Help Stop Childhood Hunger In Your Community With a Sodexo Youth Grant - Deadline: 9/18

YSA will award 25 Sodexo Youth Grants of $500 each to support youth-led service projects in the United States that address the issue of childhood hunger during National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week (November 13-20, 2011). We're looking for projects that engage your peers, friends, families, neighbors, Sodexo employees, and other community members in creative, youth-inspired solutions to ending childhood hunger in your community.

Over 17 million children in the United States live at risk of hunger, including the 1 in 4 children who rely on free and reduced-price school breakfast and lunch programs as their only guaranteed meals. YSA and Sodexo are calling on young people, ages 5-25, to help make sure your peers don't have to worry about where their next meal will come from, and can instead focus on learning and leading healthy and productive lives.

The application deadline has been extended to midnight this Sunday, September 18, giving everyone a couple of extra days to complete and submit applications. www.YSA.org/grants/sodexoyouth

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News From the Field

66th Annual National Conference on Citizenship - Watch Live Stream of Civic Innovators Forum Today

The 66th Annual National Conference on Citizenship launches this week. Registration is still available for programming on September 22-23 in Phoenix, featuring Jose Antonio Vargas, Senator Robert Bennett, Paula Ellis, Gerda Klein, Lattie Coor, and more! Registration closes on Monday, September 19, so visit http://bit.ly/moq8T7 to secure your spot. The Conference officially launches today in Philadelphia, with the third annual Civic Innovators Forum. You can watch live online at http://NCoC.net/live beginning at 10:30am Eastern. The program will feature presentation of the Joseph H. Kanter Citizen of the Year Award to Jean and Steve Case. Learn more: http://bit.ly/moq8T7

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A Shared Plan to Restore Opportunity

Opportunity Nation is a campaign to promote opportunity, social mobility, and access to the American Dream. Opportunity Nation is launching a national conversation about opportunity in America, and promoting a set of public and private sector ideas to increase it. Learn how you can get involved at: http://bit.ly/ojEz1o

26 Seconds BMOR Project Pledge

Every 26 seconds in America, a student drops out of high school. In an effort to address this startling statistic and encourage high school students throughout the country to be more (BMOR) than the statistic, the 26 Seconds campaign is asking the nation's youth to take the BMOR Project pledge to stay in school. The BMOR Project will run throughout the school year and offer monthly activities and prize opportunities, including a grand prize opportunity at the end of the year. This month's activity is to take the pledge at www.facebook.com/26seconds. By doing so, teens 13-19 may win one of 26, $15 iTunes© gift cards being awarded daily until Sept. 25. On Sept. 26, and on the 26th of each month thereafter, the next month's activity and prize opportunity will be announced. Learn more at: http://bit.ly/pad6KT

Grants & Awards

Sodexo Youth Grants

Deadline Extended: September 18

Business for Good Competition

Deadline: October 15

Harvard Undergraduate Women in Business is sponsoring The Third Annual Business for Good: Sponsored by Northern Trust, a social enterprise business plan competition. All participants have the opportunity to be mentored during the application process; the winner receives a range of prizes, including a $1,000 grant, exposure to corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, students, and more at the Intercollegiate Business Convention and through HUWIB outlets. http://bit.ly/rqy59N

UnitedHealth HEROES Grants

Deadline: October 17

The UnitedHealth HEROES program is a service-learning, health literacy initiative that awards grants to help youth, ages 5-25, create and implement local, hands-on programs to fight childhood obesity. The grants encourage semester-long projects that launch on MLK Day of Service and culminate on Global Youth Service Day. Schools, service-learning coordinators, non-profits, and students in the health professions located in all 50 states and the District of Columbia are eligible to apply for the $500 - $1,000 grants. Learn more at www.YSA.org/HEROES

State Farm™ Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grants

Deadline: November 9

State Farm™ is proud to team up with YSA to offer grants of up to $1,000 for service-learning projects in K-12 public schools in all fifty US states and the District of Columbia, and in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario and New Brunswick. The State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grants encourage semester-long projects. Up to 125 grants will be awarded; at least 10-15 grants will support projects addressing teen driver safety issues. Learn more at www.YSA.org/goodneighbor

Everyday Young Heroes

Jamilya Jaxybaeva

Karaganda, Kazakhstan

YSA recognizes eighteen year old Jamilya Jaxybaeva of Karaganda, Kazakhstan, as one of our Everyday Young Heroes for her work to create a culture of volunteerism in her community.

As a student participating in the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program, Jamilya learned about the American school system and the importance of volunteering in American communities and the country as a whole. Upon her return to Kazakhstan after one year living in the United States, Jamilya recognized that the teachers and the students in her community lacked information about the benefits of community service and volunteering on young people and communities served. To educate her community, Jamilya organized a series of teacher trainings with teachers from local schools and brought in professionals from resources centers, local boards of education, and the United States Peace Corps to help share valuable information that will help them create a culture of volunteerism in their villages. She recruited three volunteers from her class to help organize the teacher trainings and also organized a community beautification project that engaged her entire class in tree planting and park clean up exercises. Jamilya also inspired two groups of students to create volunteers projects for the spring and summer in Karaganda. These groups of students volunteered at orphanages, engaging students with disabilities in arts and crafts activities.

Jamilya is an inspiration in her community and serves as a role model for numerous youth who now see themselves as equal contributors in their community as a result of their volunteer leadership. For her work make her community a better place by advocating for community service, we honor Jamilya as an Everyday Young Hero.

To nominate a young person who has improved their community through service to be recognized as an Everyday Young Hero, please visit www.ysa.org/awards/hero.

Resources & Trainings

People to People International Student Chapters

People to People International (PTPI) Student Chapters are membership-based groups that give youth ages 13-18 the opportunity to promote Peace through Understanding in their school or community. PTPI Student Chapter members carry out inspiring projects devoted to cultural understanding and humanitarianism. Members gain important leadership and teambuilding skills, resulting in students of great character and with an increased appreciation of diverse people and cultures. Currently, student chapters around the world are raising awareness and funds for famine relief in East Africa, using PTPI's One Grand Day project concept. PTPI chapters are official 501(c)3 organizations and are led by student officers and an adult advisor. Chartered PTPI Student Chapters receive a guidebook, lesson plans and the opportunity to connect with Student Chapters around the globe. Read about the efforts of PTPI Student Chapters on the PTPI Blog. Learn more about the People to People International Student Chapter program at: http://bit.ly/qpwS6H

Laura W. Bush Traveling Fellowship

The Laura W. Bush Traveling Fellowship is now accepting applications to fund travel by an American student conducting research overseas that supports U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)'s mission in the fields of education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, communication, or information. The travel lasts from 4 to 6 weeks and must include interactions with individuals from other countries. Recipients should be willing to take part in public diplomacy activities at the American embassy or consulate in the area visited. Recipients will also submit a report on their experiences upon return, and take part in the annual meeting of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO, which is sponsoring the fellowship. The application deadline is September 26, 2011. To learn more, visit: http://1.usa.gov/qzJ0fB

National Summit on Your City's Families - November 10-12 in Phoenix

The National Summit on Your City's Families is the nation's largest gathering of municipal leaders who are working to improve the lives of children, youth, and families in their communities. The high-quality learning and peer networking opportunities at this year's Summit will help local officials confront the pressing challenges facing cities and their residents, from painful budget cuts and a weak job market to rapid demographic change fueled by immigration and an economy that increasingly rewards education. Because an entire community shares responsibility for the well-being of children and youth, local leaders benefit most from the Summit when they attend as part of a city team that may include elected officials, senior municipal staff, school district leaders, United Way and foundation executives, youth, and other key partners. City teams of three or more will be able to work with a facilitator to develop strategic plans for taking action upon returning home. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/qsustd