Spotlight on Dallas, TX
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Site: YVC of North Texas Founded: 2009 Host: Volunteer Center of North Texas
YVC of North Texas, sponsored by State Farm Companies Foundation, and hosted by the Volunteer Center of North Texas, is a year-round civic engagement and leadership development program that promotes service-learning and a lifetime commitment to service for students in middle school and high school (ages 11-18). The program enables youth to develop and apply leadership skills through hands-on service-learning experiences while raising their awareness of social responsibility and making sustainable community change. Launching in the fall of 2009, YVC of North Texas is on its way to engaging more than 1,000 youth volunteers in service-learning opportunities in the local community. With a service area larger than Rhode Island and Connecticut combined, and including more than 6.5 million people, YVC of North Texas has the opportunity to make tremendous impact in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Hosting it’s first ever “Spring Break of Service”, YVC of North Texas partnered with local organizations and church youth groups to engage students in several acts of service-learning. Students began the week learning about local hunger challenges and issues by participating in a Hunger Banquet. Students then gathered to review the assets and deficits of their local community, and brainstorm ways in which they could make it a more positive climate. One way was to bring happiness to those in need; students worked together to complete a “hope mural” in which they donated to a local children’s hospital. They concluded their week by directly serving community members at Eastside Ministries, a local food and clothing pantry.
To celebrate Global Youth Service Day, the largest service event in the world, YVC of North Texas brought together nearly 100 students to complete 6 service-learning projects across the Dallas/Fort Worth region. More than 225 hours of service were completed by students who wanted to give back to their local community and join other young citizens to accomplish it. Several projects were completed including a garden installation at a local school with REAL School Gardens, park and trail maintenance with The Wildscape, and the beautification of a transitional housing complex for the homeless, benefiting Community Enrichment Center.
Through a partnership with the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Seminar, nearly 200 youth volunteers served at 7 different service projects around the Fort Worth and Arlington communities. Prior to their service, students spent time examining the importance of leadership and what it means to volunteer and give back to their local communities. Throughout an afternoon of volunteering, students completed nearly 500 hours of service and met local environmental and human needs. Following service, every student participated in a 4 corners debate on volunteerism where they discussed the importance of serving as a young person, the idea that everyone should complete a “service year”, and how to engage in service in their local communities, whether urban, suburban, or rural.
Through the leadership of AmeriCorps Team Leaders, YVC of North Texas is gearing up for a high impact summer with capacity to engage nearly 1,000 students in service-learning, benefiting up to 45 local non profit agencies. It’s sure to be a busy and exciting summer for all YVC affiliates!
