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May 3, 2012
Volume 19, No. 18
Circulation: 41,000
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It's Time for a
Presidential Youth Council
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On Global Youth Service Day, YSA and over 75 other youth-serving organizations launched a campaign for a Presidential Youth Council to recognize the valuable input that young Americans bring to our government.
Alex Wirth, a YSA Youth Council member (and leader of this campaign) writes about the importance of this effort:
"I was shocked this spring to learn there are 104 million people in our country under the age of 24. Polling done at the Harvard Institute of Politics has found that only 32% of young people (18-29) believe they have a say in what the government does and 52% of young people believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.
The Presidential Youth Council would be chosen by the president and comprised of young Americans ages 16-24...
It would be hosted at the bi-partisan Corporation for National and Community Service where it would be privately funded, ensuring no cost to government and its taxpayers.
The Presidential Youth Council will advise the President on the perspectives of youth, offer suggestions on how to make federally funded youth programs more efficient and effective, and will create shared recommendations on issues that will affect the long-term future of our country."
Read Alex's blog about the Presidential Youth Council: http://huff.to/IqPVAN
Read the full policy proposal and sign up to get involved by visiting www.presidentialyouthcouncil.org
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Connect with YSA
  
YSA Funding Partners
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News From the Field
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YSA List: 25 Most Powerful and Influential Young People
Sponsored by:
Over half of the 25 members of the inaugural YSA List of the 25 Most Powerful and Influential Young People in the world have now been announced on The Huffington Post. Read blog posts from each of the honorees at: http://huff.to/K93I1g
Honorees announced in the last week include: Daniel Kent from Indiana, Madelyn McGlynn from Illinois, Zander Srodes from Florida, Abdel Alzorgan from Jordan, Luis Cruz from Honduras, and Cassandra Lin from Rhode Island. YSA and The Huffington Post will continue to reveal one honoree a day through May 14.
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Rock the Vote Launches Largest Nonpartisan Voter Registration Drive of 2012 General Election
Yesterday Rock the Vote, the country's largest non-partisan voter registration organization, launched a multi-tiered campaign featuring new registration technologies, research, and education initiatives to encourage millions of young Americans to vote in the 2012 elections. At a time when new state voting restrictions threaten the ability of young and first-time voters to cast a ballot this November, Rock the Vote will partner with national and community organizations, technology companies, college campuses and artists to register 1.5 million voters and strive to fuel increased youth turnout for the third presidential election in a row. Learn more: http://bit.ly/IqMASt
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Finish Strong: 26 Seconds BMOR Project Grand Prize Deadline is May 10
Every 26 seconds in America, a student drops out of high school. The 26 Seconds BMOR project engages youth in monthly activities via Facebook to encourage them and their peers to stay in school and be more than a statistic. The last monthly activity and prize opportunity are now underway, and the deadline for completing 5 of the 8 activities to be eligible for the Grand Prize is May 10. (Students can still complete all past monthly activities.) The grand prize winner gets an iPad and a chance to host an end of year celebration in their community. http://on.fb.me/INrnBE
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Making a Difference for Generations: Senior Corps Week is May 7-11
This year Senior Corps Week is being held May 7-11 to align with Older Americans Month. YSA encourages everyone of all ages to celebrate, recognize, and highlight the extraordinary contributions that Foster Grandparents, RSVP, and Senior Companions volunteers make through service in their communities each and every day. http://bit.ly/IIRtsr
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Grants & Awards
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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
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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
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KaBOOM! Let's Play Maintenance Grants
Deadline: May 31
Thanks to generous support from Dr Pepper Snapple Group, KaBOOM! will be awarding grants of $750 each to communities this year who wish to make their playgrounds cleaner, safer and more inviting. The Let's Play Spruce grants are designed to reward communities that have maintained and spruced their playspaces since their playground build. If you've done a "spruce up" project at your playground that involved volunteers in the last 6 months, you are eligible to apply. Alternatively, if you are a community that needs to refill the wood fiber playground surfacing at the playground, you can apply for $750 to be used towards the purchase of the surfacing. http://bit.ly/IIzZfN
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Banking on Youth Competition
Deadline: June 10
The Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) Foundation and Ashoka's Youth Venture bring you the Banking on Youth competition! Banking on Youth is an exciting opportunity to showcase your great idea for a venture that directly benefits society. If you are age 13-20, show your venture idea through a creative and fun 90-second video and entry form to compete to win one of 49 different $1,000 seed money prizes provided by sponsoring banks to bring your idea to life. The top six entrants, chosen by the CBA Foundation and Youth Venture, will win an all-expenses-paid trip to the annual Global Youth Venture Summit in Washington, D.C. in July to compete in a "pitch-off" for the chance to win the Audience Choice Award of $5,000 or the grand prize of $15,000! http://bit.ly/JhSDtR
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Everyday Young Heroes
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Sarah Guy
Education Manager, Youth Service America
This week, something a little different in this space... instead of celebrating a young person's service, we celebrate one of our staff members and her commitment to service, and share her reflection on how service prepared her for a cancer diagnosis.
"Celebrating Service: Through cancer diagnosis, realizing how service prepared me for life's challenges" "While gearing up for Global Youth Service Day, the annual celebration of service, I spent some time reflecting on service and realized that I had new and significant reasons to celebrate service this year. In March 2011, a little over one year ago, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. ... Over the past year, I have realized how much the development this last factor, self-efficacy, is a result of my years of service and many years of working in this field. Everyday at work, we talk about each person's ability to make a significant difference and to change the world for the better. It is a perspective and mentality that is so engrained in my everyday thought that, after hearing my diagnosis, I naturally and easily harnessed what I've learned from service and applied that attitude and strategy to my efforts to overcome this disease. I realized that people of service are always ready to work with others to make positive change. ... From helping with my uncle's mayoral campaign as a teenager to my year as an AmeriCorps VISTA, I never anticipated that service would give me the skills (the perspective, the attitude) to cope with a cancer diagnosis. I never anticipated how much service would give me or how prepared it would make me for life's challenges." Read Sarah's full blog post. 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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YSA & Disney Friends for Change Action Kit
From YSA and Disney, a brand new action kit to help young people make a difference for people, communities, and the planet. The Friends for Change Action Kit includes 5 easy-to-use tipsheets designed for youth:
The Friends for Change Action Kit is available at www.YSA.org/resources
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Youth Venture Summit
July 26-29 in Washington, DC
The Youth Venture Summit is the annual gathering of the Youth Venture community. At the Summit attendees participate in skill-building and Venture-strengthening workshops, engage in meaningful dialogue to share experiences and perspectives, and network with each other to identify common areas of interest and ways to collaborate. This opportunity to meet other young changemakers; to share thoughts and experiences, make connections, and receive support and acknowledgement is unsurpassed. As in previous years, 2012 will offer various levels of workshops for the beginning, intermediate or advanced young changemaker, plus an adult track. And for the first time, the YV Summit will have a specialized University track for students out of high school and university Venture teams. http://bit.ly/L1kF0w
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The Bully Project: Special Needs Anti-Bullying Toolkit
Over 60% of children with special needs have been bullied. That's far too many. This toolkit gives parents, educators, and students valuable tools to stop bullying when they know its happening, and prevent it from happening in the future. http://bit.ly/IIJIFk
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Nonprofit Vote 2012: Hosting a Candidate Forum
Candidate engagement is a valuable piece of your voter engagement work, and can benefit both your organization and your constituents.
Join Nonprofit Vote 2012 for a webinar on May 24 to learn more about techniques for organizing an effective candidate forum, how to stay nonpartisan throughout the process, and for tools to help you every step of the way. http://bit.ly/L1okLU
The "Hosting a Candidate Forum" guide features helpful instructions on hosting a candidate forum, including to-do lists, do's and don'ts, and a planning timeline. It includes tips on how to attract candidates, select a format, publicize the event, and ensure your forum stays nonpartisan. http://bit.ly/IL6tth
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Service Calendars
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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
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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
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
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Song of the Week
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Playing for Change - "Stand By Me"
"This song says, no matter who you are,
No matter where you go in your life
At some point you're going to need
Somebody to stand by you.
Oh yeah! Oh my darlin' Stand by me!
No matter who your are, no matter where you go in life
You gonna need somebody, to stand by you.
No matter how much money you got, or the friends you got,
You gonna need somebody, to stand by you
When the night has come, and the way is dark,
And that moon is the only light you see.
No I won't be afraid, no I won't be afraid
Just as long as the people come and stand by me."
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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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