Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds this morning announced a new public-private initiative to make Iowa a national leader in service and volunteerism by 2015. The program, “Volunteer Iowa: A Call to Service,” seeks to increase the number of Iowans who are volunteering as well as the number of hours they serve. The program will work with nonprofit organizations to generate targeted tactics to expand volunteerism in the state and to eliminate barriers that prevent meaningful engagement. As a first step, Iowans are encouraged to take part in a local service project during the week of Sept. 10, as part of the initiative’s launch. A complete list of service projects can be found at  www.volunteeriowa.org.