L. Maxwell McKissick said he has always been intrigued by Daylight Savings Time, that one-hour time change in the spring and fall, and often wondered what people typically do with that extra hour they get in autumn.

“I had this idea kicking around for a few years," said McKissick, "and then I heard President Obama give a speech in which he talked about giving back, and I thought what a great opportunity to do something to encourage and try to motivate all Americans to give back and contribute to the communities.”

So McKissick founded Serve 60, a grassroots campaign to increase volunteerism and community service on the corporate, as well as the individual level.

By going to Serve 60’s Web site, Serve60.com, a visitor can get a list of nonprofit organizations and projects that need volunteers.

“No matter where you are, just type in your zip code and city and get a list. We are also on Facebook and Twitter,” McKissick told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “Our primary mission is not only to inspire Americans to volunteer, but to help major corporations engage in community service projects, get their employees involved and their consumers.”

Milwaukee-based Serve 60 wants to designate Daylight Savings Time and the switch back to Standard Time weekends as national days of service to remind people to donate an extra hour in the fall and “come back in the spring to help make up that deficit” when the hour is given back.”

“We have over 300 million Americans. If we could just get everyone to give a minimum of one hour, the impact that would have on the community would be enormous,” McKissick said.

Serve 60 has coordinated projects in a number of cities, including Dallas, Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin.

In Madison, for example, students at the University of Wisconsin and the Dane County Youth Commission have organized a Trick or Treat So Others Can Eat project to collect non-perishable food items that will be donated to a local food pantry.

In Dallas, there will be an Addams Family Sip, a wine-and-cheese fundraiser, to support the Math Makes Cents program, which is run by Dallas Designing Dreams, a non-profit agency that serves local youth.
 
From Friday to Monday, local retailers in Milwaukee will give discounts of 10 to 25 percent to shoppers who bring two to five cans of food, which will be donated to Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, one of the largest food pantry operations in eastern Wisconsin.

Serve 60 partners with volunteer groups, nonprofit organizations, social networking Web sites, schools, university and state, local and federal governments.

“We are a consulting firm with an altruistic purpose and mission to bring together nonprofits and those who need volunteers with those who need help organizing community service projects. We’re here to bridge that gap,” McKissick said.

“We just want to make sure we reach as many people as possible,” he said. “We know we will. Baby steps will lead to a marathon. Our motto is 'Change your clock, change the world.'”

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