Youth Service in the 2010S

Youth Service in the 2010s

A LOOK BACK AT 2010

January

More than 10,000 service projects take place in all 50 states for the 2010 Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service. www.MLKDay.gov

Disney and the HandsOn Network team up to inspire more than one million people to make positive change in their communities with the Give a Day, Get a Disney Day program. www.handsonnetwork.org

The service community responds to the Haiti earthquake and remind us all of the many needs - food, water, clothes, medical aid, and shelter - of millions around the world. www.servicelearning.org/disaster_response

10 cities receive grants to hire Chief Service Officers, including: Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; Los Angeles, CA; Nashville-Davidson, TN; Newark, NJ; Omaha, NE; Philadelphia, PA; Sacramento, CA; Savannah, GA; Seattle, WA. www.citiesofservice.org

YSA announces support for 265 'Health Heroes' and 100 'Good Neighbors' with more than $280,000 in grants. www.YSA.org/grants

February

First Lady Michelle Obama announces the 'Let's Move' campaign to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation. www.letsmove.gov

Friends and supporters of national service gather in the nation's capital to celebrate and honor elected officials at the Friends of National Service Reception 2010. www.voicesforservice.org/events/fons10/fons10.htm

Patrick Corvington is confirmed by the U.S. Senate as new CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. www.nationalservice.gov

March

America's Promise Alliance launches the GradNation campaign to mobilize Americans to end the high school dropout crisis and prepare young people for college and the 21st century workforce. www.americaspromise.org/Our-Work/Grad-Nation.aspx

YSA releases an updated Semester of Service Strategy Guide. www.YSA.org/resources

CNCS announces Summer of Service grants totaling $2 million to 17 nonprofits, universities, and schools to engage at-risk youth in grades 6 through 9 in innovative

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s service projects that address environmental and disaster preparedness issues. www.learnandserve.gov/about/newsroom/releases_detail.asp?tbl_pr_id=1680

The 21st Annual National Service-Learning Conference convenes in San Jose, CA. www.nslc.nylc.org

The National Service-Learning Clearinghouse launches YouthSITE (Youth Sharing Ideas and Tools for Engagement), a platform for students of all ages and grade levels to tell their service-learning stories. www.servicelearning.org/youthsite

April

More than one billion people globally observe the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, taking part in events and rallying to call for action on climate change. www.earthday.org

Millions of youth and adults organize thousands of service projects and celebrations in more than 100 countries around the world on Global Youth Service Day. www.GYSD.org

The U.S. House and U.S. Senate pass resolutions recognizing Global Youth Service Day and honoring youth who serve their communities throughout the year.

YSA organizes TEDxCapital, a day of TED Talks with "ideas worth spreading" about youth engagement and presents the 2010 Harris Wofford Awards. www.TEDxCapital.org

National Volunteer Week 2010 commemorates the one-year anniversary of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act while also "Celebrating People in Action." www.handsonnetwork.org/nationalprograms/signatureevents/nvw2010

May

The service community responds to the Gulf Oil Spill, in May and throughout the summer. www.serve.gov/oilspill.asp

480 events across the country are organized for the fourth annual AmeriCorps Week. www.americorpsweek.gov

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards recognize the top ten middle and high school students from across the country in a ceremony at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce headquarters. http://spirit.prudential.com

June

The 2010 National Conference on Volunteering and Service gathers more than 5,000 participants and an incredible group of presenters from the nonprofit, corporate and government sectors. www.volunteeringandservice.org/about/archive/2010/

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

The United We Serve Summer of Service Let's Read. Let's Move. campaign launches to combat childhood obesity and summer reading loss. www.serve.gov/lrlm.asp

The Volunteering in America 2010 report is released. 63.4 million Americans volunteered to help their communities in 2009, an additional 1.6 million volunteers when compared to 2008, contributing 8.1 billion hours of service. www.VolunteeringInAmerica.gov

Vice President Biden and Secretary of Education Duncan honor PARADE's All America Service Team. www.parade.com/news/all-america/2010/meet-parades-all-america- high-school-service-team.html

CNCS awards the first-ever Social Innovation Fund grants to 11 organizations with strong track records of successfully identifying and growing high-performing nonprofits. www.nationalservice.gov/about/programs/innovation.asp

July

10 more cities receive grants for Chief Service Officers, including: Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Baltimore, MD; Baton Rouge, LA; Chula Vista, CA; Houston, TX; Little Rock, AK; Orlando, FL; Pittsburgh, PA; and Richmond, VA. www.citiesofservice.org

Search Institute releases the Teen Voice 2010 report, sponsored by Best Buy, focused teen sparks, voice, and relationships. https://www.at15.com/about_at_15/teen_voice_2010

For the first time in 43 years, the YMCA unveils a new brand, including a new logo and new name: "the Y". www.ymca.net/news-media/

August

The National League of Cities releases Authentic Youth Civic Engagement, a step-by- step guide for local leaders who want to create meaningful opportunities for youth participation in local government. www.nlc.org/ASSETS/8DCFB802143A42279291EDD2F02E4E18/IYEF_AYCE_Guide_7- 10.pdf

The International Year of Youth begins on International Youth Day - August 12, 2010. http://social.un.org/youthyear/

The Gallup Student Poll releases its latest survey data. For the next 10 years, the student poll will track the hope, engagement, and wellbeing of students in grades 5 through 12 across the United States. www.gallupstudentpoll.com

The U.S. Department of Education hosts its first ever Bullying Summit and launches a campaign to combat bullying in schools. www.bullyinginfo.org

CNCS announces inaugural Volunteer Generation Fund and Nonprofit Capacity Building Fund grant winners. www.nationalservice.gov/about/programs

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

September

The September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance commemorates the 9th anniversary of September 11th. www.911day.org YSA provides 9 lessons of 9/11 for youth with related service project ideas. www.YSA.org/911

The National Conference on Citizenship releases the Civic Health Index at its 65th annual conference at the Library of Congress. A number of state reports are also released in following months. www.ncoc.net/CivicHealth2010

CNCS announces $5.4 million in new Youth Engagement Zone grants to improve academic and civic engagement for students in high poverty communities. www.learnandserve.gov

America's Promise Alliances announces its 2010 list of the 100 Best Communities for Young People, presented by ING. www.americaspromise.org/100best

YSA Disney Friends for Change grantees implement youth-led environmental initiatives on National Public Lands Day or International Coastal Cleanup Day, both September 25. http://disney.go.com/projectgreen

October

YSA convenes GYSD Lead Agencies, Semester of Service Organizers, STEMester of Service schools, Cities of Service, and ECS's District Leader Network at the Youth Service Institute in Detroit. www.YSA.org/institute The Youth Service Institute is followed by a retreat of the 15 new members of the YSA Youth Council; all new members represent YSA partners or grantees.

Peace Corps kicks off a year-long 50th anniversary celebration by commemorating the 1960 campaign speech by then-Sen. John F. Kennedy at the University of Michigan, which led to the agency's creation. www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=about.fiftieth

Nearly 300,000 people commit to participating in the National Learn and Serve Challenge to build public awareness and support for service-learning between October 2010 and April 2011. www.learnandservechallenge.org

1 million Americans celebrate the 11th annual Lights On Afterschool with 7,585 rallies for afterschool on October 21. www.afterschoolalliance.org/loa.cfm

Points of Lights launches generationOn on Make a Difference Day, culminating Kids Care Week. www.generationon.org

November

The Engaged Education Now coalition launches to mobilize support for engaged learning strategies within federal education legislation and policy, particularly the

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. www.nylc.org/een

Search Institute convenes the first-ever Big Tent Conference in Houston, gathering thousands of youth-serving professionals, volunteers, and young people under one "big tent" to focus on the betterment of kids in every community in America. www.bigtentconference.org

YSA co-chairs the Youth Service Task Force at the U.S. Summit for Global Citizen Diplomacy, launching a ten year Initiative for Global Citizen Diplomacy to double the number of American volunteers of all ages involved in international activities at home or abroad, from an estimated 60 million today to 120 million by 2020. http://uscenterforcitizendiplomacy.org/summit/

YSA announces the Special Olympics Get Into It grant program and the NEA Youth Leaders for Literacy grant program, both accepting applications until January. www.YSA.org/grants

YSA celebrates its 24th anniversary, and looks ahead to our 25th anniversary next year by planning a series of special events, refreshing the YSA brand, and embarking on a new five-year strategic plan. www.YSA.org

December

To recognize International Volunteer Day, YSA announces 10 Global Youth Service Day Regional Partners for GYSD 2011. http://gysd.org/partners/regionalpartners

NYLC announces that Kelita Svoboda Bak will be its next Chief Executive Officer, beginning in January, following NYLC founder and CEO Jim Kielsmeier's retirement. www.NYLC.org

Thousands of students and educators plan for a Semester of Service to launch on MLK Day of Service in January. www.YSA.org/semester

NEWS FROM THE FIELD: SPECIAL 2011 YEAR-END EDITION Top 10 Service Stories in 2011 Top 10 YSA Stories in 2011

1. Young people responded to disasters around the 1. On Global Youth Service Day 2011, over 550,000 world with service - the Japan earthquake and young people strengthened their communities tsunami, tornado outbreaks in the U.S., and famine in through more than 3,500 service or service-learning the Horn of Africa. projects reported to YSA in 102 countries on 6 continents. 2. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers made the 25th MLK Day "a day on, not a day off" and began the MLK 2. First Lady Michelle Obama served as Honorary 25 Challenge. Chair of Global Youth Service Day. Miss America

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

participated in a GYSD service project in New York 3. Several campaigns launched to use service as a City. President Bill Clinton keynoted a GYSD event at solution - Be the Change launched the the Clinton Presidential Library. Dozens of governors OpportunityNation campaign to restore economic and members of Congress supported GYSD with opportunity in America, State Farm and America's proclamations and resolutions. Major publications Promise Alliance launched the 26 Seconds campaign around the world featured GYSD. to address the dropout crisis, and United Way launched a campaign to recruit 100,000 mentors, 3. YSA celebrated our 25th anniversary on November tutors, and readers. 21. In November, we hosted a TEDx conference with speakers offering "ideas worth sharing" about the past, 4. Conferences and summits convened thousands of present, and future of youth engagement. In people - the National Service-Learning Conference in December, we began accepting applications for the Atlanta, the National Conference on Volunteering and inaugural YSA List of The Most Powerful and Service in New Orleans, the Department of Education Influential Young People. Our 25th anniversary National Youth Summit in Washington, DC, the IAVE celebrations will continue through the 25th World Volunteer Conference in Singapore, and the anniversary of GYSD in April 2013. World Youth Summit in Barranquilla, Colombia.

4. For the first time in our 25-year history, YSA 5. The Obama Administration continued to support distributed over $1 million in grants in a single year to youth service - the First Lady made youth leadership youth, schools, and organizations around the world. the focus of her trip to Africa, White House staff hosted 100 youth roundtables around the country, and 5. The Sodexo Foundation announced a three-year, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan presented the million dollar partnership with YSA to support and All-America Service Team Awards. create new, innovative youth-led approaches and

solutions to ensure that the 1 in 5 children in the 6. With budget battles in DC, the Save Service United States facing hunger grow up with dependable campaign rallied all year long to protect funding for access to nutritious food to lead healthy, productive national service programs. While Learn and Serve lives. America was cut, the fight continues to save AmeriCorps and Senior Corps funding. 6. With State Farm's support, YSA expanded the number of GYSD Lead Agencies from 75 to 100 for 7. Americans commemorated the 10th anniversary GYSD 2012. September 11th, 2001 with the 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance. 7. Schools using YSA's Semester of Service program - including our STEMester of Service grantees - continue 8. The service and youth development fields lost two to see strong results in improving student outcomes visionary and powerful leaders - Sargent Shriver, who while also strengthening communities. led the Peace Corps, the War on Poverty, and the Special Olympics; and Peter Benson, who led the Search Institute's efforts to make sure that all kids 8. YSA continued to update our resources, including have what they need to succeed. the Semester of Service Strategy Guide, the Global Youth Service Day Toolkit, and First Responders: Youth Addressing Childhood Obesity through 9. In addition to YSA's 25th anniversary, the Peace Service-Learning. Corps celebrated its 50th anniversary and IBM celebrated their 100th anniversary with a year of service. 9. The 8th Annual Youth Service Institute convened 300 YSA partners and grantees in Philadelphia, PA for three days of learning, networking, and inspiration. 10. Young people react to major current events - the shooting in Tucson, the death of Osama bin Laden -

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

and participate in others - the Arab Spring, Occupy 10. YSA celebrated the 10th anniversary of our Wall Street. TIME Magazine names "The Protester" partnership with State Farm. Over the ten year period Person of the Year. Building public awareness and of YSA's partnership with State Farm, YSA has advocacy - through protesting, and many other means awarded over 1,700 grants worth over $3 million total - is an important form of service. from 2002 through 2012.

YEAR IN REVIEW: 12 YOUTH SERVICE STORIES OF 2012

1. YSA celebrated MLK Day of Service on January 16, 7. YSA celebrated National Child Awareness Month 2012. MLK Day Lead Organizers organized 359 in September by bringing the inaugural class of 51 projects in 13 states that engaged 32, 470 volunteers. National Child Awareness Month Youth An additional 64 YSA grantees engaged 23,745 youth Ambassadors - one from each state - to Washington, volunteers across 34 states, many using MLK Day to DC. They are all currently leading high-visibility launch a Semester of Service. campaigns to create positive change in the lives of other young people. 2. For the third year in a row, YSA distributed over $1 million - $1,217,000 to be exact - in YSA Grants to 8. This fall, we released some brand new YSA youth, schools, and community organizations. Resources, including the YOUth Changing the World: A Service Project Toolkit and YOUth in the Driver Seat: A 3. April was a month of special events leading up to Teen Driver Safety Semester of Service. GYSD. YSA staff presented at the National Service- Learning Conference in Minneapolis, celebrated our 9. In October, we convened 200+ partners and young leaders at the Disney Kids and Nature grantees at the 9th annual Youth Service Institute in Celebration event, and hosted a special event Houston where we presented the 2012 Harris celebrating former Senator Harris Wofford's 86th Wofford Awards to youth Shaun Verma from Atlanta birthday moderated by the Washington Post's who founded MDJunior, educator Joshua Johnson, Jonathan Capehart. and Houston Mayor Annise Parker.

4. On Global Youth Service Day, April 20-22, 2012, 10. Throughout the 2012 election season, YSA's millions of young people led thousands of service ServiceVote campaign encouraged young people to projects (4,467 registered projects) in all 50 states and get involved in the electoral process, asserted that 106 countries on 6 continents. Youth volunteers "Young People Who Serve Have Right to be Heard served over 3 million hours that benefited almost 1 This Election" and shared memes that highlighted the million people in 2,700+ communities. questions kids who serve were asking candidates. We also endorsed the campaign for a Presidential Youth 5. YSA unveiled the first-ever YSA List: Honoring The Council. 25 Most Powerful and Influential Young People in partnership with The Huffington Post. 11. YSA and our Sodexo Foundation grantees led the fight against childhood hunger in communities across 6. During back-to-school time, YSA celebrated the the United States during National Hunger & success of our STEMester of Service program with Homelessness Awareness Week, helped kids call kids STEM Fest, a gathering of STEMester teachers in DC, to action for No Kid Hungry, and shared 10 Ways and called on educators to adopt service-learning as a You Can Help End Childhood Hunger. strategy to improve student achievement this school year. 12. We ended the year with some exciting celebrity news: we were one of 25 organizations honored during the American Giving Awards on NBC and

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

announced a new partnership with Lady Gaga's Born Brave Bus Tour.

NEWS FROM THE FIELD: TOP 10 SERVICE STORIES OF 2013

It's a Wrap! Check out the top 10 service stories of 2013 - 4. National Service Learning Conference each with a video - on the YSA Blog at http://bit.ly/1fJx2vw 5. 25th Annual Global Youth Service Day

Stories include: 6. President Obama & First Lady's Trip to Africa

1. MLK Day of Service 2013 & 7. ABC Summer of Service Awards Presidential Inauguration 8. 9/11 Day of Service & Remembrance 2. A Year of Education Reform 9. AmeriCorps Celebrates 20th Anniversary 3. Senator Harris Wofford Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom 10. Kids on the Wire

14 Youth Service Milestones in 2014

2014 was another amazing year in the youth service field. See 14 highlights of our collective work to support youth changing the world!

Take a look back at youth service in 2014.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/youthservice/15903993500/in/album- 72157647575886483/

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

MLK Day of Service - January 20, 2014

As one of 6 national MLK Day grantees, YSA partnered with the Corporation for National & Community Service to make MLK Day "a day on, not a day off." YSA's subgrantees and partners engaged 140,909 volunteers through 502 projects that benefited 291,160 people and contributed to the community impact detailed above

Youth Help Stop Hunger

All year long, young people helped lead the way in fighting childhood hunger in their communities. In January, YSA published A Teacher's Guide to Engaging a New Generation of Anti-Hunger Leaders and the teachers and students featured in the resource helped train hundreds of people. In April, 100 Sodexo Foundation Youth Grant winners organized Global Youth Service Day projects to help end childhood hunger. This fall, YSA convened our partners and youth leaders for a series of Engaging Youth; Fighting Childhood Hunger webinars. Apply by January 15, 2015 for 2015 Sodexo Foundation Youth Grants

National Service-Learning Conference Comes to DC

In April, YSA proudly served as Co-Host for NYLC's National Service-Learning Conference that convened thousands of youth and adult leaders.

Upper Left: YSA President & CEO Steve Culbertson helps kick off the conference with a #serviceselfie with all the participants.

Upper Center: YSA Director of Education Scott Ganske continues the #serviceselfie trend with a pic of his co-presenters for one of the record-breaking 6 workshops he facilitated during the conference!

Upper Right: YSA's partners at Radio Disney helped provide entertainment and emceed the MONUMENTAL Day of Service on Global Youth Service Day.

Lower Left: Steve Culbertson and NYLC CEO Kelita Bak with State Farm Youth Advisory Board members.

Lower Center: YSA Board Member Simone Bernstein speaks on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Read her speech here.

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

Lower Right: Secretary of Education Arne Duncan helps wrap up the conference with another #serviceselfie during the MONUMENTAL Day of Service on Global Youth Service Day.

Global Youth Service Day 2014

On April 11-13, kids, teens, and adult champions came together to serve and to celebrate the power of young people to change the world. This is Global Youth Service Day, and though it takes place just one weekend each April, it represents the incredible work kids are doing 365 days a year. We served, we celebrated, we made Global Youth Service Day 2014 the biggest and best yet. How big? BIG. Scroll through The Story of Global Youth Service Day 2014 for all the stories, data, and details!

YSA & State Farm Partnership Invests $425,000 in Neighborhoods

As YSA's largest corporate partner (and Presenting Sponsor of Semester of Service and Global Youth Service Day in the United States), State Farm's support continued to help the youth service movement thrive in 2014. With State Farm's support, YSA invested $425,000 in local K-12 public schools and community organizations who engaged over 200,000 young people during Global Youth Service Day 2014

YSA & Disney Friends for Change Expand Partnership

2014 was the biggest year ever for YSA's partnership with Disney Friends for Change. In total, YSA supported 500 youth-led projects through 5 different programs: Disney Friends for Change U.S. Grants, Disney Friends for Change Latin America Grants, Disney Friends for Change Hong Kong Grants, Radio Disney Heroes for Change Awards, and Summer of Service Awards.

We also worked with Disney Junior's to engage youth ages 2-7 through the Pirate and Princess Power of Doing Good campaign which included these inspiring profiles of young children who serve and even included a song from Jake the Pirate and Sofia the Princess.

National Child Awareness Month Ambassadors Get Ready to Change the World

In September, YSA and Festival of Children Foundation convened the 2014-2015 National Child Awareness Month Youth Ambassadors for a leadership training in Washington, DC. The 51 Youth Ambassadors - one from each state - will work in their communities, and

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s form a collective network to raise awareness around issues important to young people. See what happened during the training.

YSA Launches New Classrooms with a Cause Curriculum; Featured on AOL.com

In spring 2014, YSA released a brand new curriculum for teachers. Classrooms with a Cause asks students to reflect on what they have learned in the classroom, and then challenges them to apply their knowledge to address a cause – an issue important to them and to their community. On August 27, AOL.com featured Classrooms with a Cause on the AOL homepage during back-to-school time to help students and teachers around the country make learning this school year more meaningful. Get your free download of the curriculum.

AmeriCorps Celebrates 20th Anniversary

In September, the entire service field celebrated the 20th Anniversary of AmeriCorps. This anniversary was especially meaningful for YSA because of our leadership in founding AmeriCorps.

In 1993, YSA advised Senator Ted Kennedy on service legislation after President Clinton made the issue a top priority during his first year in office. YSA also staffed and housed a National and Community Service Coalition to advocate for the national service legislation and to consult with the White House Office of National Service.

The National and Community Service Act of 1993 passed, creating AmeriCorps. Also in 1993, YSA began a two year executive leadership program for the CEOs of many of the field’s top organizations through a grant from the MacArthur Foundation.

In 1993 and 1994, YSA prepared profiles of service activities in all states and organized two Corporation for National Service conferences for AmeriCorps programs, state service commissions, and national nonprofits.

In 1995, YSA was an official training and technical assistance provider for the Corporation, and provided technical assistance to all 50 state service commissions, including on-site training to over 20 commissions.

YSA continues to support state service commissions and AmeriCorps program across the country and is proud to count several AmeriCorps Alums among its staff.

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

Connecting Youth and Strengthening Communities: The Data Behind Civic Engagement and Economic Opportunity

Civic engagement is not just a feel-good element of community life. New data and research explored in this Opportunity Nation report, Connecting Youth and Strengthening Communities: The Data Behind Civic Engagement and Economic Opportunity, it may also be an effective path to upward mobility for young Americans. This confirms what we instinctively knew based on years of anecdotal evidence and personal experience: that youth service helps build social capital for youth, promotes upward mobility and contributes to a range of positive outcomes that benefit both the individual and the community.

Youth Service Thrives Around the World

In 2014, the "America" in our name became less important than ever before as the youth service movement continues to expand exponentially around the world. Some highlights:

In partnership with Disney Friends for Change, we awarded 50 grants to youth-led projects in Hong Kong and 50 grants Amigos por el Mundo and Amigos Transformando o Mundo projects throughout Latin America.

There were GYSD 2014 projects in 113 countries around the world.

YSA staff trained youth around the world, including running multi-day trainings in both China and Italy.

Our YSA Youth Council became the YSA Global Youth Council as brought on youth leaders from around the world for the first time ever.

In December, we kicked off a brand new UL Safer Roads, Safer India program to support youth-led road safety solutions in India.

YSA Youth Council Goes Global

In October, YSA announced the ten young people who will serve as Global Youth Council members. The Global Youth Council application was open, for the first time ever, to international applicants, and members from the U.S. and seven other countries were selected. They will work closely with YSA staff to help lead the global youth service movement.

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

United Nations Recognizes The Power of Youth

The State of World Population 2014 report said exactly what YSA has been saying for years: "Young people matter. They matter because an unprecedented 1.8 billion youth ages 10-24 are alive today, and because they are the shapers and leaders of our global future. They matter because they have inherent human rights that must be fulfilled. Yet, in a world of adult concerns, young people are often overlooked. This tendency cries out for urgent correction, because it imperils youth as well as economies and societies at large."

Innovating How You Can Invest in Youth-Led Solutions

In a year that saw amazing innovation in philanthropy (the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge as 'Exhibit A') YSA has helped make it faster and easier than ever for you to invest in youth- led solutions. On Giving Tuesday, YSA launched a new partnership with GoodWorld.me that makes donating to YSA as easy as typing #Donate to @YouthService on Twitter or Facebook. Of course, you can always still donate "the old fashioned way" at www.YSA.org/donate too.

The Year in Youth Service Briefing Headlines

As we wrap up 2015, here are the top 15 youth service stories of the year as told by Youth Service Briefing headlines.

1. "Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education." & "The Arc of the Moral Universe is Long... But It Bends Towards Justice"

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

We started and ended the year with quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as headlines to promote MLK Day of Service in January. In celebration of MLK Day 2015, we released our new Semester of Service Teacher Toolkit.

2. "Raise Your Voice, Map It Out, Tell Your Story"

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

In February, we launched the Global Youth Service Day 2015 campaign and announced that First Lady Michelle Obama would serve as the honorary chair of Global Youth Service Day for the fifth year in a row. www.GYSD.org

3. "...on Global Youth Service Day"

In February and March, we called on youth to: - "Help End Hunger on Global Youth Service Day" - "Make the World Healthier on Global Youth Service Day" - "Make the World Smarter on Global Youth Service Day" - "Protect the Planet on Global Youth Service Day" - "Help Your Community Be Prepared for Disasters on Global Youth Service Day"

4. "Seize the Opportunity to Improve the World Around You Through Service" & "Tests Are Boring. Service Is Engaging"

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

In April, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan called on students to "seize the opportunity to improve the world around you through service" by serving for a day on Global Youth Service Day, a month through Classrooms with a Cause, or a semester or longer with Semester of Service. During back to school time, we highlighted YSA's Education Impact programs as a way to help students be more engaged and feel hopeful about the future. www.YSA.org/schools

5. "GYSD Becomes Galactic Youth Service Day"

On April 1, Steve Culbertson, YSA's President & CEO, remarked, "It's been 15 years since we grew National Youth Service Day into Global Youth Service Day, and the time is right to expand once again. Engaging all 3.5

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s billion youth on Earth isn't a big enough goal for us. Also, happy April Fool's Day!"

6. "Your Story Starts Today: Global Youth Service Day is Here!" & "The World Is Better Because of You"

On April 17-19, young people served and celebrated on Global Youth Service Day. The GYSD Map ended up with more than 6,000 projects all around the world. See the story of GYSD 2015 at: https://storify.com/YouthService/global-youth-service-day-2015

7. "You Auto Know... It's Global Road Safety Week"

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

This pun of a headline had the highest-ever open rate for the Youth Service Briefing. Teen driver safety continues to be a priority for youth around the world. In addition to our work in the U.S. with State Farm's Celebrate My Drive campaign, we also launched the UL Safer Roads, Safer India program this year.

8. "15 Ideas to Make It a Summer of Service!"

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

In May - and all summer long - we shared 18 opportunities to make it a Summer of Service. See them all and begin making plans for summer 2016 at www.YSA.org/summer

9. "Do You Know An Everyday Young Hero?"

In addition to sharing the story of one Everyday Young Hero each week, we asked you to nominate young people who know for this award. We're excited to announce that Newman's Own Foundation will sponsor an expanded Everyday Young Hero award program in 2016. Nominate a young hero today at www.YSA.org/eyh_nomination

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

10. "#WeStandStrong on 9/11 Day of Service & Remembrance", "New Disaster Prep Training Videos" & "Born on 9/11: Hope"

In partnership with Save the Children, 9/11 Day, and the Corporation for National & Community Service, YSA called on youth leaders to help their communities be prepared to stand strong during disasters by organizing disaster preparedness awareness events (Prep Rallies) and community service projects (Prep Projects) on September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance. www.YSA.org/911day

11. "The SDG Generation" & "On The Brink of Something Historic"

On International Youth Day in August, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon remarked: "This is the largest generation of young people in history - and with this agenda, they can shape history. I call today's youth the 'SDG generation.' Young people can mobilize the world. They can lead us to a better future." In September, leaders representing 193 countries officially adopted the new Sustainable Development Goals during the United Nations General Assembly.

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

12. "The Future Is Here. Make It a Good One."

We celebrated Back to the Future Day on October 21 by sharing the wisdom of Doc Brown: "Your future hasn't been written yet. No one's has. Your future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one."

13. "Youth Service for the Global Goals" & "Announcing the YSA Global Goals Contest"

in November and December, we started aligning our work with the new global Sustainable Development Goals by accepting applications from organizations to serve as Global Youth Service Day Community Partners and announcing our YSA Global Goals Contest. www.YSA.org/globalgoals

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

14. "10 Ways Youth Can Help End Childhood Hunger"

As we accept applications for the Sodexo Foundation Youth Grants, we shared 10 strategies we've learned from YSA grantees about how kids can help end childhood hunger that you can use in your own community: www.YSA.org/10wayhunger

15. YSA Grants

Throughout the year, many headlines promoted the availability of Disney Friends for Change Grants, ABC Summer of Creativity Grants, GYSD Lead Agency Grants, National Child Awareness Month Youth Ambassador Grants, Good Neighbor Innovation School Grants, and more. See a listing of all YSA Grants programs at www.YSA.org/grants

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

In 2016, YSA's programs activated more than 240,000 youth to make positive change across the world. In turn, these youth are making their communities safer, greener, healthier, and smarter. From all of us at YSA, thank you for your support of Youth Service America. With your help, we're activating young people to make positive change, and we'll continue to do so in 2017 and beyond. The memes saying 2016 was one of the most horrible years ever might be trending, but as we look back, there's a lot about 2016 that makes us proud and hopeful about what we will accomplish together in 2017. Here are the 16 groups of people we are most proud of supporting this year... chances are you'll find yourself on this list somewhere! s

1. Youth around the world who took action to help achieve the Global Goals, the hundreds of young people who shared their visions of how youth will “lead us to a better future” in our Global Goals Contest, and the 8 contest winners.

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

Sustainable Development Goal Poster Contest Winners!

2. Our 2016 MLK Day Beloved Community Impact School grantees, the Corporation for National and Community Service, and all those who made MLK Day 2016 “a day on, not a day off.”

Making MLK Day A Day “On”

3. The 4,000+ people who have created accounts on the new YSA Learning Center, Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation for providing the technology that makes the YSA Learning Center possible, and FirstBook for creating a new set of resources that inspire kids to serve after reading inspirational childrens books.

Read & Act

12 Books That Inspire Kids To Make A Difference

4. The 50 Everyday Young Heroes we recognized in 2016, and the hundreds of people who nominated Everyday Young Heroes from their communities.

Everyday Young Hero Awards

Everyday Young Hero Stories

5. The 125 Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation Youth Grantees who led efforts on Global Youth Service Day to help end childhood hunger, and the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation who supports this work.

SODEXO Stop Hunger Foundation Grants

Sodexo Grantee Offers Snacks and Hope to Louisiana Flood Survivors

6. Our 2016 GYSD Lead Agencies, their 2,747 coalition partners, and the 108,976 youth volunteers they engaged on Global Youth Service Day, as well as State Farm for sponsoring the program.

Lead Agency Report 2016: Lead Agencies Mobilize Youth Across U.S. for GYSD

Global Youth Service Day Lead Agency Grants

7. Our 2016 Community Partners, who organized hundreds of Global Youth Service Day projects in over 100 countries around the world on all 7 continents.

Community Partners

8. Everyone who served and celebrated on Global Youth Service Day – especially First Lady Michelle Obama who served as our Honorary Chair and the thousands of project leaders who registered projects on the GYSD Map (including our first-ever project leaders in Antarctica, and the members of the GYSD Street Team who helped tell the story of GYSD.)

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

The GYSD 2016 story has arrived!

Amazing Stories of Service: Global Youth Service Day 2016

Introducing the 2016 GYSD Street Team!

YSA Recognizes Youth Service in Antarctica for Global Youth Service Day

First Lady Michelle Obama to Serve as GYSD Honorary Chair

9. The record-setting 3,000+ youth who had ideas to strengthen their communities through the Disney Summer of Service program, the 800+ youth leaders who submitted grant applications, and Disney for making it all possible.)

Disney Summer of Service Grants

Ami Picazo Receives Disney Summer of Service Grant on ‘The View’

YSA Hero for Change Recognized at Radio Disney Music Awards

10. Our 9/11 Day of Service We Stand Strong grantees, all those who served to remember on 9/11, and our partners at Save the Children and the Corporation for National and Community Service. https://ysa.org/act/programs/911day/

9/11 Day of Service We Stand Strong Disaster Prep Training

11. Our 10 State Farm Road Safety Ambassadors who found creative ways to educate their peers about road safety and created a new online course based on our Road Safety Project Toolkit.

Road Safety Ambassador Program

7 Ways To Safely Play Pokémon Go

12. Our Safer Roads, Safer India youth and educator grantees who are improving road safety in Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Pune as well as Underwriters Laboratories for supporting the program.

YSA and UL Step Up Road Safety in India

Young People Hold the Key to Road Safety in India

13. Our Disney Friends for Change grantees in Latin America and Hong Kong.

Ganadores 2016

Disney Friends for Change Grants – Hong Kong

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

14. Our 2015-2016 State Farm Innovation School Grantees and our 2016-2017 State Farm Impact School Grantees –

State Farm Grant Opportunity

15. Everyone who voted this year, and everyone who worked to engage their fellow citizens of all ages and advocated for the causes you care about during the 2016 election.

ServiceVote 2016

Reflection on the Election: Greatness is Determined by Service

16. Steve Culbertson for 20 years of leadership as President & CEO of YSA spreading the message that “if you don’t have a youth strategy, you don’t have a strategy at all” and everyone who has ever worked, interned, volunteered at YSA, or served on the Youth Council or Board of Directors over the past 30 years!

What’s Keeping Young People From Changing the World? The Answer May Surprise You. Reflections on 20 Years of Activating Youth to Change the World

2017: Youth Speak Truth to Power

A Year of Youth Activism

As we look back at the news from the youth service field in 2017, one theme emerged… youth standing up to power and making their voice heard about decisions made by our leaders – especially the Trump Administration. For every controversial policy proposal, decision, and action this year, people – especially youth – rose up and spoke truth to power.

Here are the top youth activism stories of 2017 and tools to continue speaking truth to power in 2018.

As we look back at the news from the youth service field in 2017, one theme emerged… youth standing up to power and making their voice heard about decisions made by our leaders – especially the Trump Administration. For every controversial decision and action this year, people – especially youth – rose up and spoke truth to power. Here are the top youth activism stories of 2017 and tools to continue speaking truth in 2018.

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

1. On January 20, during the Presidential Inauguration, and on January 21, between 3 and 4 million people – including hundreds of thousands of youth – demonstrated in Washington, DC and in cities around the world as part of the Women’s March. Youth Ambassadors helped lead the way and many of the best protest signs were those created by kids.

• Women’s March EMPOWER is an initiative of Women’s March Youth through a coalition with Peace First, Rise To Run, Teen Vogue, The Justice League NYC, The Gathering For Justice, and Rock The Vote. Women’s March EMPOWER upholds the unity principles of the Women’s March platform. Our goal is to provide young people with the tools needed to create high school and college chapters that guide students in making a positive impact in their communities

2. One of the Trump Administrations first controversial actions was the “travel ban” from many countries in the Middle East. While volunteer lawyers rushed to airports to help, youth helped support those volunteers and advocated for more humane policies. Parents took their children to protests at airports across the country, creating teachable moments. Later in the year, another immigration decision – to end the DACA program – spurred youth protests at the U.S. Capitol and in cities across the country.

3. Youth activists continued to lead the way in the Standing Rock protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Meet the youth group that launched the movement at Standing Rock and watch this documentary about them.

4. After the Trump Administration announced that it would withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord, cities and states announced commitments to keep increasing the use of renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions. As hundreds of thousands of protesters descended on Washington, DC for the People’s Climate March, 14 young Americans, ranging in age from 9 to 21, held a press conference in front the Supreme Court and then marched to the White House. Their lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Oregon, initially targeted then- President Barack Obama and his administration, and is now targeted at the Trump administration. Youth around the world joined together in celebrating the one-year anniversary of the agreement.

• Find ways to get involved with YSA’s environmental partners. • Browse the most comprehensive list of 100 substantive solutions to reverse climate change and see which one(s) you can help bring to your community. • Get resources to help teach about climate and energy from Climate.gov. • Use your voice, your vote and your choice to take action with organizations leading the fight.

5. In August, college students organized counter-protests to a neo-Nazi rally at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. The tragic events in Charlottesville – and Mr. Trump’s response – shocked the nation and sparked an important conversation about racism and hate… and provided a clear call to action for us all to create peace.

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

6. Thousands of people declared their intention to run for office, including many teenagers and young adults, including teens running for local school boards and city councils, state legislatures, in gubernatorial elections in Kansas and Vermont who recently participated in a forum of high school students.

• Check out New Politics, Run for Something, or Wellstone for resources to help you run for office.

7. Teenagers attended town hall forums with Members of Congress throughout the spring and summer when debates over big issues like healthcare were taking place… and several of their interactions went viral showing the power of youth voices.

• Want to reach out to your elected officials, but sure what number to call? Text your zip code to 520-200-2223 (no subject line, just put your zip code in the message). You’ll get a text back with contact information for your Members of Congress as well as your state legislators. • Want to make it even easier? Text RESIST to Resistbot on Telegram, Messenger, or to 50409 on SMS and you can find out who represents you in Congress, and deliver your message to them in under 2 minutes. No downloads or apps required.

8. Voter turnout in local elections across the country, and the youth vote proved decisive in the Virginia and Alabama elections

ServiceVote 2016

9. Throughout the fall, the #MeToo movement raised public awareness of the prevalence of sexual harassment and sexual assault, including in middle schools, high schools, and colleges.

• YES! Magazine: Let’s Talk About: #MeToo • EdWeek: Sexual Assault Prevention Needs to Start Early • Youth Radio: #MeToo Stories Happen in High Schools Too — This Quiz Shows How Yours Should Help

10. Youth protested all year long in various ways, from walkouts to rallies, on issues from racial injustice and net neutrality to racial injustice and human rights to local government issues. WKDD explored Youth Activism in the Trump Era.

• 10 Ways Youth Can Engage in Activism

And, of course, hundreds of thousands of youth volunteers stood up and made their communities better through service on MLK Day of Service, Global Youth Service Day, and 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance. The year ended with over 300,000 youth pledging to BE FEARLESS BE KIND as part of our Kindness Rising campaign. Thank you to all for your leadership!

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

A Year of Young Super Citizens

Last year saw youth stand up and speak truth to power. This year, that trend continued and showed us the power of young people to demand and create change.

2018 was the worst year on record for gun violence in schools, a year when humanity was put on notice that we only have 12 years left to prevent the worst effects of climate change, and a year that saw teachers across the country reach the breaking point of being required to do too much with too little pay and support and going on strike.

Young people continue to find their voice and take action to solve these problems. They advocated, volunteered, and voted in record numbers with millions marching in the streets, helping their neighbors, and showing up to the polls.

All links are from original Youth Service Briefing e-mails and may no longer work. Youth Service in the 2010s

Volunteering in March for Our America Young People Lives Biggest Increase Turnout Youth Protest 6,456,628 Generation Y to 31%, Shape volunteers contribute Since Vietnam War 2018 Elections roughly 474.6 million hours of service a year, At least 1.2 million people CIRCLE estimates 31% of marched for gun control in according to the latest youth (ages 18-29) turned April at events across the Volunteering in America out to vote in the 2018 US. There were more than report from CNCS. This means that 26.1% of midterms, an extraordinary 450 marches across the increase over our estimate country. Generation Y Americans in 2014, by far the highest volunteered last year. level of participation Read more among youth in the past www.vox.com Read more www.nationalservice.gov quarter century.