Global Youth Service Day

Established in 1988, Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) is now celebrated in over 100 countries and is the largest service event in the world. In honor of GYSD 2010 (April 23-25), millions of children and youth, ages 5-25, will address the world’s most critical issues in partnership with families, schools, community and faith-based organizations, businesses and governments.

For the first time, the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service (ICVS) will serve as the Lead Agency for GYSD in Iowa by supporting local projects and promoting participation from volunteers, elected officials and media outlets.   In an effort to track and highlight local projects, the ICVS strongly encourages all participants to post GYSD projects and volunteer opportunities on Volunteer Solutions.

GYSD Mini Grant Opportunity

The ICVS will award 10 $200 mini grants to schools, youth groups, etc. that are interested in planning local GYSD service projects.  While adults may assist with the completion of the online application (due March 25th), grant ideas that are created and submitted by youth will be scored higher than those that are submitted by adults.  To obtain full mini grant details and to access the brief Survey Monkey application, please click here.

Resources
  

• GYSD website, webinars, and 2009 Youth Service America Toolkit for planning youth-led service projects
• ICVS Preparation Handbook for GYSD 2010 – Includes project templates and planning guides, service-learning materials, a customizable press release and a wealth of additional resources
• Quick Reference Guide for posting GYSD projects on Volunteer Solutions
• Iowa’s GYSD Facebook page