By: Learn and Serve – Michigan Team
Although it is only January, it is hard not to think about the 2011 Global Youth Service Day coming up in April. As suggested in the title, Global Youth Service Day is a youth-led service event that occurs all over the world. The purpose, or mission of this national day of service is to mobilize youth to improve their communities and address some of the following issues: education, health, clean energy/environmental stewardship, economic opportunity, disaster preparedness, support to veterans military families, and public safety, just to name a few. Students are encouraged to lead and plan their own service or service-learning project to be held over the course of the weekend of April 15-17. Overall, Global Youth Service Day is a program led by Youth Service America, which encourages youth to engage in volunteering.
Why is Youth Service in particular so important?
Through quality service experiences, youth can develop important skills such as critical thinking, a sense of civic responsibility, and an increased sense of self efficacy that will be useful to them throughout their college and work lives. The sense that they can, and should, participate in their communities creates a strong foundation for their future civic engagement. When service is tied to what young people are learning in the classroom the impact is even more promising. In addition to the civic and academic skills benefits, studies are starting to suggest the connection youth make to community members, their educators, and other classmates can impact their decisions and abilities to graduate from high school. Youth engagement in a community, especially when tied to the curriculum and when the youth are given an active voice, can be an enormous benefit to the path of not only the youth’s future, but the community's future as well.
What is the Michigan Community Service Commission doing for Global Youth Service Day?
The Michigan Community Service Commission (MCSC) is again serving as a Lead Agency for Global Youth Service Day. In partnership with Youth Service America and The LEAGUE Michigan, the MCSC will be working to mobilize young people from across the state to make a difference! The MCSC will award mini-grants to organizations in Michigan to host Global Youth Service Day projects. Grants will be valued at up to $500, and applications must be written by youth who plan on participating and implementing the project. Volunteer Centers, 501(c)3 organizations, and K-12 and higher education institutions are just some of the many organizations who are encouraged to apply.
How do I get involved?
Get project ideas, find a project near you, and/or register your project by visiting www.gysd.org.
Apply for the MCSC’s and The LEAGUE Michigan’s mini-grant! Guidelines and the application can be found online here: http://michigan.gov/documents/mcsc/2011_GYSD_Mini-Grant_Guidelines_and_Application_342628_7.pdf. They are due by Monday, February 28, 2011 by 5:00 p.m.
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