Buttigieg Campaign Press Release - State Representative Matt Wilhelm Endorses Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Citing His "Bold" National Service Plan

Manchester, N.H. — Today, State Representative Matt Wilhelm (Manchester), a two-term AmeriCorps alumnus and state service commissioner for Volunteer NH, is endorsing Mayor Pete Buttigieg for president.

Rep. Wilhelm — who grew up in Nashua and moved to Manchester after college to lead a team of City Year AmeriCorps members serving in high-need public schools — chose to endorse the Mayor after reviewing his national service plan. The Mayor's proposal, called "A New Call to Service", will fully fund the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act and then build a network of one million national service members by the 250th anniversary of America's Independence in 2026.

"Last week, Mayor Pete issued a bold plan to dramatically expand voluntary national service in America," said State Representative Matt Wilhelm. "As a state service commissioner with Volunteer NH and a two-term AmeriCorps alumnus, I've witnessed firsthand the power of civilian national service to unite diverse Americans and solve problems. I was particularly inspired by Mayor Pete's commitment to building out regional service ecosystems and empowering our local leaders to create and expand service year positions to address NH-specific challenges like affordable housing, the opioid and mental health crises, and educational inequity.

"In making national service a policy priority, Mayor Pete has shown that he takes seriously the responsibility of unleashing the power and potential of our country's most valuable natural resource: its people. I'm committed to doing everything I can over the next 7 months to help Mayor Pete win not only our first-in-the-nation presidential primary, but to win the era. The future of our democracy depends on it."

Rep. Wilhelm will assist with Pete For America's outreach in his district and to New Hampshire's service community — and will advise the campaign on public policy issues in the Granite State. Rep. Wilhelm is the second state representative to publicly endorse Mayor Pete, following State Representative Cole Riel, who currently serves as a senior staff member on Pete For America's New Hampshire team.

Mayor Pete will return to New Hampshire on Friday, July 12 to discuss his national service plan with New Hampshire voters.

ABOUT REPRESENTATIVE MATT WILHELM:

Rep. Matt Wilhelm is a nonprofit leader and member of the NH House of Representatives. He first moved to Manchester in 2005 to lead a team of City Year AmeriCorps members serving in high-need public schools and is currently helping to develop two new civilian national service programs: Granite Service Scholars, which aims to build intergenerational relationships between students and seniors aging in place; and Concert Corps, which leverages the power of live music to create positive social and environmental impact through service. Rep. Wilhelm earned his master's in public administration at UNH's Carsey School of Public Policy and serves on the boards of Girls at Work, Inc. and Volunteer NH, the state commission for national and community service.

ABOUT "A NEW CALL TO SERVICE":

"A New Call to Service" aims to vastly expand service opportunities through three key efforts:

* Expanding Service Opportunities for All Who Want It: Immediately increase national service opportunities to 250,000 positions through the existing federal and AmeriCorps grantee organizations, especially targeting high school students; students at community colleges, vocational schools, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs); and opportunity youth (people between ages 16-24 who are neither in school nor working).

* Building Service Communities: Create competitive grant funding for communities, cities, and regions to create service ecosystems tailored to regional and local issues, which will foster local capacity; empower local leaders to connect the federal, state, local, philanthropic services to each other; and incubate 21st century service models around regional issues to prevent siloed community service initiatives.

* Achieving Service at Scale: By 2026, quadruple the number of service opportunities to 1 million high school graduates. Develop new service corps including a Climate Corps, Community Health Corps, and Intergenerational Service Corps, which would be overseen by a new Chief Service Officer with standing on the White House National Security Council and Domestic Policy Council.