“I’m comiiiiinggg!” Archbishop Tutu sings out from the adjacent room, the words rolling off his tongue in a playfully high-pitched refrain, before he comes wheeling and teetering—all 5’2” of him—around the corner of his suite at the Atlanta Grand Hyatt.

Deep breath in. The adrenaline unleashed by excitement and nervousness takes hold. Mouth is dry, heart is beating fast, and mind is racing, searching for the proper greeting for an Archbishop. “It is an honor to meet you, Father.” Or, should it be, “Your Grace?” “Your Holiness?”

Archbishop Tutu joins us at the dining room table. His smile is gracious and slightly mischievous, his eyes sparkle, and his face matches the image of a man who has been signing his emails to us “Love and blessings, Arch.” Formality fades, and we begin our conversation with a kindred spirit, a man far too excited about life and people to be bothered by titles.

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This week, community service has been more popular than ever. Monday, millions of Americans from coast to coast joined forces to complete over 11,000 officially-registered community service projects designed to “bridge barriers, strengthen communities, and empower individuals” as part of the 2009 King Day of Service. Although the King Holiday and Service Act was signed more than 14 years ago, this year public involvement in active observances of the holiday doubled 2008 levels. This spike in civic participation is no accident.

President Obama has repeatedly called for our service during his campaign and transition period, and simultaneously pledged to do his part by making service the cause of his presidency. His first action towards that goal has been the creation of USAService.org. Support of President Obama’s mission to re-engage Americans in their communities is vast. ServiceNation has issued a Declaration of Service, the Huffington Post made service the theme of it’s pre-inaugural ball, and MTV has created a Be the Change online community.

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Two years ago today, I was boarding a plane to Kabul. I was going to work on one of the many post-conflict development programs being implemented in Afghanistan. I believed that I was going to help its citizens define a new future for their country.

The decision to go to Afghanistan was a difficult one for me to make. Even though I had much experience traveling and working in developing economies, this assignment would be different. The issue of safety and security on this trip was of much greater concern. However, at that time, I could assure my friends and family that I would not be a likely target for violence myself.

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Boston, MA-On Thursday, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute received a check for $35 million from the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge (PMC), the most successful athletic fundraising event in the nation. Some of these dollars will be used to treat a portion of the 1.4 million children and adults who will be diagnosed with cancer this year. And some will fund Dana-Farber’s pioneering research which provides patients with increasingly high odds of survival. But all of them, according to Dana-Farber President Edward J. Benz, Jr., MD are “critical to our mission to eradicate cancer.” And, what makes this gift remarkable is that most of it came from people just like you and me, despite the squeeze that we are feeling on our personal finances.

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