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January 26, 2012
Volume 19, No. 4
Circulation: 39,950
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2012 Semester of Service and Global Youth Service Day Planning Resources Available
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YSA's 2012 Semester of Service and Global Youth Service Day resources are available in print and for download, including:
- 2012 Semester of Service Strategy Guide
- 2012 Semester of Service Planning Calendar Poster
- 2012 Global Youth Service Day Toolkit
- 2012 Global Youth Service Day Poster
These resources are step-by-step guides to help youth and adult project organizers plan and lead a high quality Semester of Service or Global Youth Service Day projects.
All four resources are available for download at www.YSA.org/resources
You can order free printed copies of both posters and the Semester of Service Strategy Guide at YSA.org/resources/request
Also, check out YSA's newest resource - the YSA No Kid Hungry Guide. This guide will help youth create and organize a childhood hunger service project; it also provides tips and suggestions on how to get others involved. Download at: http://bit.ly/wk4eWk
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Connect with YSA
  
YSA Funding Partners
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News From the Field
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National Service-Learning Conference
Join the National Youth Leadership Council and youthrive, the Upper Midwest Affiliate of PeaceJam International April 11-14, 2012 at the Minneapolis Convention Center for the largest gathering of the service-learning community and the most comprehensive service-learning professional development opportunity in the world! The regular registration deadline is February 16. Learn more and register at http://nslc.nylc.org
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U.S. Department Of Education Calls For Action To Develop 21st Century Citizens, Strengthen Democracy
Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan along with several Obama Administration and education officials launched a national conversation about the importance of educating students for informed, engaged citizenship with the release of the Department's report, "Advancing Civic Learning and Engagement in Democracy: A Road Map and Call to Action." The release coincides with the publication of a final report from the National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement, "A Crucible Moment: College Learning & Democracy's Future," which was commissioned by the Department. http://bit.ly/xRxFst
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Kids 2012 Campaign
SparkAction, Voices for America's Children, the Children's Leadership Council, and the National Collaboration for Youth have launched a campaign to help get child and youth issues on the platforms and in the speeches of the presidential candidates this year. They're ready to get things rolling, but need your voices to speak for children and youth in this election.
Learn more about the Kids 2012 campaign in a Prezi presentation, which also includes a great video from Voices for America's children. http://bit.ly/xmz48c
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Teens for Jeans
1 in 3 homeless people in the U.S. is under the age of 18, and one of the first items they ask for when reaching a shelter is jeans. You can do something about teen homeless. From January 16 to February 12, you can join Do Something's 5th annual Teens for Jeans campaign - the largest jeans donation drive in the nation! Drop off your jeans at any Aéropostale store between January 16th and February 12th. The school that collects the most jeans wins $5,000, new Aéropostale jeans for every student and a party! For more information on how to clean those closets and give back. visit: http://dsorg.us/zmZanJ
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Grants & Awards
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YSA List: The 25 Most Powerful and Influential Young People
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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Eli Segal Fellowship
Deadline: February 27
CNCS is seeking applications from former AmeriCorps members who are interested in serving as the 2012-2013 Eli Segal Fellow. The duties of the selected fellow will include working with the Director of AmeriCorps, program offices and closely with the CEO's office on projects that advance the national service field. The fellowship will last for a term of not more than 13 months beginning in July 2012 and includes a $27,000 salary, plus benefits. Eligible applicants for the fellowship include all AmeriCorps alums who served full-time in the past three years. http://bit.ly/x4PyWT
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Disney Friends for Change Grants
Deadline: February 29
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. www.YSA.org/grants/disney-friends-change-grants
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2012 Do Something Awards
Deadline: March 1
The Do Something Awards (formerly the BR!CK Awards) identifies exceptional young social entrepreneurs, activists, and community leaders who have a significant social impact. The Do Something Award nominees and winners are the pivotal "do-ers" in their fields and causes. For this year's awards five finalists will be selected and rewarded with a $10,000 community grant, participation in the third Do Something Awards TV show on VH1, media coverage, and continued support from DoSomething.org. Of those five nominees, one will be selected to win the Grand Prize, a $100,000 grant, which will be announced during the broadcast. http://dsorg.us/t5wklU
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Everyday Young Heroes
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Alex Triestman
Aliso Viejo, CA
YSA recognizes ten year old Alex Triestman, of Aliso Viejo, California as an Everyday Young Heroes for his support of our armed service members through is volunteer work with Operation Paperback.
In May 2011, Alex joined Canyon Vista Elementary's PAL (Peer Assisted Leadership) program. Alex wanted to think of what he could do to help the U.S.military and his love of books steered him to Operation Paperback, a non-profit organization which sends used paperback books to the military abroad. Alex wanted to set up a collection of used books during the school's spring book fair. Unfortunately, his fellow committee members thought it was too much work. Undaunted by their support, he and one other committee member decided to ask the PTA for help. He made his presentation to the PTA and his Principal and asked for 25% of funds from the annual book fair to be donated to the cause. After getting the PTA on board, Alex hosted a book drive and collected over 1,200 books in one week. He engaged the entire student body and school staff in making 750 bookmarks for the troops, and solicited the help of parents to help sort, package and ship the books.
Alex was named a "Whiz Kid" by the Aliso Viejo Patch, was recognized by national organization Operation Paperbook on their Facebook page, and in the Orange County Register. With the attention he received in the local paper, an area businessman donated all the boxes and tape for the mailing. Now a fifth grader at Canyon Vista Elementary, Alex continues to engage his school in supporting troops deployed oversee. On January 12, 1,379 paperbacks were shipped overseas. He hopes to expand the scope of his volunteer work to focus on pediatric cancer and is planning a school walkathon called "Crocs 4 a Cure" for this May.
For his work to support our troops and engage his entire school community in service to others, we honor Alex 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: Digging into the Service-Learning Standards
February 7, 2012 at 5pm Central
Since the release of the K-12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice in 2008, educators everywhere have found them to be a valuable resource for designing and executing high-quality service-learning projects. This free webinar will help practitioners dig deeper into what these standards could look like in everyday practice. http://bit.ly/zW2iwt
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Toolkit for the Evaluation of Service-Learning Programs
This toolkit presents products that were developed as part of the design and instrumentation work on the National Evaluation of school-based Learn and Serve America Programs. The toolkit is divided into four parts: general evaluation guidelines for service-learning; developing a rigorous evaluation for service-learning; design instruments and recruitment materials from the national evaluation; and an annotated bibliography based on literature reviews conducted for the national evaluation. http://bit.ly/xX8nC7
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Civic Engagement Through Digital Citizenship
Participatory digital media - broadly defined as media such as the Internet, social network sites and cell phones that allow users to interact - are ubiquitous among today's youth. Because digital media are so pervasive among youth and offer new avenues for civic participation, schools must rethink how they prepare students for active, participatory citizenship. In short, the civic mission of schools has broadened to include the mission of preparing "digital citizens" - those who use digital media to
fulfill their civic duty. This issue of The Progress of Education Reform includes a closer look at the characteristics of digital natives and provides a summary of research about digital natives' civic engagement habits and the implications of this research for education policy aimed at promoting digital citizenship for today's youth. http://bit.ly/w82UDp
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GenerationOn Webinars Archive
GenerationOn offers a number of free, live webinars to deepen and enliven your service-learning projects with youth. Webinars include a monthly series focusing on upcoming days of service and resources to help you in the planning, development, and execution of service and service-learning projects. Webinars also includes a bi-monthly webinar series designed especially for educators in which we dig deeper into the steps of service-learning. Browse all of the archived webinars - 11 in total - at http://bit.ly/zRmdZE
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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
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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Black Eyed Peas featuring Sting - "Union"
"It takes one, just one
And then one follows the other one
And then another follows the other one
Next thing you know you got a billion
People doing some wonderful things
People doing some powerful things
Let's change and do some powerful things
Unity could be a wonderful things
Let's change and do some powerful things
Unity could be a wonderful thing."
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The Editor
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 Mike Minks Director of Outreach and Innovation
Editor-in-Chief @michaelminks |
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