Youth Service America
Encyclopedia
Youth Service America, or YSA, is a resource center that partners with thousands of organizations committed to increasing the quality and quantity of volunteer opportunities for young people, ages 5-25, to serve locally, nationally, and globally." YSA has a reputation for supporting and promoting youth voice
, youth service
, and service-learning
through advocacy
, resource sharing, and handing out over $1 million in grants. Steve Culbertson
is the President & CEO.
YSA seeks to improve communities by increasing the number and the diversity of young people serving in important roles. With programs focused on youth ages 5-25, Youth Service America envisions a global culture of engaged young people who are committed to a lifetime of service, learning, leadership, and achievement.
According to research by Independent Sector and Youth Service America (Toppe; Golombek), youth service is a fundamental correlative to lifelong volunteerism and philanthropy as adults. Americans gave $295 billion to charity in 2006, and most of these donors were also volunteers for various health, education, human service, and environmental causes. Surveys show the majority of these generous adults who volunteer actually started the practice as children.
Companies Foundation and PARADE Magazine, Youth Service America organizes Global Youth Service Day, a public education campaign to highlight the amazing contributions that young people make to their communities 365 days of the year. As the largest youth service event in the world and YSA's premier program, it draws together a remarkable consortium of local, regional, national, and international partners. YSA developed the Global Youth Service Day program in 2000 which now takes place in more than 100 countries.
Other programs include:
YSA has also been a long-time partner supporting the National Service Learning Conference
, co-sponsored by the National Youth Leadership Council
.
Youth voice
Youth voice refers to the distinct ideas, opinions, attitudes, knowledge, and actions of young people as a collective body. The term youth voice often groups together a diversity of perspectives and experiences, regardless of backgrounds, identities, and cultural differences...
, youth service
Youth service
Youth service refers to non-military, intensive engagement of young people in organized activity that contributes to the local, national, or world community. Youth service is widely recognized and valued by society, with minimal or no compensation to the server. Youth service also provides...
, and service-learning
Service-learning
Service-learning is a method of teaching, learning and reflecting, frequently youth service, throughout the community. As a teaching method, it falls under the philosophy of experiential education...
through advocacy
Advocacy
Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...
, resource sharing, and handing out over $1 million in grants. Steve Culbertson
Steve Culbertson
Steven Culbertson Steven Culbertson Steven Culbertson (born in Bitburg, Germany is President and Chief Executive Officer of Youth Service America (May 16, 1996—present).-Biography:...
is the President & CEO.
History
Founded in 1986, Youth Service America’s mission is to expand the impact of the youth service movement with families, communities, schools, corporations, and governments.YSA seeks to improve communities by increasing the number and the diversity of young people serving in important roles. With programs focused on youth ages 5-25, Youth Service America envisions a global culture of engaged young people who are committed to a lifetime of service, learning, leadership, and achievement.
According to research by Independent Sector and Youth Service America (Toppe; Golombek), youth service is a fundamental correlative to lifelong volunteerism and philanthropy as adults. Americans gave $295 billion to charity in 2006, and most of these donors were also volunteers for various health, education, human service, and environmental causes. Surveys show the majority of these generous adults who volunteer actually started the practice as children.
Programs
With the support of the State FarmState farm
State farm can refer to:*Sovkhoz, a type of state-owned farm in the Soviet Union*Volkseigenes Gut, a type of state-owned farm in East Germany*Państwowe Gospodarstwo Rolne, a type of state-owned farm in People's Republic of Poland...
Companies Foundation and PARADE Magazine, Youth Service America organizes Global Youth Service Day, a public education campaign to highlight the amazing contributions that young people make to their communities 365 days of the year. As the largest youth service event in the world and YSA's premier program, it draws together a remarkable consortium of local, regional, national, and international partners. YSA developed the Global Youth Service Day program in 2000 which now takes place in more than 100 countries.
Other programs include:
- Technology, such as SERVEnet.org, the nation’s largest database of volunteering opportunities; YouthMove.org to deliver state specific resources to students; YSA.org to support the organization's outreach to partners; and GYSD.org to support Global Youth Service Day;
- MicrofinanceMicrofinanceMicrofinance is the provision of financial services to low-income clients or solidarity lending groups including consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services....
grants that use a teaching application process to encourage hundreds of high quality, measurable, service-learning projects by young people around the world; - Government relations to encourage an ongoing Federal and State investment in national serviceNational serviceNational service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
programs such as AmeriCorpsAmeriCorpsAmeriCorps is a U.S. federal government program that was created under President Bill Clinton by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 and later expanded by 50 percent under President George W. Bush...
and in service-learningService-learningService-learning is a method of teaching, learning and reflecting, frequently youth service, throughout the community. As a teaching method, it falls under the philosophy of experiential education...
programs including Learn & Serve America; - Youth VoiceYouth voiceYouth voice refers to the distinct ideas, opinions, attitudes, knowledge, and actions of young people as a collective body. The term youth voice often groups together a diversity of perspectives and experiences, regardless of backgrounds, identities, and cultural differences...
initiative to help young people influence adults and contribute to policies and problems that affect them; - Communications to spread the word to media about young people as assets and resources.
YSA has also been a long-time partner supporting the National Service Learning Conference
National Service Learning Conference
The National Service-Learning Conference was first held in 1988 to serve as "the largest gathering of youth and practitioners from the service-learning movement" of the United States. The conference is a program of the National Youth Leadership Council, and is co-hosted annually by partner...
, co-sponsored by the National Youth Leadership Council
National Youth Leadership Council
The National Youth Leadership Council, or NYLC, is a national nonprofit organization located in Saint Paul, Minnesota that promotes service-learning in schools and communities across the United States. Founded in 1983 by Dr. James Kielsmeier, NYLC is the host of the annual National Service-Learning...
.
See also
- One World Youth ProjectOne World Youth ProjectOne World Youth Project is a non-profit 501 corporation founded in Massachusetts and currently based in Washington DC. The goal of One World Youth Project is to enhance education towards a more discerning, empathetic and empowered generation of global citizens...
- Youth serviceYouth serviceYouth service refers to non-military, intensive engagement of young people in organized activity that contributes to the local, national, or world community. Youth service is widely recognized and valued by society, with minimal or no compensation to the server. Youth service also provides...
- National serviceNational serviceNational service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
- Community serviceCommunity serviceCommunity service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
- National Service Learning ConferenceNational Service Learning ConferenceThe National Service-Learning Conference was first held in 1988 to serve as "the largest gathering of youth and practitioners from the service-learning movement" of the United States. The conference is a program of the National Youth Leadership Council, and is co-hosted annually by partner...
- Service-learningService-learningService-learning is a method of teaching, learning and reflecting, frequently youth service, throughout the community. As a teaching method, it falls under the philosophy of experiential education...
- Youth activismYouth activismYouth activism is when the youth voice is engaged in community organizing for social change. Around the world, young people are engaged in activism as planners, researchers, teachers, evaluators, social workers, decision-makers, advocates and leading actors in the environmental movement, social...
- Civic engagementCivic engagementCivic engagement or civic participation has been defined as "Individual and collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concern."-Forms:...
- Steve CulbertsonSteve CulbertsonSteven Culbertson Steven Culbertson Steven Culbertson (born in Bitburg, Germany is President and Chief Executive Officer of Youth Service America (May 16, 1996—present).-Biography:...
- List of awards for volunteerism and community service
External links
- Youth Service America website
- SERVEnet website
- Global Youth Service Day website
- YouthMove website
- Global Youth Action Network website
- Taking It Global website
- I Matter in Park website