Monthly Feature March 2008: Global Youth Service Day
MARCH 2008
Millions of Youth Will Participate in the 20th Annual Global Youth Service Day on April 25–28, 2008
A program of Youth Service America, Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) is the largest youth service event in the world! Culminating annually in April, the initiative is a year-round effort to expand the impact of the youth service movement by helping to launch new service organizations, implement policy changes, and create sustainable service programs — all contributing to a growing culture of engaged youth.
During the weekend-long event, young people lead service-learning projects that cover a range of issues — from literacy, the environment, and healthcare, to hunger, and help for the elderly. Global Youth Service Day supports youth on a lifelong path of service and civic engagement, and educates the public, the media, and elected officials about the role of youth as community leaders.
Global Youth Service Day is celebrated in more than 100 countries worldwide. Over the past 19 years, GYSD has brought together more than 37 million people in thousands of communities. To read about scheduled events anywhere in the world, visit www.GYSD.org.
In 1988, Youth Service America (YSA) and the Campus Outreach Opportunity League (COOL) organized the first National Youth Service Day — called "A Day in the Life of Youth Service." Nearly 1,000 programs throughout the United States participated. In 1990, YSA joined forces with COOL, the United States Conference of Mayors, the Weekly Reader, and the Jefferson Awards to celebrate the day. More than 1,500 programs, a bipartisan group of 331 mayors, and 13 governors planned special service activities, recognition and awards ceremonies, as well as city-wide youth forums. In 2000, YSA founded Global Youth Service Day by adapting the successful model of National Youth Service Day in the United States; since then, GYSD has grown to include over 160 national partners, an international coordinating committee, and millions of young people worldwide.
Project Ideas
- Help cook and/or serve a meal at a homeless shelter
- Organize a neighborhood group to plant, tend, and harvest a vegetable garden
- Adopt a senior citizen as a "grandfriend"
- Go for a walk with a senior citizen
- Get a group together to sing or present a play at a nursing home
- Paint a mural over graffiti
- Organize and invite local police officers to present a drug awareness or bike safety assembly
- Form volunteer teams for a campus safety escort service
- Clean up a vacant lot or a local park
- Volunteer to help at a Special Olympics event
- Bring toys to children in the cancer ward of a hospital
- Identify a local issue you are concerned about and contact someone in local government with ideas on what to do about it
For additional service-learning project ideas categorized by academic subject, see the appendix of the National and Global Youth Service Day Service-Learning Curriculum Guide. Resources and Tools to Help Plan Your Project
Visit the GYSD site to access a variety of tools to help prepare for Global Youth Service Day (many materials are also offered in Spanish):
- Planning Toolkit: A comprehensive guide to help you plan your project, recruit volunteers, generate media attention, raise funds, and more
- Service-Learning Curriculum Guide: An eight-lesson curriculum guide to develop student project management skills while planning projects for National and Global Youth Service Day; appropriate for educators and community leaders
- Guide to Engaging Youth with Disabilities in Service: Tips and strategies for engaging youth with disabilities in service projects
- Grants and awards opportunities for Global Youth Service Day and year-round
- Semester of Service Strategy Guide
- Classroom posters
- Logos and images
- Media releases and advisories
Register your Global Youth Service Day project at www.YSA.org/gysd to ensure that your activities will be highlighted in the GYSD international media campaign and featured on the new interactive GYSD-U.S. map.
Global Youth Service Day is coordinated by Youth Service America, in association with the National Youth Leadership Council, and in partnership with Parade magazine. State Farm Companies Foundation is the presenting sponsor.
Youth Service America recently announced 100 State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Award winners! Chosen by Youth Service America and funded by State Farm Companies Foundation, the awardees receive a $1,000 cash grant to lead a service-learning campaign for this year’s Global Youth Service Day. Profiles of the State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Projects can be found here on the YSA site.
Effective Practices
- Planning a National Youth Service Day project
- Generating a list of 100 ways teens can serve their communities
- Building community by empowering youth in ten ways
More Resources:
"The Teen Guide to Global Action" — an exciting new book that features stories of youth from over 30 countries who are making a difference and taking action on local and global issues. The book includes a rich and varied menu of opportunities for service, fast facts, hands-on activities, user-friendly tools, and up-to-date resources kids can use to put their own volunteer spirit into practice.
