Three weeks before the presidential election of 1960, John F. Kennedy came to the University of Michigan at two o'clock in the morning to rest for the night before continuing his campaign. There, he was stunned to find a sea of ten thousand students awaiting his arrival. Moved by their ardor, Kennedy made an off-the-cuff speech challenging them to serve their country, to use their talents to combat hunger and disease abroad.

A small group of students took hold of the promising idea and organized a petition with signatures of a thousand students, challenging Kennedy to create a national program, and offering to serve if he did. Ten days before the election at a massive rally in San Francisco, Kennedy offered a bold campaign promise to create the Peace Corps.

The Peace Corps became the first U.S. government-sponsored public service program outside of military service. In the coming years, the Peace Corps model was used to develop other government-sponsored service programs including VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America), Head Start, Job Corps and Foster Grandparents. A plethora of programs involving even more young Americans evolved into AmeriCorps and the Corporation for National and Community Service. As the result of a student petition more than four decades ago, today thousands of volunteers serve humanity at home and around the world.

Just as with the campaign of 1960, the presidential campaign of 2008 promises to usher in new leadership and revitalize the American political landscape.