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September 13, 2012
Volume 19, No. 37
Circulation: 41,000
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YSA And State Farm® Putting
YOUth In the Driver Seat
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 In celebration of State Farm's Celebrate My Drive campaign, YSA is excited to announce a brand new resource and YSA Grants program!
YOUth in the Driver Seat: A Teen Driver Safety Semester of Service
This brand-new YSA toolkit is designed to help students develop their own teen driver safety service-learning program with educator guidance as part of a Semester of Service. Download: http://bit.ly/QTDkPQ
State Farm® Good Neighbor YOUth in the Driver Seat Grants - Application Deadline: October 15
Learning to drive is one of the most exciting milestones in a teen's life. To support teens and their teachers in this rite of passage, YSA and State Farm® are offering $1,500 YOUth in the Driver Seat Grants to implement a service-learning program that encourages safe driving habits, community service and student achievement. www.YSA.org/grants/YOUthInTheDriverSeat
Celebrate My Drive
This Saturday, September 15, State Farm® is hosting Celebrate My Drive events in 14 cities across the country. You can also enter your school into the sweepstakes for the chance at one of 14 $100,000 grants. Then, teens 15-18 may enter for a chance to win a new car. www.celebratemydrive.com
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Connect with YSA
  
YSA Funding Partners
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News From the Field
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Upcoming Events
67th Annual National Conference on Citizenship
The conference will be held in Philadelphia on Friday, September 14 in partnership with the National Constitution Center during their year-long series of events celebrating the 225th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution. A live-stream of the event will be available from 1-5:30 on September 14 at www.NCoC.net/live
Constitution Day - September 17
This year marks the 225th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. Constitution Day is an opportunity to develop habits of citizenship in a new generation of Americans. Learn more and get resources at http://bit.ly/TPWVRB
2012 Opportunity Nation Summit
Next Wednesday, September 19, Opportunity Nation will host its second national Summit and will release the 2012 Opportunity Index, unveiling new data that will spotlight the progress (or decline) that communities have experienced since the inaugural results were released last year. Parts of the Summit will be live streamed: http://bit.ly/OppSummitLive
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Recap of This Week's Events
9/11 National Day of Service & RemembranceNonprofit, business, faith-based, and government organizations united as part of National Day of Service and Remembrance. Projects and ceremonies took place in all 50 states. www.911day.org Grandparents DayToday, Generations United celebrated Grandparents Day with an event at the White House and a blog: " It's Time to Do Something Grand: A Call to Action on Grandparents Day." YSA's Katherine Gerber reflected on the importance of intergenerational relationships in her blog: " Grandparents Spark Civic Engagement." www.grandparentsday.org NYLC Capitol Hill BriefingToday, September 13, NYLC and Guilford County Schools hosted a public briefing on Capitol Hill to discuss how a North Carolina school district achieved high levels of academic success by implementing a character development and service-learning initiative. The event was convened by North Carolina's Senator Kay Hagan (D) and Representative Howard Coble (R). Learn more about Guildford County's results: http://ny.lc/QFA0FP
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ServiceVote 12 for '12: Engaging Youth in the 2012 Elections Special Series
With just under 8 weeks to go until Election Day, YSA continues this special 12-part series leading up to November 6.
YSA offers the ServiceVote 12 for '12 - twelve ideas of how young people can serve this election season (and only one of them requires you to be 18!) Get all the ideas, related resources, and let us know how you're getting involved at www.YSA.org/ServiceVote
Each week until Election Day, we'll feature one way young people can get involved during the election, and highlight related programs, resources, and stories.
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ServiceVote 12 for '12:
Organize a debate, forum, or town hall.
Debates, forums, and town halls are structured events in which candidates are invited to speak before an audience about a specific set of issues.
These events provide an opportunity to hear directly from the candidates on the issues you care about. Access resources to help you host your own debate, forum, or town hall at www.YSA.org/ServiceVote#5
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Get Involved with Your Local LWV
To find out about how to volunteer for registration drives, candidate debates, forums, town halls, or other election activities already underway in your community, connect with your local League of Women Voters chapter. Find your local League: http://bit.ly/TZ41lk
The League of Women Voters' one-stop-shop for election related information, provides details on how to register, deadlines, and more. www.VOTE411.org
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Grants & Awards
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UnitedHealth HEROES Service-Learning Grants
Deadline: October 15
YSA and UnitedHealthcare are inviting schools and other community-based nonprofit organizations to Step into Service by applying for UnitedHealth HEROES grants. Grants of up to $1,000 are available for youth-led service-learning projects which aim to combat childhood obesity through walking, running or hiking programs. YSA will hold webinars to help applicants through the application process and answer all of their questions. The next webinar will be September 25th at 3:00pm Eastern - Sign up here. For more information, visit www.YSA.org/HEROES
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Gladys Marinelli Coccia Award
Deadline: September 30
YSA is accepting nominations for the Gladys Marinelli Coccia Award, recognizing two exceptional young people, ages 13 to 22, who are actively engaged in social entrepreneurship and in leading sustainable social change. Social entrepreneurs apply business practices to achieve positive social change and measure their success through their social impact. Two honorees will be selected to receive $2,000 to support their social enterprise and receive resources and technical assistance from YSA. Nominees must be between the ages 13 and 22 at the time of nomination and be located in United States. One of the two honorees will be selected from the Washington, D.C. or West Virginia region. www.YSA.org/grants/coccia-awards
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IGNITEgood Millennial Impact Challenge
Deadline: October 19
The Millennial Impact Challenge will identify game changers among young men and women and connect them with the resources they need to turn their visions into reality, scale their impact, and inspire others to do the same. Emerging leaders from around the country will compete for a shot at one of 10 Millennial Impact Grants, each worth $10,000. The Impact Challenge is open to anyone 30 years and under. In addition to funding, the grantees will receive ongoing coaching, pro-bono support and training, including a three-day bootcamp in New York led by a team of experts who will share practical tools for long-term success. http://bit.ly/Oi57TN
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2012 Subaru Healthy Sprouts Award
Deadline: October 31
To be eligible for the 2012 Healthy Sprouts Awards, your school or organization must plan to garden with at least 15 children between the ages of 3 and 18. The selection of winners is based on the demonstrated relationship between the garden program and education related to environmental, nutrition and hunger issues in the United States. Awards will be presented to 50 schools or organizations. Each program will receive: $400 gift certificate to the Gardening with Kids catalog and online store for youth gardening supplies and supporting educational materials; NGA's Eat a Rainbow Kit, full of engaging taste education and nutrition lessons; set of hand tools and three pairs of child-sized gloves; and a Plantcam to document the growth and changes of your garden. http://bit.ly/Oi5P3r
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Everyday Young Heroes
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Nina Mahalingam
Nashua, NH
YSA recognizes 8-year-old Nina Mahalingam of Nashua, New Hampshire, as an Everyday Young Hero for her efforts to help other children around the world.
After the 2011 Japan earthquake, Nina remembered the old Japanese legend that anyone who folds a thousand paper cranes is granted a wish. She created the "Wish Upon a Crane" campaign so children could fold paper cranes for hope for their peers in Japan. Nina co-led campaigns in malls and also rallied youth worldwide (with help from family) using the Internet. Children from 12 countries responded by folding over 9,000 cranes and raising $18,000 for this effort. These cranes are now part of a massive art sculpture unveiled in Japan's Sendai Train Station on Jan 12, 2012. Because of the success of that endeavor, Nina co-founded Walking Books ( www.walkingbooks.org ) with two of her cousins to bring library services to disadvantaged children living in remote areas around the world. They collect, sort, ship, and distribute books to their partners in Africa, Asia, and South America. The mobile libraries are brought to the remote areas by partner volunteers who use camels, donkeys, elephants, boats, bicycle, rickshaw, becak, truck, van, or train so children can enjoy reading them. Since she founded Walking Books in December 2011, Nina's team has collected and distributed over 4,500 books to underprivileged children in several countries, including Kenya and Colombia. For her dedication to achieving the Millennium Development Goals , we honor Nina 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: Introduction to Service-Learning
Tuesday, September 18 at 4:00pm Central
What is service-learning? How can you use service-learning to tackle a problem in your community? This webinar will focus on unraveling the strategies in service-learning that lead to effective youth-led action. Learn the difference between community service and service-learning; explore the characteristics that make service-learning meaningful; and gain tools to help you navigate and lead through the entire service-learning process. Join this webinar to see how youth and adults are partnering in their communities to enact change. http://bit.ly/TPEYTg
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Global Youth Justice's 6th International Training Institute: Establish, Expand, or Enhance a Youth Court / Teen Court
December 4-6, 2012 in Las Vegas, NV
This 6th International Training Institute will include 24-hours of instruction, including training sessions on identifying appropriate juvenile offender referrals, training youth and adult volunteers, planning balanced and restorative justice mandated peer-imposed community sanctions, graduated sanctions, implementing operational and administrative procedures, identifying juvenile justice resources, grant writing and Juvenile Justice/School/Community-Based Partnerships. http://bit.ly/cMnrrl
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Service Calendars
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Conferences & Events
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
People to People International Global Youth Forum
November 7-11, 2012 - Chicago, IL
24th Annual National Service-Learning Conference
March 13-15, 2013 - Denver, CO
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Seasons of Service
September 2012
National Hispanic Heritage Month - September 15-October 15
Constitution Day - September 17
International Day of Peace - September 21
October 2012
October (month)
Domestic Violence Awareness Month - October
Intergeneration Month - Octobervawnet.org
World Habitat Day - October 1
World Mental Health Day - October 10
International Day of the Girl Child - October 11
National Coming Out Day - October 11
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Song of the Week
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Lee Coulter - "I Would Love"
"If I were a song
I would love to be a symphony
All together in harmony
If I were the earth
I would love to give you all that you need
But you keep taking more from me
Should it be so bad
To want to do something good
When this world tries to bring me down
I would love, I would love, I would love. ..."
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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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