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January 12, 2012
Volume 19, No. 2
Circulation: 39,950
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YSA Offers $1,000 Grants to Youth Ages 5-18 to Help Others on GYSD
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 Disney Friends for Change Grants offer young change-makers an opportunity to receive a $1,000 grant to help make a lasting, positive change in the world.
Whether you are passionate about protecting the planet, providing meals to those who need it or giving kids just like you the resources they need to star in their own play, be an athlete or an artist, you can be a Friend for Change! Whatever your interests, a Disney Friends for Change Grant can help you make a difference for people, communities and the planet.
Youth ages 5-18 located in all 50 states and the District of Columbia are eligible to apply for a $1,000 grant.
Applications are due by midnight on February 29, 2012.
Learn more at: www.YSA.org/grants/disney-friends-change-grants
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Connect with YSA
  
YSA Funding Partners
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News From the Field: Special MLK Day Edition
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 | | MLK Day Legacy of Service PSA |
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10 Ways to Get Ur Good On for MLK Day of Service
YSA shares 10 ways for youth to get their good on for MLK Day of Service. A couple of the ways include:
--- Dr. King focused on improving lives of people living in poverty. Participate in the Souper Bowl of Caring and collect money or canned goods for deserving people until February 5th.
--- Read MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech. Create a YouTube video or write a blog post sharing a dream for your community.
See all 10 Ways to Get Ur Good On for MLK Day of Service at: http://bit.ly/x7XsW0
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MLK Day Will Be Marked as a National Day of Service
Momentum is building for the annual Martin Luther King Day of Service, as thousands of organizations across the country put the finishing touches on volunteer projects to bring Americans together to serve their neighbors and advance Dr. King's dream of social justice and economic opportunity for all. With the holiday just days away, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is urging Americans to visit MLKDay.gov to find volunteer opportunities in their communities and make MLK Day a "day on, not a day off." Projects will take place in all 50 states. A special focus of the 2012 MLK Day of Service is advancing Dr. King's dream of economic opportunity http://bit.ly/yL2J26
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Young People Nationwide Answer Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Call to Service with Projects Launching Monday
For many Americans, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day will be a federally-mandated day of rest, but for 50,000 children, teens and young adults, January 16 will be "a day on, not a day off." These young people will be hard at work, kicking off a "Semester of Service" and launching projects that address their communities' most pressing needs. Steve Culbertson, president and CEO of YSA said, "As thousands of kids across the nation begin service projects on MLK Day, Dr. King's dream of a 'beloved community' lives on. http://prn.to/wJ56gJ
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Grants & Awards
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Sodexo Youth Grants
Deadline: January 17
YSA will award 100 Sodexo Youth Grants of $500 each to support youth-led service projects in the United States that address the issue of childhood hunger on Global Youth Service Day (April 20-22, 2012). 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 - 1 in 5 children - live at risk of hunger. 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. Learn more at: www.YSA.org/grants/sodexoyouth
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Deadline: January 31
YSA is launching the inaugural YSA List of "The 25 Most Powerful and Influential Young People" in celebration of our 25th Anniversary. The YSA List will recognize 25 young people (ages 5 - 25) around the world that have made significant, large-scale change in Health, Education, Human Service, Human Rights, and the Environment. We will announce the YSA List on Global Youth Service Day 2012 (April 20-22). The 25 winners will receive $1,000 awards to support their ongoing efforts to change the world. Learn more and nominate a young person at www.YSA.org/25/list
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Sustainable Energy Award
Deadline: February 10
The National Environmental Education Foundation and Samsung are partnering to celebrate innovative schools from across the country that have used energy efficiency to enhance education, reduce environmental impacts and generate cost savings. The $10,000 Sustainable Energy Award will be presented to each of the top three high schools that can demonstrate how they have engaged students and teachers in school-wide energy savings through the creative and innovative use of technology. Their achievement will be showcased as models for other schools looking to take on this challenge. http://bit.ly/w7nMUw
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Build-A-Bear Workshop Huggable Heroes Awards
Deadline: February 27
Build-A-Bear Workshop® launches its ninth annual search for Huggable Heroes® - inspiring young leaders who have a commitment to serve, help others, and make a difference in their community. Kids, ages eight to 18, can be nominated through February 27. The 10 selected Huggable Heroes will each receive $10,000 ($7,500 in the form of an educational scholarship from Build-A-Bear Workshop and $2,500 from the Build-A-Bear Workshop Foundation to be donated to the 501(c)(3) charity or Canadian cause of their choice). http://bit.ly/yTh9Sb
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Everyday Young Heroes
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Maddie Pelgrim
Oakton, VA
YSA recognizes 14 year old Maddie Pelgrim of Oakton, Virginia, as one of our Everyday Young Heroes for her work to provide expanded volunteer opportunities for children through her non-profit Maddie's Blankets. When Maddie was 10 years old, she searched for volunteer opportunities and had difficulties finding volunteer positions for people her age. Maddie found a volunteer position at the Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation (LDCRF), one of the only organizations that would let her volunteer. While volunteering, Maddie realized that the animals needed better blankets to sleep on and young children need more volunteer opportunities, and she decided to start her own non-profit. While originally created to make animal blankets, Maddie has expanded her organization's work to make comfort blankets for children in foster care and transitional housing situations. Maddie works closely with Volunteer Fairfax to provide local children with volunteer opportunities, and she has worked with volunteers from Girl Scouts, Brownies, Daisies, community groups, and church youth groups to make over 8,000 blankets in Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, Georgia, California and Kansas. The donated blankets have been given to animals in shelters, rescue organizations, local police departments, child protective services, transitional housing organizations, and low income daycares. For her dedication to engaging children in service through her organization, we honor Maddie 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. |
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Resources & Trainings
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NYLC Webinar: Building a Youth Council
January 18, 2012 at 8pm Central
Free webinar exploring how to build a youth advisory council. Schools and community organizations can reap benefits by tapping the creative, enthusiastic, and insightful ideas and voices of young people. This webinar will explore the powerful benefits of engaging and empowering youth voice within organizational leadership teams. The nuts and bolts of how to set up a youth advisory council will be examined. http://bit.ly/yO1uBd
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Iowa & New Hampshire Youth Vote Statistics from CIRCLE
CIRCLE is keeping track of young people in the 2012 primaries. http://bit.ly/xauPuH
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Girls and Reality TV
The Girl Scout Research Institute released its latest research study, Real to Me: Girls and Reality TV, at an event titled "Behind the Scenes: Girls and Reality TV." Overall, the findings of the study show that reality TV seems to impact girls on a personal and social level. Regular viewers seem to see the world in more confrontational terms and relate to their peers differently than do those who don't watch as much. Reality TV can serve as a learning tool, inspire families to explore new interests and activities, and encourage young people to get involved in social causes. Read more about the study at: http://bit.ly/zje3V3
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Digital Learning Day Toolkits
Technology has changed the way we do everything. It's time to take action to leverage this potential with more innovative uses of technology in our nation's schools to ensure every student experiences personalized learning with great teaching. Digital Learning Day is a culminating event in a year-round national awareness campaign to improve teaching and learning for all children. Download Digital Learning Day Toolkits, designed by an expert educator working group with more than twenty-five innovative and master instructional technology leaders from across the country. http://bit.ly/xGgGdE
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Service Calendars
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Conferences & Events
National Youth Service Summit March 30 - April 1, 2012 - Cincinnati, OH National AfterSchool Association Conference
April 2-4, 2012 - Dallas, TX National Service-Learning Conference April 11-14, 2012 - Minneapolis, MN Best Of Out-of-School Time Conference April 25-28, 2012 - Palm Springs, CA National Conference on Volunteering & Service June 18-20, 2012 - Chicago, IL |
Seasons of Service
January 2012
National Mentoring Month - January
MLK Day of Service - January 16
Semester of Service - MLK Day to GYSD
No Name Calling Week - January 23-27
February 2012
African American History Month - February
Digital Learning Day - February 1
Souper Bowl of Caring - February 5
National Green Week - February 6 to April 22
Random Acts of Kindness Week - February 13-19
International Mother Language Day - February 21
National Eating Disorders Awareness Week -
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Song of the Week
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In honor of MLK Day: Dion - "Abraham, Martin, and John"
"Anybody here seen my old friend Martin?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked 'round and he's gone.
Didn't you love the things that they stood for?
Didn't they try to find some good for you and me?
And we'll be free
Some day soon, and it's a-gonna be one day."
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The Editors
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 Mike Minks Director of Outreach
and Innovation
Editor-in-Chief @michaelminks |  Danielle Miranda Manager of Outreach
Associate Editor |  Mike Man Manager of Outreach
Associate Editor |
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