One important trend in the 1990s has been an increase in the number of students who volunteer time for communityservice, such as tutoring disadvantaged pupils or visiting in retirement homes.
The council has extended the eight-month consultation by three months to give town and parish councils, schools and community groups time to find their own funding or to organise a volunteerservice.
The MLK Day of Service was promoted by the White House Office of National Service but Americans have never needed government to urge them to volunteer, whether in community groups (think parent-teacher associations) or charitable non-profits (think Habitat for Humanity).