NCFY Recommends: New Resources Help Youth Shape Their Communities Through Service

The holiday season will be here before we know it. If you and your youth plan end-of-year community service projects, you can plan ahead by taking advantage of some new resources.

Youth empowerment organization Youth Service America this month published its latest resource, “Youth Changing the World: A Service Project Toolkit” (PDF, 3.77MB). The toolkit walks youth through the process of generating an idea to change their community for the better—and then actually making that change happen. YSA organizes its suggestions and tools into five steps:

1. Investigate
2. Prepare and plan
3. Act
4. Reflect
5. Demonstrate/celebrate

Each section includes personal anecdotes from youth and templates, including a sample project plan, media release and project budget.

Youth who want to get their peers involved in a service club may be interested in GenerationON, a global youth service movement affiliated with the Points of Light Institute. Registered clubs can get free resources such as toolkits and issue factsheets. There are even grants available to start new clubs.

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