) Becoming a citizen legislator by devising a constructive common-interest proposal and presenting it to a relevant government body; and 4) Serving as a \"Citizen Journalist\" to report from the frontlines what is happening in City Hall.

The Call to Service forum is free and open to the public, if you are interested in attending please RSVP to Andrew Hubsch at andrew@civicjc.org

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