NATIONAL & GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY

Final Report 2006

NATIONAL & GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY (N & GYSD) 2006 FINAL REPORT
NATIONAL & GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY SPONSORS.3 NATIONAL & GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY NATIONAL PARTNERS..4 HIGHLIGHTS OF NATIONAL & GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY..5 NATIONAL & GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY BY THE NUMBERS...8 N & GYSD AND THE YSA STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK..11 MEDIA COVERAGE.13 PARTICIPATION BY ELECTED OFFICIALS...16 NATIONAL PARTNERS23 LEAD AGENCIES.....24 PROJECT GRANTS.34 MATERIALS...44 PROJECT PLANNERS SPEAK OUT..........48 STATE FARM NATIONAL & GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY iCHAT.54 YOUTH SAVING THE WORLD: ONE SERVICE PROJECT AT A TIME.58 GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY...59 OTHER YOUTH SERVICE AMERICA ACCOMPLISHMENTS ......61 PLANNING FOR 2007....67

Youth Service America gratefully acknowledges our sponsors. Their support makes National & Global Youth Service Day possible. Presenting Sponsor

National Sponsors

Bronze Sponsors

Grants for National & Global Youth Service Day were sponsored by: State Farm Companies Foundation; Disney; U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention; Capital One; U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; Case Foundation; United Nations Foundation; Americas Promise, Constitutional Rights Foundation/Chicago, FCCLA, J-Serve, National Conference on Citizenship, National Crime Prevention Council, National Youth Court Center, NEA, Phi Alpha Delta Public Service Center, Service for Peace, and Youth Venture.

National & Global Youth Service Day National Partners

Afterschool Alliance Alliance for Catholic Education Alliance for Children and Families Alpha Phi Omega America SCORES Americas Promise - The Alliance for Youth American Association of Community Colleges American Federation of Teachers American Planning Association American Probation & Parole Association American Red Cross AmeriCorps Alums Arab American Institute Foundation Association of Childrens Museums Best Buddies International Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Boy Scouts of America Boys & Girls Clubs of America The C4 Group Camp Fire USA Campus Compact Chi Psi Fraternity City Year Close Up Foundation Communities In Schools, Inc. The Congressional Award Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) Constitutional Rights Foundation Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago Corporation for National and Community Service Department of Defense (Children and Youth Programs) Department of Veterans Affairs, Voluntary Service Do Something Earth Day Network EducationWorks F.I.L.M. - Finding Inspiration in Literature and Movies Family, Career and Community Leaders of America Future Business Leaders of America - Phi Beta Lambda Good Knight Child Empowerment Network, Inc. Habitat for Humanity International Hands On Network Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life HOPE worldwide Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development International Baccalaureate Organization J-Serve JCC Association Jewish Coalition for Service Job Corps Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) MENC: The National Association for Music Education National Association of Elementary School Principals National Association of Independent Schools National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) National Association of Service and Conservation Corps National Association of Social Workers National Association of Student Councils (NASC) National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy National Collaboration for Youth National Council for the Social Studies National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges National Crime Prevention Council National Dropout Prevention Center/Network National Education Association National Family Week National Honor Society (NHS) National Human Services Assembly National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) National League of Cities National Middle School Association National Network for Youth National Organizations for Youth Safety National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, National Service-Learning Partnership The National Society of Collegiate Scholars National Student Partnerships National Wildlife Federation National Youth Advocacy Coalition (NYAC) National Youth Court Center National Youth Leadership Council PANIM: The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values Partnership for Food Safety Education Phi Alpha Delta Public Service Center Points of Light Foundation Public Allies Reading is Fundamental, Inc. Rural School and Community Trust SEANet-- the State Education Agency K-12 ServiceLearning Network Search Institute Service for Peace Share Our Strength Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity and Foundation Sigma Alpha Lambda Sister Cities International Special Olympics Student Conservation Association Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) Take Pride in America Teach For America Tri-M Music Honor Society U.S. Conference of Mayors U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Department of Transportation USA Freedom Corps Volunteers of America VSA arts Women in Community Service Work, Achievement, Values & Education (WAVE), Inc. YMCA of the USA Youth Service America Youth Venture Youth Volunteer Corps of America YWCA USA 4

The students just assume now that they can effect changes in the community, and don't hesitate to share new ideas with community leaders. ~ Wetlands Education Team, Chesterland, OH

NATIONAL & GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY 2006

Youth Service America (YSA) recognizes and thanks our partners and sponsors for making the 18th Annual National & Global Youth Service Day (N & GYSD) April 21-23, 2006 such a huge success. Millions of young people across the country participated in tens of thousands of service and servicelearning projects serving, learning, leading, and celebrating the contributions that youth make to their communities year-round. This report though it does include descriptions of projects taking place in other countries focuses on activities in the United States. A separate Global Youth Service Day Final Report, providing many more details about projects in 118 countries, will be available soon at www.YSA.org/gysd.

HIGHLIGHTS IN BRIEF: SUCCESSES OF N & GYSD 2006

The N & GYSD media campaign generated more than 1.4 billion media impressions (readership) from 1,508 television, newspaper, and online stories (up from 729 million media impressions in 2005 and 329 million in 2004), highlighting the positive role youth play as community assets and leaders during N & GYSD and year-round, and emphasizing the value of service and service-learning.

Compelling, well-placed stories appeared in newspapers, magazines, and television and radio shows including: PARADE Magazine, USA Today, the cover of Scholastic News Magazine, Annies Mailbox (formerly Ann Landers), CNN, CNBC, MTVnews.com, TIME for Kids, Cosmo Girl, Girls Life, Associated Press, Knight Ridder Syndicated News, NEA Today, Weekly Reader, J-14 Magazine, New York Post, Bloomberg, FamilyFun, PEOPLE, AOL RED, NEA Today, American Teacher Magazine, ABC Radio, Radio Disney, Nick News, Daily Variety, and Parents Magazine, CNN Weekend, Associated Press, Jane, Woman's Day, Nick.com, Nick TV, Education Week, Channel One.com, Scripts Howard News Service, Tribune Newspapers, Teacher Magazine, Career World, Black Enterprise Magazine, among others.

YSA tracked the participation of 643 government officials in N & GYSD (consistent with 650 in 2005 and up from 508 in 2004). The United States Senate passed by unanimous consent Resolution 105, introduced by 44 original co-sponsors, declaring April 21st as National & Global Youth Service Day (consistent with 44 in 2005 and up from 28 in 2004). Mayors joined Members of Congress and Governors who were celebrated for their commitment to youth and service through the 2nd Annual N & GYSD Honor Roll.

51 Lead Agencies planned special city, regional, and statewide events that involved 815,986 volunteers in service projects (up from the 153,746 volunteers in 2005 and 112,017 volunteers in 2004). With support from the U.S. Department of Justice, YSA held the second-annual training for the Lead Agencies, which was very well received.

YSA and our sponsors provided 267 youth, teachers, and organizations with a total of $267,000 in grant funding to support N & GYSD projects and continued service.

Ten partners offered their own grants (up from five in 2004 and consistent with 10 in 2005), resulting in an additional 494 grants totaling $223,200.

115 National Partners promoted N & GYSD 2006 through their networks of thousands of local chapters and affiliates (compared to 93 National Partners in 2004 and consistent with 115 in 2005). Five National Partners now hold their own signature events in collaboration with and on the same dates as N & GYSD. N & GYSD remains the nations largest collaboration of education, youth, and service organizations around a single service event.

In Spokane, Washington, students from the Shaw Middle School Student Emergency Response Team were among five schools to participate in an emergency response drill on N & GYSD 2006.

118 countries participated in the 7th Annual Global Youth Service Day. In Russia, nearly 800,000 youth participated. In Pakistan, volunteers assisted victims of the recent earthquakes. Youth in Nepal, Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan, Congo, and Nigeria participated despite war and political strife in their countries.

YSA is using technology to link young people in new and exciting ways. Downloadable public service announcements helped youth engage the media. FlickrTM photo sharing software allowed youth around the globe to share their N & GYSD projects visually. The State Farm National & Global Youth Service Day iChat kicked off N & GYSD 2006 by engaging often disconnected young Americans and top civic leaders in a national conversation on the future of rural and urban America regarding technology and servicelearning, opening channels of communication where they may have not existed before.

Youth in the U.S. and around the world increasingly address issues that deeply affect physical survival and the inherent quality of life of persons around the globe, such as disaster relief, famine, womens rights, poverty, and human rights. At a time when the world desperately needs the creativity, energy, and intelligence of youth, they are responding to the challenge.

NATIONAL & GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY BY THE NUMBERS

MEDIA
Total number of media impressions (readership)
** Does not include radio impressions, which we are not able to count.

2006
1.4 billion

2005
729 million

2004
329 million

2003
320 million

Number of National Media Hits Number of newspaper, TV, and online clips
** Doe not include radio hits, which we are not able to count. Number print and TV media impressions

191

79

13

NA

1,508

1,416

856

951

315 million 1.1 billion

379 million 275 million

329 million NA

320 million NA

Number of online news impressions

ELECTED OFFICIALS
Number of Elected Officials that Participated in N & GYSD Number of U.S. Senators that signed on as Original Co-Sponsors of the U.S. Senate Resolution declaring N & GYSD 643 650 508 254

44

44

28

21

LEAD AGENCIES
Number of volunteers engaged by Lead Agencies Value of contribution made by these volunteers
Based on Independent Sectors 2005 valuation of volunteer labor at $18.04/ hour, average of 4 hours per volunteer.
**

815,986

153,746

112,017

85,611

$58,881,549

$11,094,311

$8,083,146

$6,177,689

Number of state-wide celebrations Number of Lead Agencies interested in serving next year

14 49

12 38

12 35

8 41

NATIONAL PARTNERS
Number of National Partners

2006
115

2005
115

2004
93

2003
63

GRANTS provided by YSA & Sponsors

Number of N & GYSD grant initiatives provided by YSA in cooperation with a sponsoring organization Number of grants provided by YSA, courtesy of a sponsoring organization to support N & GYSD projects Total amount of grant funds provided by YSA/sponsoring organization for N & GYSD and continuing service Number of post-N & GYSD grant opportunities to encourage on-going service Number of grant/award initiatives for year-round service (not specific to N & GYSD) Number of partners providing their own grants for N & GYSD Number of grants provided by partner organizations

267

418

230

200

$267,000

$412,000

$260,500

$225,000

NA

NA

10 494

10 350

5 210

2 67

WEBSITES
Hits on SERVEnet from January 1 April 30 Hits on YSA.org from January 1 April 30

2006
4,022,255 3,942,480

2005
4,598,588 2,586,989

2004
4,933,913 2,742,072

2003
4,237,822 2,840,397

MATERIALS
Tool Kit (printed) Tool Kit (downloaded) Tool Kits in Spanish (downloaded) Service-Learning Curriculum Guides (printed) Service-Learning Curriculum Guides (downloaded) Service-Learning Curriculum Guides in Spanish (downloaded) Classroom Posters (printed) Classroom Posters (downloaded in English and Spanish) Issue-Specific Curriculum Modules Brochures Guide to Engaging Youth with Disabilities in Service (downloaded) Public Service Announcements (radio and TV) Number of requests for printed materials 20,000 28,170 3,770 21,000 13,186 1,879 30,000 2,851 10,113 13,000 2,797 20,000 11,369 1,326 16,000 9,339 2,521 25,000 1,050 7,820 NA 1,191 15,000 13,916 388 15,000 6,323 NA 25,000 700 3,988 NA 1,273 25,000 30,000 2,532 15,000 10,000 NA 20,000 NA NA NA 4,779

420 2,186

NA 1,646

NA 1,055

NA 1,100

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In Rawalpindi, Pakistan, youth educated local business owners on the environmental harms of plastics.

NATIONAL & GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY & THE YSA STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK
In 2003, Youth Service America developed a Theory of Change to guide our programs in terms of goals, outputs, and outcomes. Our Theory of Change reads, IF we increase the quality and quantity of opportunities for youth to serve, learn, and lead by convening the field, offering incentives, educating the public, and developing and disseminating knowledge tools, THEN we create a culture in which youth are engaged citizens. YSA then developed a Theory of Change for each of our major program areas. Our Theory of Change for National & Global Youth Service Day reads, IF we lead in a coordinated campaign to engage youth as leaders of service projects by involving the media and policymakers and by providing programmatic support, grants, and written materials, THEN we will create an enabling environment where young people are recognized as leaders and positive role models in the eyes of adults, the media, and policy makers. This Theory of Change provides the overarching framework for the programs goals: To mobilize youth as leaders to identify and address the needs of their communities through service and learning; To support youth on a lifelong path of service and civic engagement; and To educate the public, the media, and policymakers about the year-round contributions of young people as community leaders. N & GYSD, therefore, is a concentrated public awareness campaign through which we provide the following inputs: Media Government Relations/Policy Program Support/Networking Grants

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The following sections of this report outline the results achieved for each of these major activities. Furthermore, in the past six months, YSAs Board and staff have developed a new strategic plan for the next 3 years. The six strategic goals we have identified are: Opportunity: 1. To increase the participation of diverse youth populations in asset-building service and servicelearning opportunities. Engagement: 2. To increase the number of schools, communities, corporations, and governments that expect and include the engagement of youth in service, service-learning, and decision-making. Network: 3. To expand YSAs role as a branded resource for innovative programs and tools that increase the effectiveness and impact of the service and service-learning communications. Visibility: 4. To promote the message of youth as contributors and leaders. Management: 5. To expand YSAs ability to deliver and grow programs and tools. 6. To develop approaches and tools to measure and communicate impactoriented performance metrics for YSA programming. These themes will appear throughout the report. even more closely to this framework. In the next six months, YSA staff will

develop department and staff goals aligned to these strategic goals, linking our N & GSYD efforts

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Scholastic News recognizes N & GYSD through a cover story entitled, Kids Can Change the World.

MEDIA COVERAGE
Youth Service Americas strategic national media campaign for National & Global Youth Service Day 2006 garnered 1,441,150,680 media impressions profiling service and service-learning projects domestically and internationally (up from 729 million impressions in 2005 and 329 million impressions in 2004). Coverage ranged from the biggest newspapers, magazines, television, and radio stations in the country to small town newspapers and mid-sized television stations, all with very vivid descriptions of the youth service and their service-learning projects and contributions. A total of 1,508 television, print, radio, and online news stories featured N&GYSD (up from 1,416 in 2005 and 856 in 2004). Collectively, these media outlets reached many of our key constituencies some of whom include: younger children (12 and under), students, nonprofit and faith-based organizations, teachers, parents, and young people not traditionally asked to serve. The above numbers were the result of YSAs aggressive international media relations, outreach, and grassroots campaign for National & Global Youth Service Day. Our efforts consisted of targeted communications strategies that promoted youth service, our grant winners, funders, National Partners, Lead Agencies, YSA Youth Council members, the National Service-Learning Conference, Youth Service Americas keynote speeches at conferences, and all international and national projects. These stories were creatively pitched to national and international media, weekly and daily newspapers across the 50 states, blogs, online outlets, magazines, websites, service field newsletters, education trade magazines, and all broadcast TV and radio outlets. Our supporters in the Youth Service Movement further spread our news which deepened the reach of the positive aspects of youth service and service-learning to their constituents through hundreds of listservs, field blogs, and e-newsletters, with a total circulation of more than one million readers. YSA gave each of its grant winners, Lead Agencies and National Partners resources to implement their own specialized media campaigns and helped them strengthen their own capacity to generate positive media coverage year-round. They received media training resources, media templates (also available in Spanish), tip sheets, technical assistance, and multiple other resources, which allowed them to inform their local media of the unique projects happening right in their backyard. At the local level, this outreach resulted in thousands of feature stories with pictures in local papers across the country running on the weekend of National & Global Youth Service Day and in the weeks preceding and following the event.

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NATIONAL COVERAGE
Youth Service Americas lead National & Global Youth Service Day Media Partner, PARADE Magazine, again provided outstanding exposure through three separate stories generating 240 million media impressions. In a new collaboration with PARADE, YSA offered all Newspaper In Education representatives a new in-paper series called "Volunteer: Change the World" through the PARADE in the Classroom program. We created these materials to celebrate the amazing contributions young people make to their communities each and every day, featuring the 18th Annual National & Global Youth Service Day (N & GYSD). We hoped that the features encouraged the PARADEs partner newspapers young readers to use the newspaper. Readers could then click on links and download the four-part series in color or black and white. Newspapers could publish the series in sequence or individually to suit the needs of their program. Building on this success, Youth Service America sought other national media to amplify the role young people serve as community assets and resources. Some of our other national coverage included: N & GYSD was highlighted in a letter from YSA President and CEO Steve Culbertson to Annies Mailbox (formerly the syndicated Ann Landers column) with its 50 million readers. NEA Today (a publication of the National Education Association with 2.7 million readers) Cover story of State Farm grant winner in Scholastic News magazine Grade 4 4 features in AOL RED, AOLs popular teen website, and People, USA Today, Parent, Cosmo Girl, Time for Kids, Popular Mechanics, and Black Enterprise.

When last falls natural disasters impacted the world, Youth Service America supported young people that wanted to aid in the relief efforts. YSA offered a list of organizations that were mobilizing to provide relief, project planning tools, and other resources. These were strategically offered to help young people think through the steps needed to plan and implement a successful community service project that could aid hurricane and earthquake victims. To continue their support beyond their individual project, we also invited young people to educate others about the magnitude of these natural disasters, encouraged all youth volunteers to register for one or more of the 34 skills in the Talent Bank located at www.SERVEnet.org, and encouraged them to engage their peers, elected officials, and the media to inspire others to help. Youth Service America also served the field and youth as an impromptu clearinghouse for youth performing service projects. We collected and amplified stories of young people contributing to the relief efforts to inspire more young people to get involved in service. Pitching these stories to print, broadcast, and online media yielded huge results in national and local media outlets, like: a cover story in TIME for Kids and large feature stories in the Hartford Courant, Scripts Howard News Service, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Toledo Blade, MTV.com, Nick News TV, Nicknews.com, Associated Press, Philanthropy Journal, Philanthropy News Digest, Connect for Kids, PNNonline, Yahoo News (including Asia Yahoo), Washington Post, Kansas City Star, Philadelphia Inquirer, Spokesman Review, Indiana Post-Tribune, Florida Today, Times Picayune, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Arizona Republic, Tribune Newspapers, NY Newsday, and many more.

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Chris McAlister of the Baltimore Ravens lends youth a hand on N & GYSD.

OTHER COVERAGE, PARTNERSHIPS, AND OUTREACH

Placement of stories in major newspapers including the USA Today, New York Post, Washington Post, Houston Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Arizona Republic, and Kansas City Star, along with many others. YSA has implemented advanced new strategies for counting online stories through top online measurement systems. An estimated 1,123,278,625 people had the opportunity to see National & Global Youth Service Day information on some of the worlds most popular websites, including: Yahoo, MSN, YouthNOISE, AOL, Lycos, ABC, Forbes, and many more. YSA launched an innovative Public Service Campaign resulting in many radio interviews, mentions, and PSA airings. We secured two free taped Public Service Announcements (PSAs) from ABC and Radio Disney through our close connection to ABC and Disney. Hundreds of local radio stations across the country aired the PSAs. In addition, we drafted a PSA, also translated into Spanish, and we received interview requests and confirmations regarding airplay from hundreds of radio stations in both English and Spanish. In honor of Black History Month in January, YSA teamed up with Lifetime Television, Claires Stores, and PARADE Magazine for the premier of For One Night, a Lifetime Television movie starring teen sensation Raven-Symon. We mobilized teens through a national essay contest to create community service projects that promote tolerance and end discrimination. The essay winner received a grant to make their idea a reality around N & GYSD. Claires Stores featured signs that promoted the film and related essay contest throughout their stores. PARADE Magazines Fresh Voices featured an interview with Raven and her new song Gravity, inspired by For One Night. Raven also lent her incredible talent by taping a PSA for N & GYSD. Young volunteers from National & Global Youth Service Days New York City Lead Agency, Children for Children, were joined by Lee Kravitz, Editor in Chief of Parade Magazine and Youth Service America Board member, to ring the closing bell for the NASDAQ stock exchange on April 13, 2006. The bell ringing took place at the Stock Exchanges main trading office in New York City with the N & GYSD logo broadcast on the Times Square jumbotron.

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What makes National & Global Youth Service Day so special is that it is the youth doing the work. They will be the ones cleaning our parks, planting trees and flowers and making our community a better place. ~ Mayor Joseph C. Scarpelli, Brick Township, NJ

PARTICIPATION BY ELECTED OFFICIALS

A key element in YSAs strategy to increase the effectiveness, sustainability and scale of youth service is the engagement of government officials and public figures. As the largest service event in the world, National & Global Youth Service Day presents an important opportunity to garner the public support of government officials for the youth service and service-learning movement by developing relationships between officials and the youth leading service projects to address needs in their communities. To that end, YSA works with Lead Agencies, National Partners, grantees, and other local project leaders in reaching out to government officials to invite their participation in N & GYSD. Although it would be impossible to fully measure or record everything that happens across the world on N & GYSD, YSA tracks the participation of government officials reported through these and other channels. In total, YSA tracked the participation of 643 government officials and public figures in N & GYSD 2006. Forms of participation included issuing city and state proclamations for N & GYSD, attending or speaking at service events, writing letters of support, making available public resources or venues for the events, and directly participating in youth service projects. Many elected officials participated in multiple ways (e.g. both issuing a proclamation and attending an event). YSA emphasizes the involvement of government officials in N & GYSD not merely for its own sake, but rather as part of a sustained effort to build political support for youth volunteer efforts, national service programs, and service-learning at the local, state, and federal levels. Just as most people volunteer for the first time because someone personally invites their participation, the most vocal and ardent champions of service have been created by personal outreach and firsthand experience of quality service projects. Participation by government officials also shows youth that their efforts are important and encourages further service involvement. Finally, government official participation is one key link in the chain connecting service and civic engagementfostering opportunities for youth to be active citizens year-round. To engage government officials YSA pursued a multifaceted outreach campaign, including the following: Wrote to all Governors and Members of Congress, encouraging them to participate in N & GYSD and highlighting planned efforts led by Lead Agencies, grantees, and other project planners in their states or districts. YSA also maintained follow-up communications with Governors offices and Congressional officesboth directly and through their constituentsto secure their participation.

Worked with U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who again introduced a Senate Resolution for National & Global Youth Service Day for 2006 (S. Res. 422), and conducted extensive outreach to garner support from 43 additional Senators who signed on as original cosponsors (more information follows).

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Utilized YSAs online advocacy tool (powered by the CapWiz service) to encourage users to personalize a sample email to all of their federal, state, and local officials inviting their participation in N & GYSD. Through this service, users can find their elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as members of the media and candidates, and send invitations to them. Users can also take action on various legislative and policy issues related to service and service-learning in the alerts section. YSA provided regular email reminders and updates to Lead Agencies, National Partners, grantees, toolkit recipients, and other subscribers to the Action Alert email list.

Updated and disseminated Tip Sheets on inviting elected officials to participate in N & GYSD projects (also available in Spanish).

Conducted workshops and presentations on engaging government officials for several audiences, including attendees at the Learn and Serve America grantee training, the Lead Agency Summit, the J-Serve Training, the National Days of Interfaith Youth Service Organizers Training, and a meeting of the Community Research And Learning (CoRAL) Networks Student Engagement and Leadership Fellows.

THE U.S RESOLUTION FOR NATIONAL & GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY
On April 4th, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution to commemorate National & Global Youth Service Day and recognize the significant contributions of youth to their communities throughout the year. U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) sponsored the resolution, joined by 43 other senators as original cosponsors of this bipartisan resolution. The list of 44 cosponsors is as follows:

Akaka (D-HI) Allen (R-VA) Baucus (D-MT) Bayh (D-IN) Boxer (D-CA) Bunning (R-KY) Burr (R-NC) Cantwell (D-WA) Clinton (D-NY) Cochran (R-MS) Coleman (R-MN)

Collins (R-ME) Cornyn (R-TX) Craig (R-ID) Dodd (D-CT) Dole (R-NC) Domenici (R-NM) Dorgan (D-ND) Durbin (D-IL) Feingold (D-WI) Feinstein (D-CA) Hagel (R-NE)

Isakson (R-GA) Johnson (D-SD) Kennedy (D-MA) Kerry (D-MA) Landrieu (D-LA) Lautenberg (D-NJ) Levin (D-MI) Lieberman (D-CT) Lott (R-MS) Martinez (R-FL) Menendez (D-NJ)

Mikulski (D-MD) Murkowski (R-AK) Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-NE) Nelson (D-FL) Salazar (D-CO) Santorum (R-PA) Snowe (R-ME) Specter (R-PA) Stabenow (D-MI) Stevens (R-AK)

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The resolution reads, in part: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate-(1) recognizes and commends the significant contributions of United States youth and encourages the cultivation of a common civic bond between young people dedicated to serving their neighbors, their communities, and the Nation; (2) designates April 21, 2006, as `National and Global Youth Service Day'; and (3) calls on the citizens of the United States to-(A) observe the day by encouraging and engaging youth to participate in civic and community service projects; (B) recognize the volunteer efforts of the young people of the United States throughout the year; and (C) support the volunteer efforts of young people and engage them in meaningful decision-making opportunities today as an investment for the future of the United States. The resolution is also preceded by a series of significant whereas clauses, including: Whereas service-learning, an innovative teaching method that combines community service with curriculum-based learning, increases student achievement while strengthening civic responsibility; and Whereas sustained investments by the Federal Government, business partners, schools, and communities fuel the positive, long-term cultural change that will make service and service-learning a common expectation and a common experience for all young people; YSA conducted extensive outreach for the Senate Resolution, including letters to all 100 Senators asking for their support, at least one to three follow-up efforts to each office, outreach to the field through CapWiz action alerts and the National Service Briefing, and personal phone calls asking constituents to contact key members. Senator Murkowskis office also did outreach to other offices and distributed a press release announcing passage of the resolution. Finally, YSA announced the passage of the resolution through its Action Alert email list and the National Service Briefing and asked those represented by cosponsoring Senators to send a message of thanks through the CapWiz system. The Senate Resolution continues to be useful in terms of educating Senators, their staff, and the public about N & GYSD, YSA, the importance of recognizing young people and service-learning, and in educating the service field that youth service and service-learning are bipartisan issues and should be approached as such. The relationships cultivated through this legislative outreach improve our ability to ask Senators to support other youth service-related legislation and initiatives, such as funding for AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America. Continuing to build on these relationships is key to future legislative success, as is having the Senate Resolution for N & GYSD as part of the Congressional record.

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Congressman Ted Strickland (6th-OH) and Mayor Jim Kalb (Portsmouth, OH) lay bricks in a memorial walkway with students from the Scioto County Joint Vocational School.

ANALYSIS OF PARTICIPATION BY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

UNITED STATES FEDERAL OFFICIALS
74 federal officials (The President, 48 U.S. Senators, 23 U.S. Representatives, the Director of the USA Freedom Corps, and the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture) participated in National & Global Youth Service Day. To highlight a few: President George W. Bush sent an official message of appreciation and support to N & GYSD participants. Congressman Ted Strickland (D) volunteered alongside youth in Portsmouth, Ohio by planting a tree and laying bricks in a memorial walkway. He also spoke to the youth about volunteering, how to get involved in decisions in their community, and how to contact politicians. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Conner emceed the N & GYSD iChat videoconference from Washington, D.C. Participants and their local elected officials joined the iChat from three other sites in Ohio, West Virginia, and New York. Congressman Steven Rothman (D) issued a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition to student volunteers in Lyndhurst, New Jersey. Director of the USA Freedom Corps and Deputy Assistant to the President Desiree Sayle spoke at the ServeDC kickoff and presented Washington, D.C.s Youth Mayor, Tyrell Holcomb, with the Presidents Volunteer Service Award. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R) spoke via videoconference at the Spirit of Community Student Service recognition and mentoring ceremony in Anchorage, Alaska. Senators Russ Feingold (D) and Herb Kohl (D) sent letters of support to project participants in Madison, Wisconsin. Congressman Frank LoBiondo (R) gave the opening address on the importance of youth service for a project in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D) spoke to and volunteered alongside youth in Toledo, Ohio. Senator Norm Coleman (R) sent a letter to be read at a project in Duluth, Minnesota. Congressman Gene Taylors (D) District Director, Beau Gex, presented project participants in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi with a certificate and an American flag that flew over the U. S. Capitol. Congressman Todd Platts (R) delivered opening remarks before a charity walk in New Freedom, Pennsylvania. Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D) volunteered and delivered remarks at a project at Webster Magnet School in St. Paul, Minnesota.

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Washington, DC, City Councilman Vincent Orange presents a proclamation for N & GYSD with D.C. Youth Mayor Derrell Simpson..

GOVERNORS AND LIEUTENANT GOVERNORS

31 Governors and 4 Lieutenant Governors (up from 29 total in 2005) participated in National & Global Youth Service Day. Of these, the following 29 issued proclamations for N & GYSD in their states (up from 19 in 2005): John Baldacci (D-ME) Jennifer Granholm (D-MI) Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) Haley Barbour (R-MS) Matt Blunt (R-MO) Dave Heineman (R-NE) Kenny Guinn (R-NV) John Lynch (D-NH) John Corzine (D-NJ) Frank Murkowski (R-AK) Janet Napolitano (D-AZ) Bill Owens (R-CO) M. Jodi Rell (R-CT) Sonny Perdue (R-GA) Linda Lingle (R-HI) Dirk Kempthorne (R-ID) Thomas Vilsack (D-IA) Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS) Mitch Landrieu (D-LA) Bob Taft (R-OH) Ted Kulongoski (D-OR) Edward Rendell (D-PA) Donald Carcieri (R-RI) Mark Sanford (R-SC) Phil Bredesen (D-TN) Tim Kaine (D-VA) Christine Gregoire (D-WA) Joe Manchin III (D-WV) Jim Doyle (D-WI)

The following are some other examples of gubernatorial participation in N & GYSD: Alabama Governor Bob Riley (R) wrote a letter of support to members of the VH Habitat Service Club in Birmingham. Alaska Lieutenant Governor Loren Lehman (R) spoke at the N & GYSD kick-off celebration in Anchorage; he greeted participants and read the proclamation signed by Governor Murkowksi. Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell (R) spoke at the N & GYSD kickoff held by Lead Agency Our Piece of the Pie in Hartford. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour held a proclamation photo op with Junior Citizen Corps Club students at the Governors Office in Jackson. Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer (D) spoke about the importance of service and environmental stewardship at N & GYSD events in both Helena and Bozeman. Nebraska Lt. Governor Sheehy (R) read student-created childrens stories to first graders at an elementary school. New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine (D) attended a State Farm grantees project in Paterson. Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (D) sent certificates of appreciation to 4-H project leaders in Blacksburg.

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STATE OFFICIALS
105 State Officials, including 89 State Legislators (up from 61 in 2005) participated in National & Global Youth Service Day. Among other things, these state officials spoke at events, volunteered alongside youth leaders, wrote letters of support, issued proclamations and resolutions supporting N & GYSD, and sent staff members to learn about the needs being addressed by the projects. Some highlights include the following: N & GYSD participants visited more than 30 legislators at the Minnesota Capitol and held a public kick- off event in the Capitol rotunda. Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page was the keynote speaker for events held by Lead Agency Pillsbury United Communities in Minneapolis. Jan Brite from Arizona Department of Educations Learn and Serve Program spoke at the morning kick-off program of the STAR School in Flagstaff and worked alongside project volunteers on the Navajo reservation.

CITY MAYORS
109 Mayors (up from 79 in 2005) participated in National & Global Youth Service Day. Mayors who participated include those of the following cities:

Anchorage, AK Boston, MA Detroit, MI El Paso, TX Fort Wayne, IN Fort Worth, TX Honolulu, HI Houston, TX Las Vegas, NV

Lexington, KY Long Beach, CA Los Angeles, CA Madison, WI Miami, FL Nashville, TN New York, NY Omaha, NE Philadelphia, PA

San Jose, CA Santa Barbara, CA Shreveport, LA Spokane, WA St. Louis, MO St. Paul, MN Washington, D.C.

In addition to speaking at events, making proclamations, and other traditional forms of participation, the following examples highlight other acts of support from mayors on N & GYSD: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa served on an honorary planning committee with the Youth for Positive Change Regional Collaborative, a 2006 Lead Agency. Mayor Scott Eisenhauer of Danville, Illinois presented a plaque and certificates to youth project participants at a City Council meeting. Mayor Charles Stokes of Utica, Mississippi provided the use of Utica Community Center to N & GYSD project planners. Mayor Steve Steiner of Blue Springs, Missouri entertained volunteers with a magic act and encouraged more than 1,400 youth and adults at a rally to continue to perform service in their community. Mayor Fred Panucci of Syracuse, Utah surveyed the results of the beautification project by youth court project participants and expressed his gratitude for their work.

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CITY AND COUNTY OFFICIALS

220 City and County Officials (up from 167 in 2005) participated in National & Global Youth Service Day. City and county officials include city council members, town aldermen, county commissioners, police and fire chiefs, judges, and school board members. Some highlights include the following: Hartford, Connecticut City Councilwoman Veronica Airey-Wilson coordinated a service-learning activity with youth leaders at a Council Meeting. The Montgomery, Alabama City Council initiated the practice of recognizing youth difference makers at every meeting. Los Angeles City Councilmember Wendy Greuel and County Supervisor Michael Antonovich served on an honorary planning committee for the N & GYSD events planned by Lead Agency Youth for Positive Change. First Selectman Ralph Fletcher of Ashford, Connecticut worked with Ashford Youth Volunteers to identify the need for an intergenerational project at the Ashford Senior Center.

OTHER PUBLIC FIGURES

100 other public figures participated in N & GYSD events, including: Stephen Baldwin, actor and member of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation; Rigoberta Menchu Tum, winner of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize; San Jose State University President Don Kassing; Tyrell Holcomb, DC Youth Mayor; Lesley University President Margaret McKenna; Oregon State University President Edward Ray; Cyd Duffib, President of the Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals; League of Women Voter's President Del Silverman; Diane Probst, President and CEO of the Rockport-Fulton Area Chamber of Commerce; Los Angeles Unified School District Board Member Julie Korenstein; Gordon James, Chairman of the Skokomish Indian Tribe; Bishops and other religious leaders; Fire and police department representatives; Candidates for elected office; Professional athletes; and School district superintendents and principals.

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For the first time ever, N & GYSD representatives rang the NASDAQ stock market closing bell in New York City on April 13, 2006.

NATIONAL PARTNERS
Youth Service America was honored to work with 115 of the nations largest service, education, and youth development organizations as National Partners (consistent with the number in 2005 and up from 93 in 2004). Partners include the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the March of Dimes, the U.S. Department of Justice, YMCA, Camp Fire USA, National Education Association (NEA), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and many more. National Partners promote involvement in N & GYSD and related resources to their affiliates/constituents through their regular communications channels such as newsletters (print and electronic), websites, conferences, etc. The most successful partnerships are those where partners incorporate N & GYSD into their existing programming by giving grants, creating signature service events, etc. (see examples below). YSA targeted new strategic partners this year to reach specific audiences. For example, to reach more schools, we partnered with the National Association of Independent Schools and the National Council for the Social Studies. New partnerships with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute and the National Congress of Vietnamese Americans enabled us to reach out to minority youth and youth in underserved communities. Finally, partnerships with organizations with a strong international presence, such as Sister Cities International and HOPE worldwide, have helped us forge connections between youth volunteers in the U.S. and overseas. Increasingly, National Partners are taking ownership of N & GYSD as a tool to strengthen and energize existing programming. For example, five organizations are now hosting their own signature events concurrently and in collaboration with N & GYSD: Partnership with the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) brought youth of many faiths together for service projects on their National Days of Interfaith Youth Service, which they have scheduled to coincide with N & GYSD. The goal of projects is to use service as a vehicle to build understanding and facilitate positive relationships between people of different faiths. Partnership with the National Wildlife Federation increased the visibility of their National Wildlife Week (April 16-23) and N & GYSD. Co-branded materials helped youth plan quality environmental service projects. J-Serve, an annual day of service for Jewish youth throughout the world, purposefully holds their event in collaboration with N & GYSD. YSA has formed a new partnership with the Earth Day Network and the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation around Earth Day (April 22). Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity now holds their annual True Gentleman Day of Service on N & GYSD, with 114 chapters participating this year. Finally, we are excited that 10 National Partners gave their own grants for N & GYSD this year, resulting in an additional 494 grants totaling over $223,200 (see more information in the Grants section of this report.) ** For a complete listing of National Partners and sample Partner promotions of N & GYSD, see the Appendix.

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LEAD AGENCIES
This years 51 Lead Agencies successfully increased the scale of National & Global Youth Service Day by engaging 815,986 (up from 143,522 volunteers in 2005). 95% of their volunteers were youth. Fourteen Lead Agencies conducted state-wide events (up from twelve in 2005) in the following states: Alaska, Idaho, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Additionally, Lead Agencies engaged volunteers in some of the nations largest cities including: Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Phoenix, and Washington, DC.

Many Lead Agencies went above and beyond the minimum requirement of engaging 500 volunteers by engaging several thousands. The five Lead Agencies with the highest volunteer engagement numbers are:

AGENCY Utah Federation for Youth Santa Barbara County Education Office NVSF, Inc. Anchorages Promise Project AIM

# OF VOLUNTEERS 513,102 60,832 59,000 26,308 22,738

DEMOGRAPHICS AND QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION

All 51 Lead Agencies completed an extensive questionnaire evaluating their experience; the results below are drawn from their evaluations. Lead Agencies organized 2,032 projects for N & GYSD. 42 of the 51 Lead Agencies incorporated service-learning into their N & GYSD projects. 10 Lead Agencies distributed mini-grants for their National & Global Youth Service Day projects totaling $51,861.

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Lead Agencies involved more girls (56%) than boys (43%). (Adds to a total of 99% due to rounding)
Lead Agency Volunteers by Gender

Female 56%

Male 43%

From the 44 Lead Agencies that tracked the racial demographics of their volunteers, approximately 51% were Caucasian, 24% were African American, 16% were Latino, 3% were Asian, 1% were Native American, and 4% were anther race (Adds to a total of 99% due to rounding).

Lead Agency Volunteers by Ethnicity

1% 3% 16% 51% 24% 4% Caucasian-American African-American Latino Asian-American Native American Other
Lead Agencies involved a total of 933 other organizations in their planning coalitions (An average of 18 organizations per Lead Agency). Additionally, 3,981 (up from 3,120 youth in 2005) youth were intimately involved in planning N & GYSD events through membership in planning committees, talking to the media, soliciting in-kind donations, and providing on site support. 49 out of the 51 Lead Agencies (96%) are interested in serving as Lead Agencies for N & GYSD 2007.

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SUPPORT PROVIDED BY YSA TO LEAD AGENCIES

YSAs Field Manager provided a variety of comprehensive services to Lead Agencies in 2006. Resources provided by YSA included: Second Annual Lead Agency Summit: This training engaged YSA staff, other national trainers, National Partners, and Lead Agencies in sharing effective practices for scaling up National & Global Youth Service Day events, service, and service-learning throughout the year. Topics included: youth leadership, youth and adult partnerships, running a mini-grant program, basic and advanced service-learning methods, coalition building, engagement of media and elected officials, and tools and resources to support involvement in and beyond National & Global Youth Service Day. 44 out of the 51 Lead Agencies participated in the training. (57 individuals total) 41 out of the 46 (number of completed evaluations) reported that they learned or gained that one thing that they intended to learn at the summit. The evaluation asked What worked really well in this training? When did you feel most energized for your Lead Agency Role? The following are examples of Lead Agency responses.

Having a diverse range of workshop speakers/leaders. They were all experts in their field articulate, prepared, and knowledgeable. Great assets to the S-L movement! Separate levels for beginners & advanced levels were good. Great networking time! concept to do a LA training dont ever not do it. Thanks, a great

The last morning having a good youth panel share their experiences, and the knowledge of experiences of those around you from all different states around the nation.
A welcome packet, including: a congratulations letter, memorandum of understanding, planning timeline, and contact information for other Lead Agencies. Direct technical support from the Field Manager. 3 planning conference calls. Monthly reports. Monthly eNewsletter updating Lead Agencies on grants, resources, due dates, effective practices, and additional news from the service field. Templates for recruitment post cards, thank you certificates, and appreciation sheets.

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Online listserv specifically for Field Manager and Lead Agencies to communicate with each other on a regular basis.

Timely email updates with reminders, and various resources, including: press release templates, a listing of YSAs National Youth Council members and local organizations for coalition recruitment purposes, and links to online planning resources.

A variety of Tip Sheets to assist with specific project issues, including:

Developing a Coalition for National & Global Youth Service Day

Recruiting Volunteers for National & Global Youth Service Day

Recruiting College Students and Planning Campus-Based Service Events for National & Global Youth Service Day

Recruiting and Retaining Volunteer Members

Engaging Youth with Disabilities in Service

Inviting Elected Officials to your National & Global Youth Service Day Events

Preparing your Youth Media Representative to Speak in Public

Tips for Youth Media Representatives Speaking to the Media

Taking Exciting Photographs of Your National & Global Youth Service Day Project.

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LOOKING AHEAD TO 2007

National & Global Youth Service Day is a year-round campaign that celebrates youth contributions and involvement in their communities. Many of the 2006 Lead Agencies have taken this concept and developed additional service projects and have begun to plan for N & GYSD 2007.

The United Way of Allen County in Fort Wayne, IN has initiated the planning process for their 2007

Youth Summit which will focus on empowering students to solve community problems.

The United Way of Dane County in Madison, WI participates in MLK Day and N & GYSD and for 2007

is looking to continue relationships and involvement from one event to the other, creating a semester of service that will help sustain youth engagement in the Madison area.

In Minneapolis, MN the Pillsbury United Communities for the first time established a Youth

Empowerment Council, which grew directly from youth leadership and involvement in N & GYSD 2006. In 2007, the council will provide a platform for youth voice, promote youth leadership, and help to train additional youth volunteers to take on leadership roles in N & GYSD and year-round.

By engaging youth in service-learning projects and providing a platform for youth engagement and activism, Lead Agencies are helping to grow the youth volunteer movement.

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LEAD AGENCY HIGHLIGHTS

AHCORAGES PROMISE
Number of Volunteers Engaged: 26,308 Event Highlights: One of Anchorages Promises most popular projects is their KidsDay event that celebrates N & GYSD. This event unites 60+ non-profit organizations and businesses to provide kid-friendly activities for over 12,000 participants. On April 21, Alaska Youth for Environmental Action (AYEA) introduced a Climate Change Resolution at the spring conference of the Alaska Association of Student Governments (AASG). AYEA garnered 5,000 teen signatures from 105 communities and at the conference four hundred teens from over twenty communities unanimously adopted the resolution, demanding action at the Alaska state legislative level. AYEA members hope to push this resolution forward during the 2007 Civics and Conservation Summit. Engaging Elected Officials: Lieutenant Governor Loren Lehman kicked-off the N & GYSD celebration by greeting participants and reading the Governors proclamation. In addition Mayor Mark Begich and his son welcomed participants to KidsDay and declared April 22 a great day for the city. Engaging the Media: Two news stations, NBC & ABC covered N & GYSD projects, as well as a live broadcast from KidsDay by Clear Channel Radio helped promote Anchorages Promise event. Looking at 2007: As Anchorages Promise looks towards N & GYSD 2007 they are working diligently to build a better understanding of service-learning in Alaska. Through a one-day workshop this fall they will encourage youth to become civically engaged and to learn about the world around them through service.

FAMILY SERVICES OF ROANOKE VALLEY

Number of Volunteers Engaged: 587 Event Highlights: Prior to N & GYSD, Family Services of Roanoke Valley sponsored Chris Bowers, a motivational speaker for youth, to speak to 5,000 youth about making the right choices and giving back to their community. Each student was given information about how to get involved in N & GYSD and service year-round. Through their Teen Outreach Program (TOP) they provided service-learning, civic leadership, and development opportunities to youth in 8 schools. Some of the topics youth covered were hunger and homelessness outreach to younger children, and bullying prevention. This program has continued after N & GYSD and will provide an opportunity for students to stay involved year-round. Engaging Elected Officials: Congressman Bob Goodlatte provided support for youth who participated in N & GYSD and Roanoke City Councilman, Alfred Dowe, issued a proclamation for the event. Engaging the Media: Family Services of Roanoke Valley was able to engage media in three different mediums; TV (RVTV Channel 3), radio (WDBJ 7) and print (Roanoke Times).

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HEALTHY COMMUNITIES-HEALTY YOUTH

Number of Volunteers Engaged: 6,500 Event Highlights: With over 60 service projects and a Youth Leadership Summit, Healthy Communities Healthy Youth (HC-HY) provided a variety of opportunities for youth to be engaged in Lackawanna County, PA. 400 High School students attended the Youth Leadership Summit where they participated in informative sessions in the morning and service and reflection in the afternoon. Over 6,500 youth participated in projects that included cleaning up parks and school playgrounds, collecting canned food, assisting with meal packaging with Meals on Wheels, and teaching seniors how to use the new computerized voting machines. By providing a variety of engagement opportunities HC-HY was able to reach a larger population of youth and teach participants that they can make a difference in their community while being connected to a larger global effort. Engaging Elected Officials: Healthy Communities-Healthy Youth received over a dozen proclamations from the government bodies in Lackawanna County including Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. State Rep. Jim Wasncacz and County Commissioner Robert Cordaro spoke about leadership and service at the Youth Leadership Summit. Engaging Media: Two news papers (Scranton Times & Abington Suburban) and one TV station (WYOU/WBRE TV) covered the event. Looking towards 2007: Providing quality service and leadership opportunities for youth did not stop at their N & GYSD event, but continues year-round. Many of the youth who where trained in using the new electronic voting machines will continue their efforts through November and the upcoming elections.

UTAH FEDERATION FOR YOUTH

Number of Volunteers Engaged: 513,000 Event Highlights: Utah Federation for Youths (UFY) main initiative for N & GYSD 2006 was the Ready for School campaign. By partnering with the Utah Commission on Volunteers and the State Office on Education UFY, was able to reach every child in the Utah public school system. The week of N & GYSD, youth received interactive packets that provided them with information about how schools can become safer, stronger, and better prepared. Schools all over Utah participated in service-learning projects and students were encouraged to take home the information included in the packets to share with their families. UFY also engaged volunteers in projects such as the Suicide Prevention Walk, Safe Kids Fair, and community garden projects. Engaging Elected Officials: Utah Federation for Youth was fortunate to engage several local government officials including Mayor Peter Corroon, who spoke at the closing celebration, and Lt. Governor Gary Herbert, who wrote a letter announcing Utahs celebration of N & GYSD and its tie to the Be Ready Utah campaign. Engaging Media: UFY was able to engage every television station in Salt Lake City (FOX 13, KSL Channel 5, KUTV Channel 2, ABC 4) and was featured in three major newspapers (Salt Lake Tribune, Desert News, and SSL Valley Journal). Looking towards 2007: The Be Ready Utah campaign will continue to engage youth and adults all over the state in service and service-learning projects. Additionally, through partnerships formed by being a Lead Agency for N & GYSD, Utah Federation for Youth will continue to collaborate with the Utah Commission on Volunteers to provide year-round volunteer opportunities.

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PILSBURY UNITED COMMUNITIES

Number of Volunteers Engaged: 1,400 Event Highlights: The 2006 N & GYSD effort in Minneapolis was completely youth-driven. Inner-city youth researched, planned, implemented, and evaluated 15 different projects in the city. The most memorable projects include the Youth Giving a Hand hip-hop and multicultural benefit showcase where participants shared their culture and talents with the community, and the March Against Violence project where youth demonstrated their commitment to the safety of their communities by uniting 200 youth and adult supporters in a demonstration for violence free streets. Pilsbury United Communities (PUC) created projects that engaged youth not normally asked to serve including younger children. One such project was the Hygiene Packets for the Homeless where youth created 136 packets filled with basic necessities and delivered them to a local homeless shelter. Engaging Elected Officials: PUC successfully engaged former Minnesota Vikings and current Minnesota Supreme Court Judge Alan Page, who gave a keynote address at the celebration event. Also in attendance was City Councilman Gary Schiff who delivered the proclamation from the Mayors Office.

EFFECTIVE PRACTICES
Through the Lead Agency evaluation and other informal feedback mechanisms, YSA has collected a rich body of effective practices to share with others. The following is a sample of those strategies, illustrated by comments from the Lead Agencies.

SERVICE-LEARNING

Recruit teachers, associations, and other groups in your coalition.

Every school site for N & GYSD incorporated service-learning into its planning process. Projects were planned with the input or consultation of a credentialed teacher or retired educator. In addition, each project was tied to curriculum standards for the State of California. YMCA of Orange County, CA BUILDING YOUR COALITION
Creating a diverse coalition can be a challenge, but worth the work in the end. Having an inclusive group of individuals and organizations will help spread the national youth service movement and the reach of your project. Build all areas of your coalition to represent all sectors of your community. Take some time to build

relationships and find the right people to be part of your coalition to make things happen in your community. City Year New Hampshire I found that partnering with a larger organization really helped for the project to be implemented statewide, as it can be challenging due to time and budget constraints. Having the ability to communicate with each student was very beneficial to the success of our project. Utah Federation
for Youth

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MANAGING YOUR COALITION

Part of managing a coalition is providing adequate training and materials that will help them be a success.

Developing a mini-seminar turned out to be one of the best ideas that AP has had in our four years of leadership. We were able to not only showcase past successes, but to discuss the tools provided by YSA and talk about the value of service-learning. Anchorages Promise, Anchorage, AK YOUTH VOICE
N & GYSD is a celebration of the role youth play in their communities year-round. Youth should be involved and given leadership opportunities in all areas of N & GYSD. The youth truly did it all in Minneapolis! They started out by community mapping, and choosing a

community issue to address through a service project. All of our projects were based entirely on youthidentified issues and youth-generated solutions. Our group members took part in all phases of each project, including research, planning, implementation, and evaluation. Pillsbury United Communities,
Minneapolis, MN

EDUCATING ADULTS ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF YOUTH

Celebrate youth involvement while educating adults about their accomplishments.

Through the Spirit of Youth Service Awards community leaders were able to really understand the magnitude of youth contribution to community issues. YMCA of Orange County, CA ENGAGING YOUTH NOT NORMALLY ASKED TO SERVE
Partner with organizations to share resources and information that can provide youth with unique volunteer opportunities. We also shared volunteer information with the Community Diversion Programs which helps youth

court-ordered to do community service find projects and programs. While these kids are already being asked to serve, their involvement in a day like N & GYSD includes projects geared towards youth and building community...a different experience than they usually get through court-ordered service. City
Year New Hampshire

ENGAGING THE MEDIA

Having media sponsors is a great way to publicize your event while partnering with organizations that may not normally be involved with service projects.

Having a media sponsor was also key, they provided us with print, radio, and television ads to promote the event. Healthy Communities-Healthy Youth, Clarks Summit, PA PROMOTING YOUR EVENT
N & GYSD day can provide Lead Agencies with unique opportunities to promote service, civic engagement, the event, and their organization. Think creatively when it comes to promotion and collateral materials.

We created a N & GYSD program book to give participants background info and a tangible sense of the activities taking place for N & GYSD 2006 in Hartford. The program book included blurbs on the history and mission of N & GYSD, activities taking place in Hartford, background on our agency, and a kick-off event agenda. We were able to raise funds for our activities, and to give funders, politicians, community leaders, partners, media, and youth a written souvenir. Our Piece of the Pie,
Hartford, CT

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LOOKING TO N & GYSD 2007

YSA has identified several areas in which we as an organization can improve the services and resources we provide Lead Agencies in order to continue to provide excellent support for their N & GYSD events.

Create a Lead Agency Handbook that will assist LAs with the Lead Agency initiative and N & GYSD. Simplify the project registration process. Take the application and evaluation process from paper to an online version. Link project information registered to Lead Agencies in their area via email. Develop more materials in Spanish. Diversify our communications with LAs by incorporating online chats and blocked-off conference calling time to assist with group brainstorms. Provide additional platforms for Lead Agencies to stay in communication and connect with one another throughout the year. Develop discussion forums for LAs on topics like working with youth in rural areas, service-learning, creative project ideas, etc.

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PROJECT GRANTS
YSA provided 267 youth, teachers, and organizations with a total of $267,000 in grant funding to support N & GYSD projects and continued service. Ten National Partner organizations also gave grants for N & GYSD projects (equal to the 10 in 2005 and up from 5 in 2004), awarding an additional 494 grants totaling $223,200l. Grant State Farm Good Neighbor ServiceLearning Grants Disney Minnie Grants Capital One Youth Service Fund Grants Hurricane Relief Grants Lead Agency Planning Grants TOTAL Number of Grants 100 85 15 17 50 267 Amount of Grant $1,000 $500 $500 $1,000 $2,000 Total Funding $100,000 $42,500 Focus of Grant Service-Learning Young children in U.S. and abroad

$7,500
$17,000 $100,000 $267,000

Youth in low-tomoderate income communities

Hurricane relief in the Gulf Coast Grants sponsored by State Farm for Lead Agencies

YSA is pleased that we are increasingly able to use grants as incentives for engaging target populations, encouraging quality practices, or addressing important societal issues. For example, Capital One Youth Service Fund grants help youth in low to moderate-income communities in the greater Washington, DCarea plan and implement projects. The Disney Minnie Grant engages young children ages 5-14. The State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grant promotes and gives visibility to quality service-learning projects. The Hurricane Recovery and Relief Grants provided important support to the Gulf Coast areas devastated by hurricanes and helped young people join in the effort to make a difference. All of these are models that we will replicate and expand in 2007 and beyond. Finally, all of our programs require applicants to engage media, elected officials, and youth not traditionally asked to serve (youth with disabilities, youth of color, young children, etc.). In the spirit of making the grant application process a learning experience, the Grants Managers also sent non-winners an overview of common elements of winning grant applications and suggestions for applying for future grants from YSA or any organization. For the second year, YSA provided training to other organizations on how to provide their own grants for N & GYSD and year-round. YSA staff convened trainings at the National Service-Learning Conference, the Lead Agency training, and other conferences. We are pleased to share the expertise that weve developed in this area with the larger service and service-learning field. Finally, we are pleased to currently offer two grant opportunities to support ongoing service that builds on N & GYSD 2006. The second round of Disney Minnie Grants and the Bee the Change grants are described below.

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Fort Hays University home horticulture students help the local Humane Society in Fort Hays, KS.

STATE FARM GOOD NEIGHBOR SERVICE-LEARNING GRANT

The State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grant enables students and educators to bring the positive benefits of service-learning to more young people and communities. This grant was available to teachers, servicelearning coordinators, and students (ages 5-25) to implement service-learning projects for N & GYSD 2006. Winners included:

Fort Hays University -- Hays, Kansas

Students in a Home Horticulture Class at Fort Hays University in Hays, Kansas put their agriculture skills to use by helping to restore the weed-laden landscape of a local Humane Society. They learned how to improve soil through the use of compost, install a drip irrigation system, fertilize, and properly plant shrubs. Because the Humane Society is a non-profit organization, their budget does not allow for costly maintenance like the jobs the 12 Fort Hays students performed. Prior to the event, students were asked to evaluate the site and explain why renovations were needed and what recommendations they would make to improve the site. Before the semester ended, the students also made a return trip to the area so that they could see the results and discuss what did and did not work. On the day of the project, City of Hays Mayor Wayne Billinger and Kansas State Senator Janis Lee were on-hand to thank the students during a brief ceremony. In addition, the president of the Humane Society's Board of Directors wrote a thank-you letter that was published in the local paper. Many of the students discussed the possibility of performing similar projects in their own hometowns.

Preuss High School -- La Jolla, California

Students in a service-learning class at Preuss High School launched a website for their school's chapter of Students for Organ and Tissue Donation. They also started community outreach efforts through presentations and chose to begin their program in April because of its designation as "Donate Life" month (along with National & Global Youth Service Day). In addition to talking to students at lunchtime about the importance of organ donation, the group worked with teachers at the middle school and high school level to incorporate organ donor awareness into their lesson plans. By the end of their events, the students had talked with more than 2,000 people about the possibility of organ donation and signed up 200 new donors. They made sure to let everyone know that a single tissue and organ donation from one person can save up to 68 lives! Before the service project, the Preuss High School chapter of Student for Organ and Tissue Donation had seven members. It now has 16 and counting. The reason for the growing enthusiasm? According to one of its members, "As young adolescents, we believe the words from our mouths will better resonate with the youth of our generation."

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Youth and adult volunteers work together at the Second Annual Foster Care and Adoption Carnival in Washington, DC.

DISNEY MINNIE GRANTS

Eighty-five grants of $500 each were awarded to children and youth (ages 5-14), teachers, and youth-service organizations to support service projects on National & Global Youth Service Day. 34 of these grants were awarded to U.S. projects and 51 to projects in other countries. Prior to N & GYSD, YSA received more than 450 applications from the US and around the world. Grants were awarded to winners in 29 countries. Currently, YSA is in the process of administering the 2nd round of Disney Minnie Grants to help volunteers continue with the great service that was begun on N & GYSD. Winners included:

Southern Hills After-School Program -- Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Students in the Southern Hills After-School program (age 12 and under) wanted to plan a project with their friends from DakotAbilities, a local organization serving adults with disabilities. They decided to plant a garden together. Under the guidance of a volunteer Master Gardener, the children used their Disney Minnie Grant to purchase tools and seeds. As they began to think about how they could help people who were hungry, the students concluded that it would be more beneficial to sell their produce and donate the proceeds to a local food pantry than it would be to donate the produce that perishes quickly. Using the profits made by the garden produce, food items were purchased for almost 150 people. Town Mayor Dave Munson spoke at the project's ceremony and the children received letters of congratulations from Representative Stephanie Herseth and Senator Tim Johnson. According to Southern Hill's leader Heather DeWitt, "This project is truly a community effort. Our students are learning what it means to care and work together for something they believe in." When asked how the children relate to the adults, assistant director of DakotAbilities, Robin Prunty, said that matching kids with adults who have disabilities is ideal: "They don't have any inhibitions. They don't have the fears."

Iraqi Democratic Coalition for Youth Empowerment Baghdad, Iraq

The Iraqi Democratic Coalition for Youth Empowerment organized the first event for GYSD on Thursday 20th April 2006. Almost 100 youth from 1 primary and 2 secondary schools in Baghdad participated in this project. Fifty students from Altasami primary school for boys and girls participated in hanging their paintings on the wall of the school. It was a small fair in which they showcased their cooperation and desire to build their country. The presentation reflects the challenge faced by Iraqi youth in the absence of security. Youth from two secondary schools also participated in the project. Twenty students each from the Palestine Secondary School for Boys and the AlQanat Secondary School for Girls conducted cleaning and beautification campaigns in their schools garden. They planted 30 trees and 20 rose bushes. In addition, students learned about environmental awareness and the spirit of volunteerism -- with an emphasis on youth self-empowerment. The youth service project effectively engaged public officials and media: the event was attended by the president and the members of the municipal council (of 14th July Quarter), and Baghdad representatives of Agence France Press and cameramen from the local press. Two Baghdad newspapers, Al Sabah Al Jadeed and Attaakhi, wrote articles about the GYSD activities. Project organizers had the following comments about the activities: The days events attracted the attention of other local and international organizations, and encouraged them to support youth service. The service project established a new basis for community service and initiated new ideas that were carried out, expanding the field of youth service. The activities created new horizons for youth to look forward to in the future.

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Students at Howard University take part in Jumpstart For a Day. The event hosted over 200 children ages 3-5 and involved 20 educational stations.

CAPITAL ONE GRANTS

Youth Service America and Capital One teamed up this year to offer the Capital One Youth Service Fund 15 grants of $500 to youth and youth-serving organizations in the Washington Metropolitan area to plan projects for N & GYSD 2006. This grant program focused on engaging youth in low-to-moderate income communities in service. Seven grantees were from Virginia and eight grantees were from the District of Columbia. Winners included:

City Year Washington,DC

The Young Heroes program is a 16-week service-learning City Year program for middle school students. National & Global Youth Service Day is a culmination of the students service, where the youth recruit participants to serve, help with project preparation, and lead a team in service. Approximately 260 volunteers participated in this years N & GYSD volunteer activities. National Public Radio advertised the volunteer opportunity on their community minute several times a day for a few weeks leading up to the event. Volunteer activities took place at three different sites - an elementary, middle and high school - and included renovating a school playground with painted games such as hopscotch and checkerboard; removing trash and natural debris; painting murals, inspiring quotes and the school mascots on walls and over graffiti; planting trees and shrubs; and interior and exterior painting. Project organizer, Jason Levine noted that youth gained more respect for their school and community through the beautification and clean-up, as well as increased pride and sense of belonging. Levine wrote, Watching a project succeed creates increased idealism amongst young people. The youth left the day feeling proud of their accomplishments and with a sense of belonging to something larger than themselves. Despite rainy weather, more youth volunteers participated this year than in the past. Ninety-five percent of the volunteers stated on their evaluations that they would consider engaging in another City Year service day, ninety percent reported that after participating in N & GYSD they have a better understanding of the National Service movement, and ninety percent stated they had a good or excellent overall experience.

Howard Universitys CapComm, a student-run advertising and public relations firm, coordinated Jumpstart for a Day, an annual learning fair that engaged more than 100 volunteers and 300 youth participants ages 3-5 in a carnival-like event designed to promote language, literacy and social skill development. The young participants are from HeadStart programs in the DC area. They had a fun-filled day of educational learning stations that included book reading, Japanese letter writing, bubble making, face painting, and a neighborhood market, amongst others. College volunteers had the opportunity to pair up one-to-one with the children to help further their early childhood development skills. The volunteers consisted not only of Howard University students, but also of elementary-school children and bilingual community members. Families were invited to attend, too. Partnerships in the community were furthered as this event saw support from more than 13 organizations or companies and brought together area elementary schools, community groups, HeadStart programs, AmeriCorps staff and volunteers and the Howard University student body.

Jumpstart For a Day

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HURRICANE RELIEF AND RECOVERY COMMUNITY SERVICE GRANTS

In conjunction with National & Global Youth Service Day 2006, Youth Service America and Americas Promise awarded seventeen $1,000 Hurricane Relief and Recovery Community Service Grants to young people (ages 525), to implement sustainable projects supporting the hurricane relief efforts in the Gulf Region. Projects were launched on National & Global Youth Service Day, and are all youth created and led. Experts predict that the hurricane relief in the gulf region resulting from Rita and Katrina will be a multi-year effort, which will require the hands of many. Award winners are a large part of a growing movement of young people, as shown by increased youth involvement in spring break trips to the gulf region, who recognize the need for sustainable solutions. The 2006 Grantees include:

Samantha Karlin, age 14, convened the community of Metairie, LA to clean up and repair the Metairie playground, so that children finally have a place to play. Hannah Broadway, age 16, worked with students in grades kindergarten through twelve to remake the devastated garden areas around the perimeter of Pass Christian High School in Mississippi. Naomi McIsaac, age 24, organized an instrument drive in Vancouver, WA for the Hancock County School District Music Department in Mississippi, whose music department was threatened because almost all of the instruments were destroyed in the hurricane.

Hurricane Relief and Recovery Community Service Grants recognize the contributions young people from across the country have made to the hurricane relief efforts, and hope to further inspire youth to get involved in service.

POST -EVENT GRANTS

Disney Minnie Grants: 2nd Round
Youth Service America and Disney are offering a second round of Disney Minnie Grants for youth ages 5-14 or the organizations that engage them. The follow-up grants of $500 each will be directed to youth to continue the service begun on N & GYSD 2006 or to start new service projects. Because Disney offered additional funds earmarked for India, China and Russia, YSA conducted targeted outreach to these three countries to encourage applications. A total of 110 awards are available for the 2nd round. Grantees will be announced in late July, with service projects taking place in the month of September.

Bee" the Change Community Service Grant

YSA and Lionsgate offered the "Bee" the Change Community Service Grant for literacy. This is a $1,000 award, made to one young person between the ages of 5-25. The grantee will implement a sustainable community service project that increases literacy in their community and uses the movie Akeelah and the Bee as inspiration. The grantee will be selected in July, 2006 and a significant portion of the project must take place on National & Global Youth Service Day 2007.

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GRANTS FROM N & GYSD PARTNERS

A big success of N & GYSD 2006 was the number of partners that, through their own initiative, provided their own grants for related activities. The following section briefly describes these initiatives. In 2007, YSA plans to take a more active role in encouraging more partners to give grants, and supporting and coordinating these grant opportunities and winners. We are confident that we can increase the number of partners giving grants. We already have one new commitment for 2007 from the American Red Cross!

PARTNER GRANTS AT A GLANCE

Organization Number of Grants
20 52 21 10 16 78 100 75 25 97

Amount of Grant
$500 $1,000 $1,000 (2 received $1,500) $2,500 varied $250 $500 $200 $200 $150

Total Funding
$10,000 $52,000 $22,000 $25,000 $10,150 $19,500 $50,000 $15,000 $5,000 $14,550

Focus of Grant
Literacy Sustainable Ventures Inter-faith projects (17 in U.S. and 4 overseas) Jewish Volunteers Any Issue U.S. and overseas Traffic Safety/Any Issue Any Issue youth were encouraged, though not required, to participate in N & GYSD Violence Prevention Violence Prevention Security, Justice, Liberty, and Equality

NEA Youth Venture Case Foundation/ UN Foundation J-Serve Service for Peace Youth Courts National Crime Prevention Council Phi Alpha Delta FCCLA Youth for Justice TOTAL GRANTS PROVIDED BY PARTNERS

494 Grants

$223,200

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Seventh-graders from Gainesville Middle School in Gainesville, GA use their science curricula to guide them in the creation and display of museum-quality exhibits.

FAITH AND SERVICE GRANTS

YSA participated in a planning team, led by the National Conference on Citizenship, to host the historic International Conference on Faith and Service, which gathered more than 500 leaders from the fields of religion, community service, academia, and public service at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. on March 22nd. The conference theme of Building Bridges Through Interreligious Dialogue and Youth Civic Engagement promoted collaboration among Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and other faiths, emphasizing common purposes shared by diverse religions and the vital role that religious dialogue and youth service can play in reducing conflict throughout the world. At the conference, over 40 interfaith youth service projects taking place on National & Global Youth Service Day were announced; 21 of these projects received a planning grant from the Case Foundation and the United Nations Foundation. YSA and the Interfaith Youth Core led a pre-Summit training for leaders of these projects. One grantee, the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, mobilized Christian, Jewish, and Muslim volunteers to help New Orleans prepare for its first mayoral election since Hurricane Katrina. Youth assisted election officials by posting official election signage in neighborhoods throughout the city; publicizing location of relocated polling places; and setting up polling places and creating an election command center for the Louisiana Secretary of State. On Election Day, volunteers provided directions for voters; provided transportation for elderly, disabled, and other voters to polls; and assisted certified poll commissioners. As a result of this project, young people are forming a permanent interfaith youth council in New Orleans, the first interfaith organization in the city.

YOUTH LEADERS FOR LITERACY AWARDS

For the fifth year, Youth Leaders for Literacy, the National Education Association (NEA) and Youth Service America encouraged, celebrated, and honored youth-led reading-related service projects. We awarded 20 grants of $500 each to applicants who conducted literacy service projects during a seven-week period starting in March (Read Across America Day) and culminating on N & GYSD. Availability of the grants and grantees were profiled multiple times in NEA Today (circulation: 2.7 million). Winners included: High school students from HEARTS (Helping Every Achiever Read to Success), a literacy program developed and directed by a student, integrated culinary arts with literacy in an innovative and creative approach to reading. The project targeted at-risk, low-income children in grades three and under. Each week, the teens visited schools, boys and girls clubs, and a homeless shelter to read, initiate discussions, make snacks and complete culinary activities related to the books. At the end, the kids became C.O.O.K.S. (Children On a Mission to Output Literacy Skills for Kitchen Success). Participants walked away with a chef's hat, apron, and other prizes. The project made your mouth water and enticed children to become lifelong readersnever quenching their thirst for knowledge. Eugenia, a 21-year-old college sophomore, used her Youth Leaders for Literacy Grant to help at-risk students who struggle with basic reading. Her project featured five weekly creative writing workshops at DC WritersCorps. Students between 13 and 17 participated in local readings, poetry competitions, and cultural activities and created their own anthologies. The teens received rigorous creative writing training and wrote, edited, published, and read their writings. Solomon wanted teens to walk away from the program with a better sense of self, vocabulary and a better outlook on writing and literature.

Family, Career and Community Leaders of America Chapter, Newsome High School, Lithia, Florida

Eugenia Solomon, Washington, DC

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Kayla Tucker, Rhode Island

Kayla, 14 years old, promoted literacy and taught elementary and high school students about the Asian culture. Her eight-week plan included a sit-down with an author. The older kids drew manga books and dressed like manga characters. Manga is the Japanese word for comic book. Others participated in a workshop with a renowned Japanese storyteller to hear folk tales, learn how to tell stories and learn how to inspire others. Students read Kamishibai cards to children at local day care centers. Kamishibai cards are part of a tradition on long, Asian picture storytelling. High school students also read, discussed, and interpreted works by Chinese philosopher Confucius.

YSA YOUTH VENTURERS

The YSA Youth Venture program is a partnership between Youth Venture, Inc. and Youth Service America designed to help youth between the ages of 12 and 20, create sustainable, youth-led-and-run, social entrepreneurships. YSA Youth Venture teams engage the community, media, and elected officials, and participate in National & Global Youth Service Day to create large scale social change. Just over two years after its launch, YSA Youth Venture has helped over 100 sustainable YSA Youth Venture teamsover 300 young leadersmake every day National & Global Youth Service Day! For National & Global Youth Service Day 2006, Youth Venture awarded $24,000 in seed funding to 41 YSA Youth Venture teams. This year, 67 YSA Youth Venture teams (old and new) participated in National & Global Youth Service Day 2006. Below are a few examples of what YSA Youth Venture teams did for N & GYSD 2006:

Write-Share-Learn-Care in New York focuses on raising international awareness among elementary school students through fostering pen-pal relationships between the children of an orphanage in Balagurukulam, India and students in their community. For National & Global Youth Service Day 2006, the group hosted a collection of backpacks and other toys in their school area. All items collected will be sent to Balagurukulam, India to an orphanage they support, along with Tamil-English dictionaries, to jumpstart their pen-pal program between the orphanage and schools in the Scarsdale, NY area. They also held a bake sale to raise funds for their venture. The Kansas City Wall of Fame and Shame in Missouri works to change how retailers perceive youth. For National & Global Youth Service Day 2006, the Kansas City Wall of Fame and Shame held a very successful press conference that targeted businesses that display inappropriate clothing and other itemsproducts that are laden with alcoholic drinks, sexual slogans, or boththat are marketed directly to Kansas City area youth. Photographs, clothing, and other items were on display for the media and community members to see. Springing Into Reading and Writing in Washington, DC seeks to inspire and encourage underprivileged youth in the Washington, DC area to stay in school by building a long-term relationship that encourages lifelong learning. For National & Global Youth Service Day 2006, Springing Into Reading and Writing held a workshop with 4th and 6th grade students at the Academy of Learning and Teaching the Arts to help train them on how to work with children when teaching them how to read and write. The students also got together to write comforting letters and cards to children in hospitals, homeless individuals, and U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

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J-Serve Grants
J-Serve 2006 was the second annual North American day of service for Jewish teens, which corresponded with National & Global Youth Service Day. Over 5,000 youth participated in 50 service projects throughout the United States. This year J-Serve offered Jewish teens in both the U. S. and Canada a way to get involved in service to their local communities. As part of J-Serve 2006, ten community organizations received $2,500 grants for local area initiatives in a highly competitive grants program.

Service For Peace Grants

Service For Peace, an organization that deepens cooperation between diverse groups, communities, and the world leading to lasting change, conducted over 70 projects worldwide that mobilized over 3,300 volunteers in over 20 countries. Sixteen projects in the U.S. and around the world received grants totaling over $10,000. In Jerusalem, youth beautified an area that has suffered several suicide bombings in recent years. In the Ukraine, youth marked the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster by leading a variety of environmental projects. In Selma, AL, youth from 5 different cities assisted in the implementation of a health fair.

National Crime Prevention Council

The National Crime Prevention Council (creators of McGruff, the crime-fighting dog) awarded 100 grants of up to $500 through its Teens, Crime, and Community Initiative. The grants supported service-learning projects planned and implemented by youth who identify needs and create projects to address or prevent crime, violence, and drug abuse in their schools and communities. These grants are intended to encourage and promote crime prevention, community service, and civic responsibility.

GRANTS SPONSORED BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE & PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS

As part of our expanding partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), OJJDP encouraged four of its grantees to give grants for N & GYSD.

Youth Court Awards

Youth Court, a program of the U.S. Department of Justice, is a juvenile justice diversion program in which youth offenders are judged by their peers, rather than by adults. Youth volunteers serve as judges, defense and prosecuting attorneys, bailiffs, clerks, and jurors. Youth Court has developed an effective approach that provides early intervention and prevention, a means for educating youth on the legal and judicial system, and an avenue for building ties between youth and the community. The National Youth Court Center awarded 78 mini-grants of $250 to local Youth Court programs to support N & GYSD projects. Fifteen of the mini-grants were designated to fund projects related to traffic safety issues, especially underage drinking.

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Winners included: In New Ulm, MN, the Brown County Teen Court put 400 brochures on the dangers of underage drinking in prom packets.

In Columbia, SC, the Alcorn Middle School Youth Court purchased childrens books to donate to a homeless shelter and spent the day reading to kids at the shelter. In Syracuse, UT, youth court participants trained volunteers on planting trees in a new park.

YOUTH FOR JUSTICE

Over 10,000 students in 32 states participated in the Third Annual Youth for Justice National Teach-In, led by the Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF) and The Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago (CRFC). Middle and high school classes across the nation participated in peer-to-peer learning on themes such as security, justice, liberty, and equality in coordination with N & GYSD. 97 classes received grants of $150 each to develop and implement lessons. Issues addressed included teen curfews, privacy on the internet, equal protection under the law, and the use of torture on terrorism suspects.

FAMILY, CAREER, AND COMMUNITY LEADERS OF AMERICA, INC. (FCCLA)

FCCLA and FCCLA STOP the Violence supported National & Global Youth Service Day by offering 25 grants of $200 each to FCCLA local chapters to support STOP the Violence projects. Winners included the Caney, OK FCCLA chapter, where students used a service-learning approach to violence prevention by training their peers, faculty, and community members. They utilized speakers, films, and surveys to address topics such as dating violence, domestic violence, and physical, emotional, verbal, and sexual abuse.

PHI ALPHA DELTA

The Phi Alpha Delta Public Service Center sponsored 75 mini-grants of $200 for pre-law and law school chapters to support projects focused on violence prevention.

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MATERIALS
YSA made quality materials available to individuals and organizations planning N & GYSD projects, including: N & GYSD Planning Tool Kit (available in English and Spanish); N & GYSD Service-Learning Curriculum Guide (available in English and Spanish) Classroom Posters (available in English and Spanish) Issue-Specific Service-Learning Curriculum Modules Brochures Tip Sheets Advocate for Youth Service Online Advocacy Tool Project Plan-It! Public Service Announcements (radio and TV), and N & GYSD Promotional Materials (T-shirts, pens, pencils, buttons).

projects, recruit volunteers, generate media attention, raise funds, and more. YSA distributed 20,000 printed copies of the Tool Kit to organizations nationwide, including schools, universities, religious congregations, youth organizations, and mayors and governors offices. Additionally, over 31,000 copies were downloaded from the website. Some of respondents comments about the Tool Kit included:

N & GYSD Planning Tool Kit (51,000+ copies) This comprehensive guide helps youth and adults plan

They were so easy to use and very helpful. I shared my Planning Toolkit with 14 teachers in my schools. I encouraged them to conduct service projects as a means to enhance their curriculums and to have their students engaged in experiential, meaningful, and service related activities. The entire guide was great! It helped so much to have a detailed arrangement of how to execute an effective event. The various web addresses were of benefit. I could see putting in more of those. I appreciated the long list of potential topics for service-learning projects.

51,000+ copies of the N & GYSD Planning Took Kit were distributed in 2006.

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N & GYSD Service-Learning Curriculum Guides (45,000+ copies) This eight-lesson curriculum guide helps develop students project management skills while planning projects for National & Global Youth Service Day. This Guide is appropriate for educators, students, and community leaders. These guides were very popular and will continue as an important resource to extend N & GYSDs impact through service-learning. YSA distributed 20,000 printed copies; another 25,000 copies were downloaded from the website.
A sample of comments about the Curriculum Guides include:

Anything that has to do with service-learning is helpful to me. Working with guidance counselors and service-learning coordinators, I have learned that every school is different in the way they want to incorporate service-learning. Also, explaining to youth volunteers that what theyre doing can be attached to a resume always excites them. The service-learning curriculum guide was helpful in defining service-learning to the exhibitors and the media. N & GYSD Classroom Posters (33,000 copies) These popular service-learning posters feature student
and teacher activity sheets on the back for copy and dissemination. By popular demand, YSA translated the classroom poster into Spanish (front side only) and made it available for download from the N & GYSD website. YSA distributed 30,000 printed copies; another 3,000+ copies were downloaded from the website.

Here are some comments about the poster: Helped to encourage participation among students. Made service-learning something to think about

on a daily basis. Visually motivating to sign up volunteers. LOVED the posters!

We used the poster to generate enthusiasm for National & Global Youth Service Day. It was displayed in the school's entrance.

33,000+ copies of the N & GYSD Poster were distributed in 2006.

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Issue-Specific Service-Learning Curriculum Modules (10,000 copies) YSA recognizes that several issues are among the most commonly addressed through service every year. For this reason, we have developed six online issue-specific service-learning curriculum modules, with links to statistics, recommended reading, service-learning curricula, ongoing initiatives, reflection activities, and more. These guides address: hunger andhomelessness; the environment; older youth working with younger children (includes mentoring, literacy, etc.); youth working with senior citizens and veterans; and our newest modules: healthy lifestyles and stopping youth violence. The issue specific learning module provided ideas and information on planning successful projects. The module gave statistics, information and other resources that will be helpful in planning our project. Excellent information that is easy to follow for students too. Tip Sheets Tip Sheets are a collection of short, useful bits of information that program directors and young people and adults can easily use to strengthen their program's effectiveness, sustainability and scale. Responses include: Things I would not have thought of. Helped keep us organized. We found it to be helpful in giving us ideas on how to implement our project. Kept me focused and directed me where to go next. Civic Engagement Resources - For the second year, YSA has complemented civic engagement resources through CapWiz, an electronic advocacy tool that resides on YSAs website. Users can find their elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as members of the media and candidates, and send them personalized invitations. They can also take action on various legislative and policy issues related to service and service-learning in the alerts section. A few comments regarding this online tool: It was very useful as one of the elected officials offices returned our message within 24 hours, much faster than he has ever gotten back to us before when we have sent letters in the mail. It was quick and easy and we did get a response from our legislators. I used this tool to help locate the media. This was very helpful because the numbers were right at my fingertips and I didn't have to go searching for them.

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Public Service Announcements

YSA greatly expanded the number of tools on the N & GYSD website this year. Some of the most popular tools were downloadable radio and television public service announcements that participants could take to their local stations. This 30-second television PSA invites young people to join millions of their peers on National & Global Youth Service Day in service to their communities. The talent for this PSA is Raven Symon, star of Lifetime Televisions For One Night movie and Disney Channels Thats So Raven show. It was written and filmed by Lifetime Television. The 30- and 60-second audio PSAs invite young people to do service on National & Global Youth Service Day. The first 30-second PSA is by Raven Symon and the other two are by ABC News Radio Correspondent Doug Limerick.

Promotional Materials
T-shirts and buttons were available for purchase, and distributed by YSA at conferences, workshops, etc. This year we also made pencils and pens available to project planners for purchase at a modest fee.

N & GYSD television PSA starring Raven Symon.

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PROJECT PLANNERS SPEAK OUT

YSA is committed to measuring progress and continually improving N & GYSD and its other programs. To this end, we encourage project planners to complete an online evaluation, which assesses the quantitative and qualitative impacts of their N & GYSD project, and gathers feedback for YSA on how to improve the planning resources and tools we make available for N & GYSD. This input is helpful in enabling us to measure progress toward our Theory of Change: IF we increase the quality and quantity of opportunities for youth to serve, learn, and lead by convening the field, offering incentives, educating the public, and developing and disseminating knowledge tools, THEN we create a culture in which youth are engaged citizens. The remainder of this section summarizes key findings from the evaluations we received.

Volunteers
Respondents were asked how many hours the average volunteer served including time involved in project planning, project completion, project evaluation, reflection, and follow-up. This year, the increase in average hours per volunteer is 50%, indicating that volunteers are investing more time and resources in their projects. This dramatic increase could be a result of the increased participation in service-learningthis year, 80% of N & GYSD projects were service-learning projects, compared to 50% last year.

Organizations engaged an average of 104 volunteers. More than of the volunteers were youth, with 77% youth and 23% adult volunteers. Organizations reported an overall increase in participation from youth of all ages compared to 2005, with 52% engaging youth under 12 years old, 79% engaging youth ages 13-18, and 32% engaging youth ages 19-25 years old. 58% of participants were girls and 41% were boys (adds to 99% due to rounding error). 61% of respondents were first-year N & GYSD participants

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Ethnic Breakdown of N & GYSD Volunteers

Community Type of N & GYSD Volunteers Rural 23%

Asian-American 6% Other 10% Latino 16%

Native American 2%

CaucasianAmerican 46% AfricanAmerican 20%

Suburban 41%

Urban 36%

Service Projects

When asked how many N & GYSD projects or activities the respondent or their organization carried out this year, 58% answered one; 26% answered two to four; and 14% answered five or more. 23% of survey respondents collaborated with partner events such as Earth Day, National Days of Interfaith Youth Service (NDIYS), National Environmental Education Week, and National Wildlife Week. Top 20 Most Common Project Types & Themes 11. Disaster Prevention/Relief 1. Children & Youth 2. Environment/Recycling 12. Elderly Services 3. Community Development 13. Blood Drive 4. Arts & Culture 14. Mentoring 5. School Activities 15. Hunger 6. Special Events 16. Katrina Hurricane 7. Animals 17. Housing & Homelessness 8. Literacy/Tutoring/Education 18. Health & Medicine 9. Civic Action/Advocacy/Politics 19. People with Disabilities 10. Parks/Recreation/Sports 20. Race/Ethnic Issues As further proof of the impact of youth development and service-learning on N & GYSD projects, most of the projects involved youth in at least one aspect of decision-making related to the project. For the great majority of N & GYSD 2006 projects, youth were instrumental in designing (71%), selecting (72%), and evaluating (61%) their service projects.
Youth Participation in Decision-Making
% of Projects 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 73% 72% 71% 61% 51%

Specific Project Role

Selecting the Project

Designing the Project Youth Roles

Evaluating the Project

Researching the Issue

**In the graph above, the category Specific Project Role could include contacting media, taking pictures, developing budgets, fundraising, securing in-kind donations, reaching out to media/elected officials, obtaining permits, etc.

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An exciting aspect of N & GYSD projects includes the opportunities for youth to assume leadership roles and have influence with adults and peers in their community. Often times, as part of their service project, youth utilize their talents and strengths to pass on to younger youth. Some examples of this are:

Young Hmong volunteers of the Hmong Womens Heritage Association in Sacramento, CA played a crucial part in creating and implementing a service project for the first time on N & GYSD. Throughout the year, youth learned about literacy, including why and how it affects the Hmong community and their lives. Students organized a book drive that collected over 400 books, which they gave out to over 75 students. After their experience, supported by the Disney Minnie Grant, the volunteers are planning future literacy projects. 6th grade students from Matoaca Middle School in Colonial Heights, VA took ownership of their learning for their Constitutional Rights Foundation National Teach-In Grant winning project, which involved teaching other 6th graders about the challenges of equal education for children across the globe. Inspired by what they had learned, the students also raised $200 to donate to a program to help children in lesser developed countries attend school. A teacher from Town Center Elementary in Coppell, TX observes, One of our usually shy 2nd graders was the first teacher to arrive at his station, because his 4th grade helper was late in arriving. When the first group came, the 2nd grader, still by himself, started teaching about his topic. The student held the groups attention and was quite knowledgeable. When it was over, I complimented him and he said, My teacher says I'm a leader! A student group from the University of California, San Diego took their passion for organ donation to scale on N & GYSD. Students of Organ Donation facilitated classroom discussions and provided materials so that teachers could incorporate organ donation information into the California State Standards for Education. Thanks to their efforts, the group reached over 2,000 people about the possibility of organ donation, and signed up 200 people to become organ donors and encouraged countless others to discuss with their love ones what their wishes would be at death.

Skills and Knowledge Gained During N & GYSD

Participants were asked specific skills and knowledge that youth developed through their involvement in N & GYSD projects. Based on their responses, participation in N & GYSD can clearly be a vehicle for preparing young people for working in the new century. Below is a sampling of responses:

Aided by the Hurricane Relief Community Service Grant and the Youth Court Grant, Peer Assistant Leaders in New Orleans, LA, increased their understanding of the many psychological problems related to Hurricane Katrina as they counseled middle school students. To prepare for their benefit concert for the homeless of Los Angeles County, students from Palos Verdes High School in Palos Verdes, CA developed important skills relating to planning a large event. Students improved their organization, research, public relations, and logistical skills by learning details about insurance, fire protection, crowd control, and other safety issues, soliciting the participation of sponsors and bands, and publicizing the concert. Participants in the Prom Wishes project of Sperry, OK exercised business and marketing skills by writing a business plan, producing a flyer and brochure, learning layout and graphic design, staying within a budget, writing board meeting agendas, preparing income and expense sheets, logging and counting in-kind donations, taking inventory, and performing alterations on prom dresses. Navajo students at the Disney Minnie Grant winning STAR School in Flagstaff, AZ used mathematical skills to plan and measure the structures built at a local sheep camp. The students also learned practical skills in caring for sheep and lambs and the importance of the animals to the Navajo ranchers that still maintain flocks as a source of mutton and wool. Other Navajo students who live within reach of power lines learned how to perform work without benefit of this source of power most Americans take for granted.

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Students in the Southern Hills after-school program worked with their friends from DakotAbilitesa Sioux Falls organization that serves adults with disabilitiesto plant an edible garden.

Changes in Behavior of N & GYSD Participants

In a similar effort to capture long-term change in behavior, YSA asked respondents that had also participated in N &GYSD 2005 to describe any long-term changes observed in the behavior of youth participating or the communitys perception of youth over the past year. The following is a sample of their responses:

The students just assume now that they can effect changes in the community, and don't hesitate to share new ideas with community leaders. ~ Wetlands Education Team, Chesterland, OH Students are more aware of their environment and the needs of community members and are already coming up with ideas for next year's service events. Unfortunately, our students are generally not supported by their parents in the service-learning process, but their lack of involvement has not stopped our students. They have often arranged their own rides to weekend events, and have demonstrated for the most part that nothing can stop them when their heart is involved. ~ STAR School, Disney Minnie Grantee Flagstaff, AZ The youth have developed an understanding of the concept of service-learning and a desire to participate in service-learning activities. They can now identify the differences between service-learning activities and general activities. As a result of this project, city hall will provide an outstanding service award to one of our students at our 8th grade graduation. Also, the school has decided to make service-learning a permanent course for the 8th graders. ~ St. Mary's Collinwood, Cleveland, OH We have had numerous students over the years that continue their volunteering after this experience. We have also had students who have gone into the careers that they experienced on this activity. ~ South Fork
Middle School, Weldon, CA

We worked for the first time with the Japan America Society as they presented one of the Asian Culture Day events. Students have now expressed an interest to volunteer for their events. The President of our college, the students, and the school supervisors all have expressed the desire to make Asian Culture Day an annual event.
~ TransPacific Hawaii College, Honolulu, CA

Our organization has influenced public policy relating to youth; Dr. Willie Adams, Jr., Mayor of Albany, Georgia has already begun to develop a youth advisory committee consisting of youth from local schools throughout the city and county area. The media coverage we received from local television stations WFXL-Fox 31 and WALB-Channel 10 has resulted in numerous calls from parents who want their kids to get involved. We have also been contacted by faith-based organizations to bring our programs to their congregations. ~ Youth in
Action for Healthy Lifestyles Disney Minnie Grantee, Hurricane Relief Community Service Grantee, Albany, GA

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Sample Descriptions of Service-Learning Approaches

The majority of our respondents explained in detail how their N & GYSD projects correlated with servicelearning goals. In 2006, many respondents approached service-learning in unique and practical ways.

To encourage reluctant voters in South Gate, CA to participate in the election process, students from South Gate Middle School researched voting laws, discovered why many potential voters fail to register and many registered voters fail to vote, and used this information to create video public service announcements. Representatives from the county election agency expressed a desire to use their videos in their voter outreach program. Members of the Students in Free Enterprise at Ozarks Technical Community College in Springfield, MO learned about the needs of the clients of their local Center for the Blind and took action, effectively engaging new volunteers to read books for audio recordings, and raising donations for toys, books, and shelving for the Center. Students in the Zanesville High School Chapter of the National Art Education Association in Zanesville, OH used visual art standards to create lesson plans for classes they taught to younger students on N & GYSD. Thanks to their efforts, 100 students in kindergarten through eighth grade came to school for art classes on N & GYSD. In one of the most popular work stations, younger students participated in silk screening their own posters. The entire community of Downs, IL benefited from the completion of an Outdoor Education Trail by TriValley High School students. Students created various learning stations and a symbol key along the trail, which will be used by local middle school students in their Science classes. At Fairwood Elementary School in Sherwood, OH, teachers addressed state-adopted curriculum content standards: Fourth grade students studied economic and production-related topics as they collected items and assembled bags of toiletry items for families who have a loved one transported by air ambulance from a rural hospital to a larger medical facility. 5th grade students met creative writing content standards by preparing written messages that were placed in each bag.

Community Perception of Youth

In an attempt to assess progress toward N & GYSDs third goal of educating the public about the role of youth as leaders and community assets, YSA asked the following question in the evaluation: Please describe any feedback or reactions of community residents or project beneficiaries regarding the youth volunteers and other project aspects. A sample of responses follows:

Mothers told us that they were amazed that teenagers were taking the lead in the program. Before the program, we sent email messages to the parents of the elementary students, informing them about the details of the program. One mother said that when she came to the first meeting, she was surprised to find out that the people who were sending her the emails were teenagers. She assumed that they were adults. GRACE Home School Association, Jenison, MI The mayor couldn't say enough about the importance of student volunteers. ~ Southern Hills OST,
Disney Minnie Grantee, Sioux Falls, SD At the end of the day, a city staff member observed that our fourth graders accomplished much more,

with fewer problems, than various groups they have worked with. We have been invited back to work with the city in future endeavors. ~ Shepardson Elementary School, Disney Minnie Grantee, Fort Collins,
CO

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Project Sustainability
To determine YSAs effectiveness in carrying out N & GYSDs second goal to support youth on a life-long path of service and civic engagement, we asked participants to describe planned follow-up activities, including new initiatives, civic engagement, policy activity, etc. Answers included diverse plans to offer more activities for youth, implement more frequent youth service days, continue programs, and develop youth committees and volunteer networks. A sample of the responses is captured below:

We have gained a basic understanding of the grants process. We intend to have some of our students improve their efforts in the area of soliciting for grants. The participation in the project has influenced some of our students to stay with service-learning. IDEA Public Charter School Military Academy, Washington, DC We are in the process of developing a web site that will allow the City of Cleveland to contact us for ideas on how to implement service-learning projects, to recruit service learning project participants, or to purchase sample service-learning curricula. The web site will be maintained and developed by youth. St. Marys
Collinwood, Cleveland, OH

Participation in National & Global Youth Service Day helped to strengthen the partnership between Ashland Elementary School and Temple Adath Israel. The school and exhibitors found the event so successful that they have indicated that they would like to make the mentoring program and "Science Fun Day" an annual event. As the recently elected President of the Youth Group, I am working to promote a long term commitment.
Temple Adath Israel Youth Group, Lexington, KY

Because of the wonderful help of N & GYSD, this years officers laid the foundation of the American Chemical Society of Students club to continue the "chemistry in the community" project for years to come. With the grant, we were able to purchase necessary scientific supplies and entice more volunteers to help out for next year. The administration at our school has praised our good work and we hope to continue our service work at least twice a year from now on. We have also branched out and have many students, regardless of major in college, that want to volunteer as well. St. Marys University, American Chemical Society of Students, San Antonio, TX
These results and responses provide important evidence that we are achieving our goals as set forth in our Theory of Change. YSA will continue to increase and improve our methods for collecting data.

The Grace Home School Association of Jenison, MI designed interactive games for local home-schooled youth to improve their math skills.

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Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, Chuck Conners, answers students questions as part of the iChat.

STATE FARM NATIONAL & GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY iCHAT

HIGHLIGHTS IN BRIEF

342 Youth and adults attended the State Farm National & Global Youth Service Day iChat. 399 Programs were distributed to participants. 9 Public officials participated and engaged youth during the State Farm N & GYSD iChat. Over 69,000 promotional flyers and emails were distributed. 42% (28,954) of Generation Engage members and email recipients downloaded and viewed the podcast from April 24-28.

NATIONAL & GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY iCHAT

The State Farm National & Global Youth Service Day iChat served as a kick-off for N & GYSD 2006 by engaging young Americans and top civic leaders in a national conversation on the future of rural and urban America; youth service and learning, and opened channels of communication where they may have not existed before. Through Youth Service Americas partnership with Generation Engage, four communitiestwo urban and two ruralwere able to use interactive iChat technology to engage in open dialogue with U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Conners and many other civic leaders. Youth gathered in New York, Ohio, West Virginia and Washington, DC to hear from and ask questions of political figures. The State Farm National & Global Youth Service Day iChat demonstrated how grassroots efforts within local communities, like the organizations that participated in the iChat, can assume national, and even global relevance. The organizations, like Children for Children and Youth Service West Virginia, who participated in the weekend of service and the iChat, invest in young people as the nations most valuable natural resource. The iChat also demonstrated that young people are active and involved citizens that want to affect social change within their communities and around the globe.

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iCHAT PARTNERS AND PROJECTS

Youth Service America was fortunate to partner with 5 outstanding organizations for the State Farm National & Global Youth Service Day iChat. 4 of our 5 partners conducted service projects in conjunction with the iChat. Generation Engages mission is to engage young Americansespecially those without the benefit of a formal college experiencein meaningful, sustained political participation. Generation Engage bypasses candidates, campaigns, and partisan onslaughts, and engages young people at the local level, providing the knowledge, organization, and voice they need to shape the future they will inherit. By using interactive iChat technology, they have been able to bridge the gap between young Americans and political figures. This is the first year that Children for Children has been a Lead Agency for National & Global Youth Service Day, and as a Lead Agency they engaged 5,000 volunteers on the weekend of National & Global Youth Service Day. Their mission is to promote hands-on youth volunteering, create programs which teach the value of community involvement at a young age, and provide resources to underserved schools. Children for Children engaged 220 youth in pre and post-iChat discussion and service projects that created: 230 key chains for Habitat for Humanity; 70 Adopt Me bandanas decorated for the dogs in the care of the ASPCA; 1 Martin Luther King Jr. mural; 6 large fleece blankets made for Project Linus; 45 advocacy letters to elected officials. Youth Service West Virginia is another Lead Agency for National & Global Youth Service Day that is continually involved in youth service and civic engagement. They are dedicated to providing opportunities for the youth of West Virginia to become involved in their community, state, and providing resources for those youth to influence the policies that affect their lives. As part of their overall N & GYSD campaign, after participating in the iChat volunteers visited a local nursing home and engaged in beautification and landscaping projects with the residents. Howard University is a research university dedicated to excellence in education, research, and service by developing leaders in service to the nation and global community. For the iChat Youth Service America partnered with the John H. Johnson School of Communications, Department of Journalism, and the AmeriCorps Jumpstart program. The Jumpstart program engaged over 100 college students on National & Global Youth Service Day in hosting an education fair for 300 preschool children that fostered language skills, literacy, and social skills. Gennifer Davis, coordinated the events for the State Farm National & Global Youth Service Day iChat in Portsmouth, Ohio. Gennifer has also served in the past on Youth Service Americas Youth Council and has been very active in service in her community. Gennifer and her mother, Sharon, led a team of youth and adults in creating a peace park on an empty lot adjacent the Beulah Baptist Church. Volunteers created a memorial brick walkway and gardens that promoted peace and the celebration of African-American heritage and culture.

Flyers like these were used to promote the State Farm National & Global Youth Service Day iChat in New York, Ohio, West Virginia, and Washington, DC.

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iCHAT EVENT REVIEW

iChat Event Schedule
9:00 AM - Opening remarks by Steve Culbertson, President & CEO of Youth Service America and introduction of Adrian Talbott, Executive Director of Generation Engage. 9:10 AM Introductions and remarks from each iChat location.

Gennifer Davis in Ohio with State Representative Todd Book Maggie Jones, Executive Director of Children for Children in New York City with Councilman Eric Gioia and Councilwoman Inez Dickens. Brett White, President & CEO of Youth Service West Virginia with Delegate Charlene Marshall. Adrian Talbott, Executive Director of Generation Engage with Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Conner.

9:30 AM - Questions and Answers 10:00 AM Closing remarks and reading of the Presidential greeting *** Some iChat locations had pre and post chat discussions. Participants in the State Farm National & Global Youth Service Day iChat walked away from the event feeling inspired and engaged. State Representative Todd Book in Ohio encouraged youth to find an issue in your

community that you want to address . . . [then] call your local leaders, send letters to your state leaders, express your concerns and you can make a difference.
In West Virginia, Melanie Ostrander, an N & GYSD volunteer and iChat participant, said, It was a great

experience. It was awesome that we could bring together four locations and listen to elected officials engage young people from around the country.
Students in New York City enjoyed the iChat and expressed some of their favorite parts of the event. Working with other kids. Garret, age 11 Using a global technology to talk with kids around the country. Nikotris, age 16

I liked the fact that we had a new experience. Tatiana, age 15 Giving back to the community. Sharvonne, age 10

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ELECTED OFFICIALS PARTICIPATING IN THE ICHAT

The State Farm National & Global Youth Service Day iChat engaged 9 public officials in open dialogue with youth about service and rural and urban issues. Name of Elected Official Chuck Conner Eric Gioia Inez Dickens Charlene Marshall Todd Book Tom Reiser James D. Kalb Charles Horner David Malone Clarence Parker Position Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Councilmember Councilmember State Delegate State Representative Scioto County Commissioner Mayor Police Chief City Councilman Board of Ed. President Location Washington, DC Queens, NY Bronx, NY West Virginia Ohio Ohio Portsmouth, Ohio Portsmouth, Ohio Portsmouth, Ohio Portsmouth, Ohio

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YOUTH SAVING THE WORLD: ONE SERVICE PROJECT AT A TIME

In the past year, YSA has noticed a trend that heartens us. Increasingly, youth service projects implemented on N & GYSD and throughout the year are focused on issues that deeply affect physical survival and the inherent quality of life of persons around the globe. These special topic service projects address issues that we see in the news every day, such as: disaster relief, famine, womens rights, poverty, and human rights. At a time when the world needs the creativity, energy, and intelligence of youth, YSA aims to support these important projects in every way we can, and challenge youth to take their efforts even one level deeper than they might have planned. Without a doubt, they are responding to the challenge. The following exemplary N & GYSD 2006 projects demonstrate the substance of youth contributions in these areas. The Memory Project Lincoln East High School, Lincoln, NE The Dalai Lama once wrote, Education is much more than a matter of imparting the knowledge and skills by which narrow goals are achieved. It is also about opening the child's eyes to the needs and rights of others. Ms. Dowdings sophomore English class put this idea into practice by leading The Memory Project, designed to provide books for children in northern Uganda living amidst civil war. After studying the elements of fiction and current events in that country, students created and printed over 250 children's books and sent them to the Invisible Children of Uganda. Participating students are now a part of the school's Invisible Children Organization. One student now works with the National Invisible Children Organization (as Ms. Dowding says, This is a big deal!) The students project was video taped and is being considered for inclusion in The Invisible Children film coming out in December 2006 in theaters across America. Youth Service for Improving Indigenous Health (Disney Minnie Grantee) Headwaters Academy, Bozeman, MO In Bozeman, Montana, middle school students from Headwaters Academy researched third world health issues, purchased basic medical supplies, and traveled to Norogachi, Mexico (population of 300), where they donated the supplies on N & GYSD. The trip supplemented their classroom Spanish instruction. Students researched medical conditions in developing countries, and developed a budget for purchasing medical supplies. Once in Mexico, students presented supplies to a village elder in a ceremony conducted in Spanish, testing their language skills, as the village elder speaks only Spanish. Once the students returned to school, they reflected on their experiences and disseminated their results to other students and members of the community. Improving Womens Rights (Disney Minnie Grantee) Shughla Ismail, Peshawar, Pakistan Shughla Ismail, a 12-year-old girl from Peshawar, Pakistan, and her friends, used art to display their views on gender discrimination in schools, streets, and even in their own homes. They addressed gender violence (honor killings), male preference, and gaps in health and educationissues that affect young girls and young women. For GYSD, Shughla and her group called on their peers to participate in an art exhibition. Her group of 50 volunteers promoted the event to encourage youth, especially girls ages 10 to 14, to use art to express their perspective on gender discrimination. They encouraged the participation of children with disabilities and lowwealth youth. The district mayor and the minister of Youth Affairs awarded prizes to the three best pieces. Principals of 20 local schools and other public officials also spread the girls perspective on gender discrimination to the general public. To reach a large number of Pakistanis, Shughla and her friends asked 20 media representatives at the Peshawar Press Club to print the prize-winning artwork.

Finally, see the section on YSAs Hurricane Relief and Recovery Community Service Grants for a description of projects that impacted the Gulf Coast.

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Student volunteers in Baghdad, Iraq plant a garden at their school for their Disney Minnie Grant-winning project on GYSD 2006.

GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY

Today we celebrate young peoples work aimed at building a better city, a better society. That is the only way of together building our dreams, it is the way of reducing unemployment, of feeling for others, of defeating crime. Mr. Luis A. Moreno, President of the Inter-American Development Bank
2006 marks the seventh year of Global Youth Service Day, and it clearly has been one of growth, both in scale and quality for the program. Close to 40 organizations have joined the International Coordinating Committee, double the number convened in 2005; these organizations in turn represent thousands of individuals and agencies around the world committed to improving their communities through service and specifically positioning youth at the center of those initiatives. Partners like the US State Departments Educational and Cultural Affairs Bureau Youth Division, the Inter-American Development Bank, UN agencies, Service For Peace, IEARN, Student Partnerships Worldwide, and many others are taking the necessary steps to incorporate GYSD into their annual programming and utilizing it as a strategy to advance their own organizations goals. National and local organizations and individuals in 118 countries formally registered their involvement in Global Youth Service Day 2006 through projects that leveraged the energy and talents of young people to address their communities most pressing needs. For example: 3,500 youth participated in GYSD-related projects which included dental health campaigns, sexual and reproductive health education for deaf students, anti-bullying workshops, information campaigns about upcoming Constitutional amendments, youth leadership development trainings and workshops on entrepreneurship. 90 volunteers participated in projects in several schools in Baghdad. Students in a Primary school held a fair to exhibit their paintings representing their thoughts and wishes for a better future. Students from two secondary schools carried out cleaning and planting projects, and training other students on environmental awareness, the spirit of volunteerism and youth empowerment.

Bolivia

Iraq

Jordan

More than 175 youth living in the two largest refugee camps in Amman, Jordan participated in Jordans FIRST Global Youth Service Day under the theme Ana MujtamaeeMujtamaee Ana (I am My Community-My Community is Me.) Managed by eight strong student leaders and the guidance of trainers from ReliefInternational-Schools Online, students painted over graffiti on the school walls, cleaned classrooms, and drew murals to hang in corridors. Boys and girls visited an orphanage and a special needs center to help with cleaning and maintenance work and entertained the children with games and gifts. Young volunteers entered houses to paint the walls a fresh white and provided cleaning and repairs to very low-income families. Young people prepared food for lunch and cleaned and decorated their community center for the big closing celebration. As a result of the high energy and excitement from this event, a new community service club is in the beginning stages of forming in each community center.

Russia

700,000 volunteers including 350,000 young people participated in Global Youth Service Day during Russian Spring Week (April 21 to 29). This represented an increase of 23% over the volunteer participation in 2005. Thanks to support from Disney, project organizers distributed promotional materials for the activities which took place in 34 Russian regions under the slogan Together We Create a Future. Projects included neighborhood clean-up and beautification campaigns, clothes, toy, book and food drives, visits to orphanages, veterans, and the elderly, charitable concerts, competitions, roundtables, and seminars on socially important issues.

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Trained youth volunteers from the Hoi An Orphanage in Vietnam hosted a special literacy event at this Ho Chi Minh City communitys only free public library as part of their Disney Minnie Grant-winning project.

Projects included setting up a youth library for children from the Hoi An orphanage and Street Center, and teaching the children how to repair, care for, and circulate books. Another project was a one-on-one reading event during which youth were trained in storytelling techniques, which they applied through a service-learning model in reading sessions with physically able and handicapped children from poor communities. The youth continue to apply these skills as they volunteer weekly in the library. Many national and local government representatives were actively involved in the activities. In Brazil, President Lula again expressed his support for GYSD in an official statement. In countries like Bangladesh, Malawi, Mongolia, Russia, Turkey and many others, several ministers at the highest government levelForeign Affairs, Youth, Sports and Cultureand Members of Parliament were involved in the celebrations. Many local government representatives could be seen out in their communities, getting personally involved in service projects along with volunteers. US embassy representatives, UNICEF country directors, and executives of international volunteer organizations such as IAVE were also present lending their support to volunteers. In Moldova, for example, the US embassy representative encouraged youth to continue their commitment to service: You, the ones that are present here, are the revolutionary power for making your community a better place. The issues the projects addressed were as varied as the communities where activities took place; however, the Millennium Development Goals and disaster relief initiatives to aid tsunami victims offered a focus to many of the activities implemented around the world.

Vietnam

Global Youth Leadership and Service Program

The Global Youth Leadership and Service (GYLS) program-sponsored by the United States State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs-Youth Division seeks to build the capacity of exchange students participating in the program to become stronger leaders in their communities through service-learning and civic participation. As part of the program, 50 exchange students from Eastern Europe, Muslim countries, and Germany attended the 2005 National Service Learning Conference, organized service projects in their host communities in the United States for National & Global Youth Service Day 2005, and now back in their home countries organized service projects for Global Youth Service Day 2006 applying the skills they acquired through this experience. The three examples below highlight the impact the GYLS program had on these students and their communities:

Afghanistan: Exchange students Eshaaq Mohtasebzadah and Selahaddin Ibrahimy, engaged and trained ten of their friends in organizing A Happy Day for Orphans, with sponsorship from American Councils in Kabul. Selahaddin says: We ourselves had so much fun, and the people that we trained were really happy because it was the first time they volunteered. This all day event offered orphan children in Herat province a day full of art activities, a scavenger hunt, a general knowledge contest, sports and dance, and of course prizes and refreshments. Four hundred children benefited from this service project. Russian Federation: Maria Semina organized an HIV/AIDS presentation at her school. To prepare for the presentation, Maria and five other student volunteers contacted health experts, doctors, and local authorities to gain more information about the subject. They then educated their fellow students about HIV/AIDS issues and prevention. The whole team had an unforgettable experience being together. For some people it was the first experience to be a volunteer, so I believe it was a good start for them. Pakistan: Seven girls ages 16 to 18 led by exchange student Farida Karim Chagan and supported by IEARN, organized fun activities for children and adults with mental and physical disabilities. The young volunteers engaged participants in art activities, blowing up balloons, playing with balls, and making kits. The audience enjoyed coloring and face painting the most, says Farida. We all learned that small acts of kindness might not cost us anything, but might be a whole world to someone else.

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OTHER YOUTH SERVICE AMERICA ACCOMPLISHMENTS

While this report is intended to focus on the results of National & Global Youth Service Day, we would like to share some of the other accomplishments YSA has achieved during this period. A sampling of these activities is summarized here according to YSAs four core strategies: public policy and public awareness campaigns; knowledge tools and resources; grants, awards, and incentives; and convening the field.

PUBLIC POLICY AND PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS

President Bush Recognizes Two YSA Youth Council Members With Presidents Volunteer Service Award In October 2005 and June 2006 President George W. Bush presented the President's Volunteer Service Award to Eleuterio "Junior" Salazar of Bradenton, Florida in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House and Patricia Ortiz of Albuquerque, NM as he disembarked Air Force One while visiting New Mexico. The White House ceremony, part of a White House celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, was attended by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez. Salazar, a high school senior, served on the YSA Board of Directors and the National Youth Council of Youth Service America. He is also a volunteer with ManaTEEN, Florida's largest youth service program and founder of their Multi-Cultural Council. Patricia was an official greeter of President Bush on his June 16, 2006 visit to New Mexico. She received her award at the foot of Air Force Ones stairs as she welcomed the President to her home state. As a 20-year-old student at the University of New Mexico, Patricia volunteers hundreds of hours with the University of New Mexico Hospital and Miners Colfax Medical center. She also serves as the Youth Representative for the American Cancer Society Relay for life. YSA Organizes Service-Learning Field Meeting with the Editorial Board of the Philadelphia Inquirer As the National Service-Learning Conference convened in Philadelphia, PA, Youth Service America, the National Youth Leadership Council, the National Service-Learning Partnership, and State Farm Companies Foundation all met with the editorial board of the Philadelphia Inquirer to discuss the state of service-learning in the United States. Youth Service America organized this meeting because it was the perfect opportunity to leverage the fact that 3,000 service-learning student, teacher, community practitioners, policy-makers, and others were gathering in Philadelphia at the conference. Pennsylvania is also the home state of U.S. Senator Arlen Specter the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Service, Education, & Related Agencies the committee that oversees the budget for the Corporation for National & Community Service and therefore Learn and Service America. YSA will continue to lead such communications efforts related to service-learning.

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YSA Working Group Focused on Court Mandated Community Service Affects Work of Juvenile Justice System
Steve Culbertson, YSA President & CEO, often tells the story of a group of fifth grade students from North Carolina that he engaged in conversation about community service. When he asked them if they volunteer they responded, Oh, no sir, we never get in trouble. The experience triggered quite a discussion at Youth Service America and resulted in a lively Working Group around the subject of service as punishment. We brought in judges, youth development leaders, and the Department of Justice. The Working Group began a very strong relationship, funding and otherwise, between the Department of Justice and Youth Service America. A recent article by one of our national partners, The Constitutional Rights Foundation, cited that 2002 Working group as the impetus for a major shift on how the U.S. Department of Justice will encourage its programs to apply principles of service-learning to mandated community service for youth offenders to reduce recidivism. Community service-learning will use service-learning to deepen the benefits of mandated service to the youth offenders and the community, and form partnerships to encourage youth civic engagement. This initiative has the potential to positively impact the service experiences of millions of Americans.

KNOWLEDGE TOOLS AND RESOURCES

YSA Provides Young People with Tools and Resources to Support Disaster Relief Efforts
When last falls natural disasters impacted the world, Youth Service America supported young people that wanted to aid in the relief efforts. YSA offered a list of organizations that were mobilizing to provide relief, project planning tools, and other resources. These were strategically offered to help young people think through the steps needed to plan and implement a successful community service project that could help limit the impact to the hurricane and earthquake victims. To continue their support beyond their individual project, we also invited young people to educate others about the magnitude of the natural disasters, encouraged all youth volunteers to register for one or more of the 34 skills in the Talent Bank located at www.SERVEnet.org, and encouraged them to engage their peers, elected officials, and the media in order to inspire others to help. Youth Service America also served the field and youth as an impromptu clearinghouse for youth performing service projects. We collected and amplified stories of young people contributing to the relief efforts in order to inspire more young people to get involved in service. These stories were pitched to print, broadcast, and online media to huge results in national and local media outlets, like: a cover story in TIME for Kids and large feature stories in the Hartford Courant, Scripts Howard News Service, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Toledo Blade, MTV.com, Nick News TV, Nicknews.com, Associated Press, Philanthropy Journal, Philanthropy News Digest, Connect for Kids, PNNonline, Yahoo News (including Asia Yahoo), Washington Post, Kansas City Star, Philadelphia Inquirer, Spokesman Review, Indiana Post-Tribune, Florida Today, Times Picayune, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Arizona Republic, Tribune Newspapers, NY Newsday, and more. To view some of these articles that highlighted the amazing power of youth that wanted to make a difference in the lives of the victims, please go to: http://www.ysa.org/news_event/news_event.cfm#item3. To view a sampling of the projects, please go to: http://www.ysa.org/News_event/katrina/index.cfm.

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YSA Develops New Tools to Support the Youth Service and Service-Learning Field
Youth Service America is now working with Get Active to distribute The National Service Briefing, Grants Announcements, YSA Quarterly, and our other newsletters. With this service, we are now able to deliver our newsletters more efficiently and offer new tools to make it easier for readers to access service information. After using these tools to analyze how subscribers use these newsletters and emails, we are able to more successfully connect readers with useful tools and resources. In addition, Youth Service America has developed a new YouthMove Michigan website that we hope to recreate in all 50 states. YouthMove is made possible through a partnership between the General Motors Foundation/Volunteer PLUS Program (GM), ConnectMichigan Alliance (in Gov. Granholms office), and the Volunteer Centers of Michigan (VCM). The website provides an engaging place for young people in Michigan to find resources on volunteering and opportunities to volunteer. This partnership demonstrates how national and state advocates for youth service can work with a community-minded corporation to create a new model of civic engagement. In the process, young people will develop job-related skills, solve social problems, and foster relationships with their local communities. YouthMove will launch during the summer of 2006. The grant application form has been thoroughly revised to strengthen its educational value by updating questions on the service-learning approach, reformatting for ease of use, and strengthening guidelines and resources for applicants.

YSA Staff Provide Expertise to the Field

Over the past year, YSA staff has provided the following speeches, workshops, writing, technical assistance, etc. to the service-learning field:

YSAs President and CEO, Steve Culbertson, gave speeches and conducted workshops including: keynoting the closing session of the National Service-Learning Conference, and speaking at the Neighbor Works Conference and the American Teachers of Education Conference. He was also elected to the Board of Directors of the National Service-Learning Partnership and serves on the Steering Committee for the Leaders Circle, a new initiative of several dozen nonprofit organizations to strengthen the institutional growth and support of service-learning. Silvia Golombek, Vice President of Programs, presented a workshop on organizing community service projects from a youth voice perspective at the PAX Academic Exchanges International Conference, a gathering of exchange student cluster directors. She also serves as YSAs liaison to Americas Promises 100 Best Communities advisory group and the National Youth Leadership Councils Growing To Greatness Editorial Board. YSAs Director of Government Relations, Ross Wilson, conducted workshops and presentations on engaging government officials to several audiences, including attendees at the Learn and Serve America grantee training, the National & Global Youth Service Day Lead Agency Training, the J-Serve training, the National Days of Interfaith Youth Service Organizers Training, and a meeting of the Community Research And Learning (CoRAL) Networks Student Engagement and Leadership Fellows. Ross also produced and disseminated to national service advocates a detailed breakdown of current, proposed and past appropriations for the Corporation for National and Community Service.

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YSAs Manager of Communications, Christina Wessell, conducted workshops and presentations on Getting Media Attention to several audiences, including the N & GYSD Lead Agency training, the National Days of Interfaith Youth Service Organizers Training, and the National Service-Learning Conference in Philadelphia, PA. Karen Daniel, Director of National & Global Youth Service Day presented at the America SCORES training for Education Coordinators. America SCORES is the nation's largest literacy, soccer, and community service program serving children in urban public schools. On March 22nd, YSA and a planning team, led by the National Conference on Citizenship, hosted the historic International Conference on Faith and Service, which gathered more than 500 leaders from the fields of religion, community service, academia, and public service. The conference theme of Building Bridges Through Interreligious Dialogue and Youth Civic Engagement promoted collaboration among Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and other faiths, emphasizing common purposes shared by diverse religions and the vital role that religious dialogue and youth service can play in reducing conflict throughout the world. At the conference, more than 40 interfaith youth service projects for National & Global Youth Service Day were announced; 21 of which received a planning grant from the Case Foundation and the United Nations Foundation. YSA and the Interfaith Youth Core led a pre-Summit training for leaders of these projects. Three papers written by Silvia Golombek, YSA's Vice President of Programs, were accepted for publication. These articles included: "From Budget Managers to Advocates: Children as Citizens" in Journal of Community Practice special issue on Youth Participation in Community Change, "No Boundaries: The Geography of Youth Service" in The Generator, and "National & Global Youth Service Day: A Youth Development Strategy" in the Journal of Youth Development-Bridging Research and Practice. Silvia Golombek also conducted a series of State Department-sponsored presentations, meetings, and a radio program in Chile for NGOs, universities, corporations, and local and national government officials. The general topic for these presentations was: "Sharing the US Experience in Volunteerism." YSA staff members also served in advisory roles to various groups including: Editorial Board for the Growing To Greatness; FILM (Finding Inspiration in Literature and Movies, a project of the National Assembly); Civic Star Award Selection Panel (AASA); Japan Foundation for Global Partnership proposal review; and the planning committee of the 2006 National Service-Learning Conference. YSA conducted numerous meetings, workshops, and presentations, including two meetings with the Minister of Youth and Sports from Iraq and his delegation, the Luncheon Plenary at the International Roundtable preceding the National Conference on Service and Volunteering, and the final plenary of the National Youth Summit 2006.

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GRANTS, AWARDS, AND RECOGNITION

Harris Wofford Award Winners Announced
Youth Service America announced the three winners of the fifth annual Harris Wofford Awards, recognizing one young person, one institution, and one media organization. The awards were presented on March 24, 2006, during the State Farm Awards Luncheon at the 17th annual National Service-Learning Conference. The award winners include Geneva Johnson (youth winner), KIDS Consortium (institutional winner), and Parade Magazine (media winner). Youth Service America created the Harris Wofford Awards in 2001, underwritten by the State Farm Companies Foundation, as a recognition program to honor the life work of Harris Wofford in making service and service-learning the common expectation and common experience of every young person in America. Individual Winner Geneva Johnson (Bronx, New York) Geneva Johnson is a 16-year-old student from Bronx, New York, who among her many accomplishments is also a Youth Venture participant. Wanting to make changes in her community, but unable to find any organizations that provided opportunities for youth participation and involvement; Geneva created Bring It On, a youth-led organization, which creates youth service projects to promote youth leadership, community involvement, and to create change to provide further options and opportunities. As Executive Director, she has volunteered more than 800 hours and has raised more than $25,000; also creating partnerships with other nonprofit organizations in the area to sponsor events that impact and engage youth. Institutional Winner KIDS [Kids Involved Doing Service] Consortium (Lewiston, ME) For more than 10 years, the KIDS (Kids Involved Doing Service) Consortium has been working closely with school districts across New England to make service-learning an integral part of academic life. KIDS as Planners began around 1990 as part of a state-level program requiring all of Maines cities and towns to prepare plans for the future on a wide range of civic issues, including capital improvements, protection of natural resources, transportation policies, and affordable housing needs. KIDS was created as a process to involve young people in the development and implementation of these plans. By using the town as text, and engaging students in local planning efforts, education grew beyond the confines of the classroom, and to date more than 50,000 students having participated in KIDS projects. Media Winner Parade Magazine (National) As the largest publication in the United States with a weekly circulation of 35 million copies, and media partner for National & Global Youth Service Day, Parade Magazine lends its unparalleled outreach to help build awareness about the positive contributions youth make to their communities. Widely recognized as one of Americas most creative talents, PARADE Editor Lee Kravitz, brings his broad range of experience in newspapers, magazines, books and the Internet to the publication. Most recently, Kravitz was founding editor of react, Parade Publications' news and entertainment magazine for teenagers, which reached a circulation of 3 million in 225 newspapers and established one of the most popular teen destinations on the Internet. An honors graduate of Yale University, Kravitz also earned his Masters Degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He currently serves on the boards of National History Day and Youth Service America, and is also the President of Youth Communications Inc., a non-profit publisher of teen writing.

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CONVENING THE FIELD

National Youth Council Activities
After months of planning, Youth Service Americas National Youth Council adopted a new set of by-laws and a new vision on March 25th, 2006. Working with YSA staff, the National Youth Council, with much enthusiasm, has restructured and is adopting a model of full youth and adult partnership as they work with YSA. The new youth council will be comprised of 12 youth from across the country representing diverse viewpoints coupled with extensive community service experience. The National Youth Council will become integrated as full partners in YSAs organizational structure. Recent activities included presenting at the National Service Learning Conference in Philadelphia, PA, electing a new youth leadership team, electing 2 new youth council members, and participating in National & Global Youth Service Day. Over the next year, the National Youth Council will document its restructuring efforts in order to compile best practices and create an effective model, which it can share with the field.

YSA Convenes Field to Discuss Effective Strategies for Engaging Foster Care Youth in Community Service
Youth Service Americas (YSA) Working Group on National and Community Service convened to discuss and develop effective strategies for engaging foster care youth in community service. Foster care youth are a tremendous untapped community resource who are often viewed as recipients of social services rather than community assets and resources. Participating panelists included: Steven A. Culbertson, President & CEO, Youth Service America (Panel Moderator); Robin Nixon, Director, National Foster Care Coalition; Dorothy Stoneman, President & Founder, YouthBuild USA; Merlene Mazyck, Director, AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps; and Shanika Feggins, Former Student, Latin American Youth Center YouthBuild Public Charter School; William Brown, participant in the Venice YouthBuild; and Melanise Benton, participant in the Allendale YouthBuild. For more information about the gathering please contact Robert Bisi at rbisi@ysa.org.

YSA Leadership at the 2006 National Service-Learning Conference in Philadelphia

Once again, Youth Service America actively joined the National Youth Leadership Council to support its efforts to organize and implement the National Service-Learning Conference. YSA staff and Youth Council served in multiple roles to help organize the conference. Staff and Youth Council members developed and facilitated workshops, served on the conference management teams, organized youth activities, delivered tools and resources through our exhibit hall booth, and closed out the conference with a speech from Steve Culbertson, YSA President & CEO.

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PLANNING FOR NATIONAL & GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAY 2007

Youth Service America appreciates the contributions of our partners and sponsors, which were pivotal in making National & Global Youth Service Day 2006 so successful. For 2007 and beyond, we will continue to stretch the activities and impact of N & GYSD into a year-round campaign, and seek to take existing initiatives to a larger scale. Some of our goals for the coming year include:

Engaging Youth Effectively

Youth across the globe are volunteering at record rates and looking for new ways to become involved in their communities and around the world. To this end, YSA will:

Open up our effective Lead Agency training to other service project planners. A larger and more diverse audience will enable more organizations to share effective practices and provide a valuable asset to the service-learning field. Continue to support youth that are working on the most serious global issues. By continuing to link events in the U.S. and abroad, YSA is encouraging projects that reach across oceans and cultures. Our partnership with the Interfaith Youth Core connects young people of different faiths in building peace through service. New partnerships will allow us to offer grants that help youth address issues such as global warming and pediatric cancer.

Achieving Scale
Many organizations struggle to take their projects and programs to scale to accommodate the amazing energy, commitment, and idealism of young people. YSA will:

Help organizations learn from Lead Agencies that are engaging thousands of youth in city and state-wide events. 2006 witnessed a 430% increase in the number of young people engaged by Lead Agencies. Increasingly, Lead Agencies are engaging 20,000+ volunteers in projects, and keeping those youth involved throughout the year. YSA will seek new ways to help other organizations adapt strategies and replicate successes in their own communities. Engage the media in new partnerships to bring service-learning to scale. YSAs tracked media impressions marked in 98% increase in publicity for service and service-learning. As we continue to seek new media partnerships, we aim to change the culture relating to the role of young people as community leaders and problem solvers.

Neah-Kah-Nie High School students mentor Garibaldi Grade School students in Garibaldi, OR, to apply their language arts skills to writing, illustrating, and editing their own books.

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Developing Inclusivity
Many communities believe in the importance of making service the common expectation and experience of every young person. However, many youth lack the opportunities or may simply not be asked to serve. To address this challenge, we must create inclusivity within programs and organizations. To this end, YSA will:

Continue to develop grant opportunities to engage youth not traditionally asked to serve. Disney has committed to offering grants for young children again next year, the Bubel/Aiken Foundation will once again enable us to offer grants to youth with disabilities, and the Department of Justice is funding grants to engage youth in gangs for the first time. We will seek further opportunities to engage youth in foster care, youth of color, and youth in low-wealth communities and younger children. Continue to engage National Partners in offering grants. We already have a new commitment from the American Red Cross. Develop more materials that can be used by young children and people who speak other languages.

Creating Sustainability
Studies show that youth service builds lifelong civic engagement, philanthropy, self-esteem, empathy, positive social behavior, and academic success. Research has also shown that a semester of service is the ideal timeframe for effective and sustainable service and service-learning projects. YSA will:

Continue to work with partners to link N & GYSD to other events, creating bookends that stretch the duration and impact of service. Continue to develop and promote tools to help youth answer the question, Whats Next? Civic engagement, service-learning, and youth philanthropy all deepen the impact of service and servicelearning for those serving and those being served. We will help young people teach the things they have learned, following the model learningservingteaching.

YSA is very grateful to our partners and sponsors for making National & Global Youth Service Day 2006 so successful. We are eager to hear your ideas for the future of our partnership. We look forward to even bigger and better results of our collaboration in the year to come.

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