|
 National
Youth Service Day (NYSD) is the largest service event
in the world, engaging millions of young Americans
and focusing national attention on the amazing leadership
of young people. The 16th annual National Youth Service
Day was place April
16-18, 2004. NYSD
2005 is scheduled for April 15-17.
NYSD
aims to
* mobilize youth as leaders to identify and address
the needs of their communities through service;
* encourage youth to create a lifelong commitment
of service and civic engagement; and,
* educate the public, the media, and policymakers
about the year-round contributions of young people
as community leaders.
Steps
for planning your NYSD project
- Work
with community partners to identify issues or needs
to address.
- Plan
a project to meet those needs. (Click
here for more information!)
- Report
your project plan to the state 4-H office, so that
it can be added to the national SERVEnet database
to help recruit volunteers. Please submit your plans
by March 15.
- Publicize
your project, recruit volunteers, and finalize plans.
Don't forget to tell the media and your elected
officials!
- Conduct
the project on National Youth Service Day (April
16-18, 2004). Be sure to include reflection
and learning
to make the experience more meaninful for all the
volunteers!
- Submit
a follow-up report to the
state 4-H office by May 1.
Effective
Practices for NYSD
- Start
early and pay attention to planning and strategy.
- Build
broad-based community support.
- Increase
your community's capacity to support young people.
- Seek
out diverse community members to help.
- Foster
the spirit and energy of young people in the community.
- Allow
the planning to be a learning process for inter-generational
relationships.
- Use
the planning process to build personal relationships
and open lines of communication throughout the community.
Click
here for more information
on the effective practices.
 As
you are planning your NYSD project, you will want
to partner with other organizations, businesses, and
agencies in your community. Consider AmeriCorps members,
churches, civic organizations, schools, the Chamber
of Commerce, and elected officials. Contact your local
State Farm agent, because the State Farm Companies
Foundation is the presenting sponsor for NYSD 2004.
Also check out the local affiliates of other NYSD
national
partners. Listed below are just a few of these
partner organizations.
| American
Red Cross |
SADD |
| Big
Brothers Big Sisters |
Special
Olympics International |
| Boys
& Girls Clubs |
United
Way |
| Girl
Scouts |
Veterans
of Foreign Wars |
| Habitat
for Humanity |
YMCA
of the USA |
| Lions
Club |
YWCA
of the U.S.A. |
| March
of Dimes |
Click
here
to see the complete
list. |
Visit
the national NYSD
Web site for tons of great information. You can
find . . .
- Planning
Tool Kit
- Service-learning
Curriculum Guide
- Promotional
brochure
- Planning
Tool Kit in Spanish
- Project
Plan-IT!, an interactive planning guide for
young people to help you plan your serice project
and customize your own funding proposals, press
releases, service learning reflections plans and
more
- Tip
sheets on dozens of great topics including the following:
- Effective
Practices for NYSD
- Engaging
Elected Officials in Your NYSD Project
- Civic
Engagement: Linking Service to Sustainable Change
- Advice
to Adults
- Advice
to Youth
- Youth/Adult
Partnerships
- National
Awards and Recognition
- and
much, much more!
Click
on "NYSD Tools" on the tool bar on the right
side of the screen to access these and other great
resources!
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