Everyday Young Hero Awards

BDPA has some great young people working with us in our 45 local BDPA chapters around the nation. BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) wants to encourage BDPA leaders to participate in the Everyday Young Hero Award program!

Awarded weekly to a young person from around the world who exemplifies an extraordinary commitment to service, the Everyday Young Hero Award program is open to youth ages 5-25. Nominations must come from a parent, teacher or other adult mentor.

Winners are announced on the Youth Service America website and showcased within its social media outlets. Everyday Young Heroes also receive a certificate, award and press release.

Nominate a young person you know to be recognized as an Everyday Young Hero!

STEMester of Service Grants for Middle Schools

Contingent on federal funding, Youth Service America (YSA) will implement a program to support middle school teachers and service-learning coordinators to strengthen their classroom practices through service-learning. The grant targets students from disadvantaged circumstances in states with the highest drop out rates in the nation - Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, and Washington.

STEMester of Service engages middle school youth in science and technology-focused service-learning projects that address community problems, incorporate youth voice and opportunities for reflection, are connected to educational and program standards, and demonstrate community impact. With training and preparation occurring in the fall for grantees, school programs will launch on Martin Luther King Day, January 18, 2010, and culminate on Global Youth Service Day, April 23-25, 2010.

If your chapter is interested in applying for these funds, please let us know so that we can complete the Eligibility Quiz.

Get Ur Good On Grants (Deadline: Feb 22, 2010)

Miley Cyrus is partnering with Youth Service America to mobilize teens through Get Ur Good On, a social network that brings together youth to support each other in their mission to do "good" in their communities.

"People my age are making positive contributions to their communities every single day," said Miley Cyrus. "My generation is one that cares about the environment, about hunger, and about human rights. We use the Internet, videos, and even music to raise awareness of these issues to our friends and family," continued Cyrus. "I'm excited to see so much energy to do 'good' from teens."

More than 3,600 "volunteers" are registered on Get Ur Good On, a space for them to discover what needs fixing in the world, find information on how to get involved, and showcase their work in schools and communities through photos, videos, and blogs. The site links Miley Cyrus' star power with youth voice, giving kids an opportunity to demonstrate how one person can make a difference. Youth interested in sharing their stories about volunteering and community service, learning about important issues, and making civic-minded friends can visit http://www.geturgoodon.org/. They can upload videos that show how they have made a difference in their local, national, and global communities.

Get Ur Good On Grants are available for youth-led service initiatives on Global Youth Service Day, April 23-25, 2010. Available to children and youth around the world, YSA's Get Ur Good On Grants will award 100 $500 grants to support projects addressing critical community needs such as poverty, education, and environmental sustainability. Grant applications are due February 22, 2010. The first step in the process is to take the eligibility quiz.

Personally, I hope that we have BDPA student members from all over the nation taking the quiz to try to win one of those $500 grants. What say u?

State Farm Good Neighbor Grants (Deadline: November 9)

Youth Service America is currently accepting applications for State Farm® Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grants to support service-learning projects that culminate on Global Youth Service Day (GYSD), April 23-25, 2010.

School and community educators across the United States and Canada (select provinces) can apply for up to $1,000 in funding for youth-led projects. Service-learning is a teaching and learning strategy integrating meaningful community service with academic study and reflective practice to enrich learning, build civic engagement, and strengthen communities.

State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning grant applicants are encouraged to develop projects that launch on Martin Luther King Day of Service, January 18, 2010, and culminate on the weekend of GYSD, April 23-25, 2010.

Gladys Marinelli Coccia Awards

Youth Service America is pleased to launch the first annual Gladys Marinelli Coccia Awards to recognize two young female social entrepreneurs, ages 14 to 17, whose initiatives serve the common good.

The awards of $2000 each are created in memory of Gladys Coccia, who began her entrepreneurial career when she was a young girl in West Virginia and later became a very successful businesswoman in Washington, DC.

Nominations from across the USA are welcome; special consideration will be given to nominees from West Virginia and metropolitan Washington, DC. Self-nominations are accepted. Nominations are accepted thru June 15. Take the eligibility quiz.

Questions? Email coccia@ysa.org.

Youth Service America

Youth Service America and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) are offering $2,000 grants to help organizations replicate successful youth engagement experiences. Successful applicants will involve youth in addressing the world’s most pressing social issues, such as climate change, hunger, disease, nutrition, literacy, disaster relief, poverty, and more. Eligible applicants are local, state, or national organizations that are part of a national network, organization, or broader coalition of organizations and want to replicate their successful youth engagement experience (for youth ages 5-25) throughout that network without a youth strategy. Examples include but are certainly not limited to: food banks, zoos, housing authorities, and other non-profit organizations addressing a social issue. Applicants should plan to use Global Youth Service Day as a primary vehicle to engage youth in the issue addressed.

The grant can be used to promote participation in 2008 and 2009 Global Youth Service Day. Therefore, applicants are encouraged to pursue funding for an effort that takes place over a multi-year period. Click here for more information . Deadline: November 30, 2007.

Nominations Now Being Accepted for 2008 Harris Wofford Award

I think that we have BDPA chapters and BDPA volunteers in the SITES program that should be nominated for these awards.

Youth Service America is pleased to administer the prestigious 2008 Harris Wofford Awards, sponsored by State Farm Companies Foundation. Established in 2002, the Harris Wofford Awards were created to honor former Senator Harris Wofford - one of our nation's greatest public servants. The Awards recognize extraordinary achievements in three categories: Youth (ages 12-25), Organization (nonprofit, corporate, foundation), and Media (organization or individual) for actively contributing towards, "making service and service-learning the common expectation and common experience of every young person."

Award Winners will be honored and presented with an award of recognition at the 19th Annual National Service-Learning Conference in Minneapolis, MN. The recipient in the Youth category will receive a $500 award for him/herself and a $500 award for the non-profit organization of his/her choice. Travel arrangements, including airfare and accommodation, will be provided for each award recipient.

Self-nominations are permitted. One award winner will be chosen in Youth Award category. A BDPA chapter can compete for an award in the Organization category.

The deadline is October 19, 2007. Send an email to the Wofford Awards folks if you have questions or wish to discuss further.