YSA Grants Available for Teachers and Youth

$1,000 grants for K-12 public schools in the U.S. to engage students in a fall Semester of Service. Learn more and apply.  

 Get Ur Good On Grants  

$500 grants for youth, ages 5-25, around the world to lead a service project during June - August 2012. Learn more and apply.  

Disney Friends for Change Grants - United Kingdom

£750 grants for youth, ages 5-18, in the United Kingdom to lead a service project to make a difference for people, communities, and the planet. Learn more and apply. 

Connect with YSA

YSA Funding Partners

Global Youth Service Day - April 20-22, 2012

Save the Date! 

GYSD is April 26-28, 2013 

U.S. State Department, USAID, and Peace Corps Volunteers Celebrate GYSD  

The U.S. State Department, USAID, and Peace Corps all engaged youth around the world on GYSD:

• USAID Impact Blog: USAID Acts for Global Youth Service Day 
• Peace Corps Press Office: Peace Corps Volunteers Celebrate GYSD 
• DipNote U.S. Department of State Official Blog: Young People Mobilize for Global Youth Service Day 

News From the Field

YSA List: 25 Most Powerful and Influential Young People

Sponsored by: 

The first seven members of the inaugural YSA List of the 25 Most Powerful and Influential Young People in the world have been announced on The Huffington Post. Read blog posts from each of the honorees at: www.huffingtonpost.com/news/ysa-list 

Honorees so far include: Tamer Shaaban from Egypt, Dylan Mahalingham from New Hampshire,  Anoka Abeyrathne from Sri Lanka, Ghalib Khalil from Pakistan,  Alec Urbach from New York, Kendall Ciesemier from DC, and  Christopher Yao from New York. YSA and The Huffington Post will continue to reveal one honoree a day through May 14. Learn more about the YSA List at www.YSA.org/25/list 

Save Service District Days - May 1-3

Sign up to be a local organizer and to schedule a meeting with your Member of Congress. This spring, Save Service needs to utilize the most powerful resource the national service community has: YOU! When members of Congress go home to their districts and states on recess, we have the opportunity to demonstrate how vital national service is in their communities at district office meetings. Meeting Leaders will be the main point-of-contact for a District Day visit in their community. They will be supported by our Save Service Campaign Coordinators who will ensure they have everything they need to successfully schedule a meeting and talk to their members of Congress about the importance of supporting national service funding in fiscal year 2013. Learn more and sign up: http://bit.ly/JHR9Od  

DoSomething.org Campaigns

The Bully Project (through May 9)
DoSomething.org built an interactive Facebook app that allows students to tell us exactly where, why, and how bullying goes down.  Take the survey and help stop bullying in your school. http://dsorg.us/JtVXBV

Epic Book Drive (through May 18)
Donate your books to help low-income families in your community. By participating and sharing your story, your team could win scholarship money! The drive that collects the most books will win a $1,000 scholarship for an individual or $10,000 for their group (up to 10 members). http://dsorg.us/JqsDid    

 Prom For All (through June 22)
A quarter of American families can't afford to send their teenagers to prom. Your fabulous dress could be another girl's ticket to a dream night. DoSomething.org wants to activate 100,000 young people to collect thousands of dresses for girls who couldn't otherwise afford to go to prom.  Clean out your closet and donate your gently used dresses to girls in need. Tell us about the awesome stuff you did by June 22 so you can be in the running for a limo ride with your friends! Get 5 of your friends involved by entering their numbers below and you could win a $2,000 scholarship. http://dsorg.us/IcAFwf   

Grants & Awards 

Get Ur Good On Grants

Deadline: May 27

If you're ready to make a positive impact in your community, Miley Cyrus and her friends at YSA want to help! With $500 Get Ur Good On Grants, you'll have the inspiration, project support, and necessary funding to turn your idea into a reality. Kids and young adults ages 5-25 worldwide are eligible to apply for a $500 Get Ur Good On Grant to support youth-led projects. Projects must address a demonstrated community need or issue, and must take place during June, July and/or August 2012.  www.YSA.org/grants/gurgo         

State Farm Good Neighbor Student Achievement Grants

Deadline: May 31

State Farm™ is proud to team up with YSA to offer grants of up to $1,000 for programs enhancing student achievement through service-learning in K-12 public schools in all fifty US states, the District of Columbia, and in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario and New Brunswick. Each grant engages participating teachers and students in a service and learning program that promotes academic achievement, workplace readiness, and stronger communities. The State Farm Good Neighbor Student Achievement Grant requires a 12 to 14 week Semester of Service™. www.YSA.org/goodneighbor  

4th Annual Clifford Be Big In Your Community Contest

Deadline: June 22

BE BIG™ is a national campaign that invites everyone, big and small, to take action and raise awareness for how Clifford's BIG Ideas (Share, Be Kind, Help Others, Be a Good Friend, Play Fair, Have Respect, Be Truthful, Believe in Yourself, Work Together and Be Responsible) can make the world a better place. As part of the BE BIG campaign, the contest will award $10,000 in community grants (one $5,000 grant and five $1,000 grants) to the BIGGEST ideas that best demonstrate Clifford's BIG Ideas! Scholastic and HandsOn Network will work with the winners to bring their Big Ideas to life!  Parents, kids, teachers, and community leaders are invited to submit their ideas. http://bit.ly/eSU7Om   

Afterschool Awards (Scholarship)

Deadline: June 25

The Afterschool Awards is a nationwide contest spotlighting after school achievements for Elementary, Middle School and Junior High students. IZOD, JCPenney and NOW Music have teamed up to bring students a chance to turn their afterschool passion into cash for their future education. Students are invited to enter Afterschool Awards between now and June 25th for a chance to win up to $10,000 in scholarship money! Students can enter in up to four categories: Sports, Community Service, Science and Music & Arts to show everyone what they've got going on after the bell rings! Last year's winners were a wave-catching surfer, a fund-raising philanthropist, a star mathlete and a pop-lock dancer!  http://bit.ly/I3bGtP      

Resources & Trainings

NYLC Webinar: Pay it Forward

Wednesday, May 16 at 12:00pm Central

Join NYLC and Students Today Leaders Forever on May 16, 2012 for this webinar to learn about STLF's model for youth leadership through service and how you can get involved. The mission of Students Today Leaders Forever is to reveal leadership through service, relationships, and action.  This mission comes alive the dynamic programming for youth in college, high school, and middle school.  Through the Pay it Forward Tours and Summer Leadership Camps, youth give back to their communities while learning more about themselves and the world. Webinar participants will learn more about the life-changing programming offered to youth each year and how students can get involved. http://bit.ly/JDtmxZ   

Civic Health Indexes for AL, OH, PA

The National Conference on Citizenship is excited to announce the release of three new Civic Health Index reports in Alabama, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.  

• Pennsylvania Civic Health Index: Promoting Civic Education and Public Engagement   
• Ohio Civic Health Index 
• Alabama Civic Health Index 

NCoC is currently accepting additional partners for 2012 civic health initiatives. For more information on how to bring the Civic Health Index to your community, please visit http://bit.ly/IUmKrP  

National Conference on Volunteering and Service Early Bird Rates End Friday

Now is the time to reserve your seat at the 2012 National Conference on Volunteering and Service. Early bird registration rates end on Friday, April 27, at 11:59 p.m. After that, prices go up. This year's Conference, convened by Points of Light in Chicago on  June 18-20 provides attendees with an opportunity to learn, connect and be re-inspired for volunteering through a wide range of exciting and informative plenary sessions, workshops, special events, service projects, exhibits, specialized corporate tracks and more. http://bit.ly/imz3h4   

WKCD: Summer Learning Opportunities for Teens

While summer employment for teens seems harder to find than ever, summer opportunities for high school students that combine fun, learning, service, travel, challenge, and adventure remain plentiful. For the third year in a row, WKCD has compiled a directory of international programs that immerse teens in the life and culture of a faraway country and in service projects that meet local needs. This year, they've added a listing of programs on college campuses that provide academic enrichment and a taste of college life. http://bit.ly/IViTtH  

Service Calendars

Conferences & Events

National Faith-Based Service-Learning Conference 

May 31 - June 2, 2012 - Grantham, PA    

National Conference on Volunteering & Service 

June 18-20, 2012 - Chicago, IL    

International Conference on Service-Learning in Teacher Education 

June 21-23, 2012 - Durham, NC  

International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement Conference 

September 23-25, 2012 - Baltimore, MD

YSA's Youth Service Institute 

October 17-19, 2012 - Houston, TX  

Summer Changes Everything National Conference 

October 22-24, 2012 - Pittsburgh, PA

Seasons of Service

 
May 2012 

National Foster Care Month - May
Older Americans Month - May
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month - May
Global Youth Traffic Safety Month - May
National Preservation Month - May
Law Day - May 1
National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy - May 2
Join Hands Day - May 5
Be Kind to Animals Week - May 6-12
Music Monday - May 7
World Fair Trade Day - May 12
National Family Month - May 13-June 17 (Mother's Day-Father's Day)
World Day of Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development - May 21
National Missing Children's Day - May 25
World No Tobacco Day - May 31  

Song of the Week

Elton John (Lion King) - "Circle of Life" 

The Editor