ServiceWorks Bootcamp Brings Project Management Skills to Young Adults in LA
Bringing together speakers from the White House, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Office on Workforce Development, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, and the Los Angeles Trade and Technical College, a bootcamp hosted on Nov. 19 by ServiceWorks in Los Angeles focused on skills building and service for young adults ages 16 to 24. During a ServiceWorks bootcamp, participants gain skills – including project management competencies – that will strengthen their path to college and careers while helping resolve problems in their communities.
This event, which is part of Citi Foundation’s Pathways to Progress Initiative, is one of many ways that ServiceWorks’ founding partners, Points of Light, AmeriCorps, and Citi Foundation, are putting youth scholars on the path to success by offering leadership development, project management skills, mentorship, and the personal sense of empowerment that comes with performing volunteer service.
“The ServiceWorks bootcamp features workshops on skills that are particularly relevant as young people go into the workforce. Recently, we’ve been going deep on project management because it’s such a valuable and transferable life and professional skill,” said Georgia Gillette, senior vice president of programs, Points of Light.
The bootcamp, which drew more than 75 youth participants, promoted service as a solution to community problems. After the project management workshop, participants were invited to complete one of two service projects to help kick-off their volunteer efforts. A large group designed mini-murals with uplifting messages for their college-bound peers, to be displayed around Los Angeles at YouthSource community centers. Another subset of participants worked on preparing college information and research packets that will be made available to hundreds of peers who couldn’t attend the event.
“You can be a change agent, and shape a better future for all, through your compassion for others, commitment to excellence, and willingness to work and learn,” said Deputy Mayor Brenda Shockley.
Now equipped with the necessary tools for success, the participants in the event are not only better prepared to achieve their own goals, but also to improve their communities.
The Joy Maker Challenge Inspires Kids to Give Back for the Holidays
The holidays are a great time to get kids and teens involved in spreading joy and giving back! Finding a cause they’re passionate about and doing a service project to contribute to that cause helps them develop compassion for others, be kind and support their community.
That’s why generationOn, the youth service division of Points of Light, and Hasbro have partnered for the seventh annual Joy Maker Challenge. The campaign encourages youth to engage in meaningful, hands-on service projects, and spread joy and kindness through volunteerism during the holiday season. For every kid or teen who engages in service, Hasbro will donate a toy or game to Toys for Tots, up to $1 million worth.
generationOn has also selected 100 Kindness Ambassadors spread throughout the country, who will each be equipped with 100 Hasbro toys and games to bring holiday joy to children in need through a range of projects, including:
Violet Humble of Spokane Valley, Washington, is hosting a party for children from local transition homes, foster homes and shelters who often are not included and don’t get to attend parties. In addition to getting to spend time together and play games and enjoy food, she’ll be surprising them with gifts for attending, as well as goodie bags.
Xolo Maridueña will host a service project with kids on Skid Row in Los Angeles. Children will come to a fun holiday event where they will write letters to seniors in local senior centers. After completing the project, the kids will be able to pick out a wrapped toy to go home with.
Renee Lynn Scott of Eastport, New York, will work with youth volunteers to make special cards for children of cancer patients. They will then work with Survivor’s Little Helper to deliver Christmas trees, toys and cards to families to help alleviate the emotional and financial burden holidays can have when parents are battling cancer.
There are so many ways for kids to show they care! From Nov. 21 through Dec. 23, teens, teachers, parents and youth development professionals can register, find service project ideas, and share their stories of service on The Joy Maker Challenge website. The challenge is a part of Hasbro’s ongoing Be Fearless Be Kind initiative, which inspires and empowers kids to have the compassion, empathy and courage to stand up for others and be inclusive throughout their lives.
Building a Culture of Compassion, ‘Rules of Kindness’ Give Kids the Opportunity to Show They Care
With just weeks to go in perhaps one of the most heated election cycles our country has had in a long time, our nation has reached a heightened point of divisiveness.
We find ourselves in a time of both political and social unrest, with intense debates taking place not only on TV between candidates, but also on social media, in communities and in homes.
described a situation where even young children are repeating the rhetoric they hear and getting into political debates.
We voice our opinion loudly, and across many different platforms, but it seems we rarely take time to listen.
So how can we combat this self-centric, divided path that we’re on and work together to become a more unified, supportive nation?
With kindness and empathy.
We need to step in and work to develop young changemakers who have empathy, compassion and kindness, who will work to bring our world closer together and celebrate our commonalities, rather than move us farther apart.
We have the opportunity to be an example for the next generation, which is why generationOn, the youth service division of Points of Light, recently launched its
. Powered by Hasbro, the campaign challenges kids and teens to build empathy, be kind and show they care.
Elise Jackson, one of 100 Kindness Ambassadors for the campaign, is the perfect example of how empathy can be a youth-led force for healing and change. Elise lives in Plaquemine, Louisiana, which has been affected by recent floods and episodes of police violence. She says, “In the past month, the Baton Rouge community has experienced a racial divide due to police shootings, but this week this same community has come together to save lives due to massive flooding; therefore showing empathy. It is my goal to keep the community humbled and feeling empathetic toward his or her neighbor while encouraging other kids and teens to do the same.”
Kids and teens, just like Elise, are making a new set of rules – rules that they believe will lead to more compassionate and connected citizens. If this generation of changemakers can help to create a culture of caring in each community, we could change the dialogue of our nation and make 2016 the year that kindness rules.
members across the country in the effort to bring positive change to the lives of opportunity youth and the communities in which they live, there are bound to be plenty of moments.
But rarely since the partnership between AmeriCorps, the Citi Foundation and Points of Light began in 2014 has there been such a powerful confluence of people, inspiration and service than what recently transpired in New York City.
In connection with the 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance, this year’s cohort of more than 70 ServiceWorks VISTAs came from 22 host sites in 14 cities to gather in Manhattan and be sworn in as AmeriCorps members. They were there to connect not just with each other, but with the movement to give opportunity youth the skills and resources they need for college and career success.
One of those VISTAs was
, who’s been with ServiceWorks at CD Tech in Los Angeles since the beginning. He was honored to be part of a group that included 9/11 Day organizers, along with leaders and champions of national service for a
at the New York Stock Exchange.
What’s it like for someone who grew up in South Central LA and is passionate about improving that community through ServiceWorks to be part of such an experience? Emotional.
“I never thought I would be at this point. Remembering my community and where I come from and having this opportunity has a strong impact,” said Warren. “I can go back and narrate what it meant for me to be up here. Hopefully people back home can see this and know that it’s possible.”
Later that day, the 2016-2017 VISTAs gathered at Citi Foundation headquarters to learn how ServiceWorks fits into Citi’s
initiative and the national service movement in general. For many, it was the first time they began to grasp that they’re now a part of something bigger than themselves, the local nonprofits that host them or even the cities they serve.
Count Nishitkumar Patel, a new ServiceWorks VISTA at Chicago’s Casa Central, was among the enlightened. “Until now, I didn’t realize how big of a community this is, how the cities are connected, how the youth are connected, or how we can learn from each other,” he said.
During an intimate gathering with national service luminaries including Corporation of National and Community Service CEO Wendy Spencer, Be The Change Founder Alan Khazei and 9/11 Day Co-founder David Paine, there were many voices, but one clear message: The next year promises to be transformative for the 16- to 24-year-olds the VISTAs will work with – and through that work – for the VISTAs themselves.
That theme continued at the
. After hearing from thought leaders, policy makers and practitioners about issues and solutions related to improving economic opportunity for the 5.5 million youth who are disconnected from school and work, the VISTAs were sworn in by Gen. (Ret.) Stanley McChrystal, who told the group in front of hundreds in the audience, “All of you are about to embark upon a journey in which you will come out better.”
With a group of people passionate about service, for many, the highlight of their weekend in New York was 9/11 Day. On the 15
th
anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, the VISTAs, who had come together in Manhattan from communities all over the United States, led thousands of local volunteers – including hundreds of Citi employees – in one of the city’s biggest service projects, packing more than 500,000 meals for the hungry.
For Kidist Gebreamlak, a new VISTA at Education is Freedom in Dallas, it was a powerful experience. “It is very meaningful to me because it makes me think where I was 15 years ago and how far I’ve come,” she said. “I am somewhere I never thought I would be. It’s a privilege. It’s an honor to serve here.”
It was yet another moment in a weekend and program full of them. And with year three of ServiceWorks bringing more AmeriCorps VISTAs to more host sites and empowering more young people in more cities than ever before, there will be plenty more moments to come.
12 Service Project Ideas for Kids
Back-to-school can be a busy time for families, filled with homework, sports practices, school plays, and other extracurricular activities. However, it’s important to remember the role that volunteer service can play in your child’s development. Volunteering together as a family helps kids learn that they can make a positive difference through service to others.
Without further ado, here are 12 simple service projects for kids of all ages:
Younger Kids
Make crafts or write letters to be included in soldier care packages. Operation Gratitude will help you come up with ideas and find a donation center near you.
Organize a food drive in your neighborhood to support a local foodbank, and have your children pick their favorite foods to donate. Feeding America’s Food Bank locator is searchable by zip code and can help you find a food bank near you.
Fill backpacks with cups, pots, pans, soap, toothpaste, and other cosmetics to create homeless “survival kits” to be distributed to homeless people in your community, or find out other ways you can show your support by simply CAREing.
Become a Hospital Buddy and be a supportive friend to a child during their fight against cancer.
Start a crew of neighborhood children to provide free lawn care and snow shoveling services for seniors in your community. Check out Points of Light’s resources for volunteers for tips on how to get started.
During lunch at school, host a hot chocolate or cider stand and donate the proceeds to a charity of your choosing. Charity Navigator will help you find the perfect organization to donate to.
Clean out your bookshelf of older, lightly used DVDs and books and donate them to a local children’s hospital.
Be a companion to a senior in a local nursing home. Make cards and sing carols for them around the holidays. Use Create the Good’s guide for volunteering with seniors to help you get started.
Adopt a military family for the Holidays and bring food, comfort, and friendship to a family struggling to get by.
Making a Habit of Service
Habits that children develop at a young age will stick with them long into adulthood. The following tips will help your children see the power of service and build a lifelong commitment to giving back.
Deliver donated items with your kids. This will help them see and feel the difference they are making in the lives of people they have helped.
Talk about and share your family’s service experience. Help your children process what they did, how it felt, and what they learned.
Choose your next project immediately. Build on your kids’ enthusiasm and search for opportunities to give back in your area on All for Good.
Houston Youth and Skills-Based Volunteers Leave ServiceWorks Bootcamp Equally Inspired
ServiceWorks Skill-Building Bootcamps provide 16- to 24-year-olds the opportunity to develop new workplace skills, expand their personal networks and understand how service can be a vehicle for both. For the second time this summer, ServiceWorks recently brought this powerful experience to a new city.
This time it was Houston – where approximately 60 youth took park in a truly transformative day that left both the young people and the volunteers there to teach them – equally inspired.
Serving as the official launch of
in Houston, and held in partnership with the White House Summer Opportunity Project and Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Education Office as a way to align local and national resources to ensure a better economic future for disconnected young people, the event itself carried plenty of significance. But it was the lessons and conversations of the day that will provide the most lasting impact.
For the first time, a Points of Light Sunday Supper conversation was targeted specifically to teens. Over the lunch break, Points of Light Chairman Neil Bush kicked off a talk on how the challenges caused by racial inequalities impact their chances for college and career success.
Summarizing her table’s conversation, 17-year-old Lian drew a powerful analogy to how African-American communities often feel like they’re a broken bone hanging off society’s body. She added, “I think most of us can come to the conclusion that racial conflict comes from ignorance. It’s a problem of not-knowing, and people not taking the time to understand conflict.”
18-year-old Jathiya echoed those sentiments: “Anything that will help us educate those in the community about us, about what we’re going through. Maybe they just need to understand us a little bit better and we can all coexist in peace and in community.”
Also speaking at lunch was Jim Reilly, Vice Chair of Global Energy for Citi, who talked about Citi’s commitment to helping Opportunity Youth through their
initiative. “ServiceWorks was designed to inspire young people to become agents of change in their own communities while also developing their professional and career goals. These skill-building boot camps are a great example of how ServiceWorks can be delivered to a large number of youth in a very impactful way,” said Reilly.
Several Citi employee volunteers joined over 40 other skills-based volunteers to facilitate particularly impactful sessions on project management and conflict resolution. The project management workshop focuses on how to “plan the work and work the plan” for situations that are very real and relevant to young adults: getting a job, buying a car and applying to college.
“We hear ‘go to college, go to college, go to college.’- But even just taking the steps to apply to college can be overwhelming and stressful. Today I got to learn how to break it down into simple steps so it’ll be easier for me,” said Lian.
Skill-Based volunteers also led workshops on conflict resolution, where participants (Service Scholars) shared powerful stories of bullying, while playing out scenarios to help them better handle these potentially uncomfortable or even threatening situations.
Many of these volunteers left as inspired as the participants. Said one Project Management volunteer, “I found the participants to be engaging, articulate and bright. My faith in millennials is restored, and I was glad to be a part of such a praiseworthy cause.”
One of those millennials, 19-year-old Fayzah, said a ServiceWorks Bootcamp can inspire young people with the kind of thinking that aligns with the Points of Light mission: “I learned I can do something in society right now. I don’t have to be a certain age. I don’t have to be in office to be the change. Right now, I can be the change. I don’t have to wait for the future.”
Six years ago, Carter Jimenez Jenkins was looking at a website called Blue Planet Run and saw a photo essay about people who were living without access to safe water. Carter was shocked and knew he needed to take action.
He quickly learned that 1 in every 8 people lack access to clean drinking water and decided he was going to do something to improve this statistic. Carter started Students For Safe Water, a nonprofit that supports people living around the world by raising funds to provide safe water to villages and communities while also educating students and teachers here in the United States about the world water crisis.
In 2013, Carter was honored by Hasbro and generationOn as a Hasbro Community Action Hero for his dedication to service in his community, and around the world.
“Becoming a Hasbro Community Action Hero helped propel Students For Safe Water forward by giving me the confidence to reach out to more students and community leaders,” Carter reflects about how winning the award impacted his work. “By providing tools to accomplish our goals, our outreach has expanded in areas I never could have foreseen. Most importantly, it has brought more kids to service and that helps improve more lives.”
Over the past four years, Students For Safe Water has expanded both in their outreach—now encompassing literacy, reforestation and teacher education—and in their global impact, expanding to the entire United States, Latin America and Uganda.
Recently, the organization funded a teacher hygiene education program in Uganda, campaigned for change after the Flint, Michigan, water crisis, talked about the draught in California, and built water and sanitation systems in Nicaragua. All of this work has impacted thousands of lives across the globe.
But the one thing Carter is most proud of, he says, is “the impact Students For Safe Water has had on other student leaders, who are doing great things based on their involvement with the organization, including some who started their own non-profits. The impact is amazing.”
The great news is that any kid or teen can become more involved and improve their community today.
“The easiest way to become involved is to become aware,” says Carter. “Every day there are opportunities to be of service to others, whether it’s offering a smile to someone having a bad day or committing time to a cause you are passionate about. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. If I hadn’t, I would have never had the experience of becoming a Hasbro Community Action Hero!”
The Hasbro Community Action Hero Award recognizes outstanding young volunteers who show that you are never too young to make a difference in your local or global community. Hasbro Children’s Fund and generationOn will celebrate 10 young people between the ages of 5 and 18 for their extraordinary community service and volunteer activities. Do you know an amazing kid or teen (or are you one yourself?) who should become a Hasbro Community Action Hero? Learn more and nominate an amazing kid or teen today!
A Recipe for Taking Action Against Hunger
This post is by Will Lourcey, youth advisory council member for generationOn, and originally appeared on the generationOn blog.
What can a kid do to fight hunger? That was a question I asked myself when I was 7 years old. I saw a man on a street corner holding a sign that read, “NEED A MEAL.” It made me realize that I needed to do something about it. But what could I do? I was only 7 years old.
Well, it turns out a kid can do a lot. I founded the youth-led nonprofit, Friends Reaching Our Goals, or FROGs for short. FROGs has inspired hundreds of kids to take action in their community, and has provided more than 200,000 meals for the hungry.
Here is my simple recipe for changing the world!
See a Need – I saw a man standing on a street corner holding a sign that read “NEED A MEAL.” Do you see a need? Is there something in your community that could be improved or solved? Identifying a need is the first step.
Be a Doer – My motto is, “Be a doer, not a watcher.” Being a doer means acting and not waiting for others to address a problem. I could have waited and hoped that someone else would help the hungry man, but I didn’t. I acted.
Make a Plan – Decide who you might want to partner with to make the biggest impact and learn more about the issue or problem. I scheduled a meeting with the local food bank to educate myself about the issue of hunger and the things I could do to help. My goal was to create fun ways to get other kids excited about fighting hunger while creating positive change.
Gather Friends – Next, I gathered friends in my community to form a hunger-fighting team. Everything is more fun when you are with friends! We designed fun events to get our peers involved in fighting hunger. We ran lemonade stands, yard sales, video game parties, baseball and soccer tournaments, and dodgeball events to generate awareness about the issue of hunger and raise funds. FROGs would not be successful if it weren’t for this group of people coming together to make a difference in their community. I’ve learned that I can’t do everything by myself but that with my friends, anything is possible.
Change the World – This was the easiest step because any action, no matter how big or small, has the potential to make a positive impact. By being doers, we are changing the world! When you act, you create a ripple effect and other kids get inspired.
Now is your chance to become a doer. Follow this recipe for creating change in your community by participating in generationOn’s Make Your Mark on Hunger campaign. They’ll guide you through everything from creating a garden, to hosting a food drive, to holding a volleyball tournament — all of which can help you fight hunger!
My advice to kids who want to improve their community is to act. Choose to do something rather than waiting for someone else. Always remember: No matter how tall or small you are … you can make a big difference! You’ll be amazed at how many people will join your efforts and help. All you need to do is choose to be a doer and follow the recipe.
Photo from the 2012 National Conference on Volunteering and Service Youth Summit
Join forces to do good this summer. Your community needs you.
This summer, generationOn is mobilizing kids, teens and parents to pledge to make service a priority in one of the following areas: animals, environment, homelessness, hunger, literacy, health, military and disaster preparation. Participants will be provided with project ideas and instructions, but will also be encouraged to use their imaginations and creativity to come up with a project entirely their own.
We look forward to stories, photos and videos of the positive change being created across the country from our nation’s youth. Register with generationOn for updates on this exciting campaign launching June 25.
Join generationOn in Chicago for Great Youth Events at the National Conference on Volunteering
Join us at the 2012 National Conference on Volunteering and Service
June 17-19, 2012 | Chicago, Illinois
MAKE YOUR MARK ON THE WORLD with two distinctive events for youth!
Youth Summit
Sunday, June 17, 2012 1-4pm
FREE. Registration required. Space is limited.
The generationOn Youth Summit will gather 250 young people for an afternoon of civic dialogue and service-learning including a panel discussion with notable youth leaders, leadership skill building activities and a service project to benefit the local Chicago community!
site and use the registration category “Youth Leadership Track and Summit.” After completing the contact information, select “Youth Summit” from the Itinerary Builder page. Then click “I am Done with My Sessions.” This event is free and will require no payment.
All chaperones must register as well. There is no fee for chaperones to attend.
Youth WorkshopsMonday & Tuesday, June 18-19, 2012 9am – 3pm | Ages 13-18
Fee: $250* Includes all seven sessions. Sessions are sequential and
must be attended as set. Registration required. Space is limited.
*Limited scholarships are available. Click here for more info.
During seven sequential workshops over two days, hear from stars in the service field and learn to:
Plan a Unique Service Project
Share Your Story and Learn to Public Speak Like a Pro
to go to the conference registration website.
2. Enter your last name, email address, and select “Youth Leadership Track and Summit” from the drop down menu in “Reg. Category.”
3. On page 6 (the Itinerary Builder page) select “Youth Leadership Track”. Then click “I am Done with My Sessions.” The fee for this track is $250.
All chaperones must register as well. There is no fee for chaperones to attend.
to go to the conference registration website.
2. Enter your last name, email address, and select “Youth Leadership Track and Summit” from the drop down menu in “Reg. Category.”
3. On page 6 (the Itinerary Builder page) select “Youth Leadership Track”. Then click “I am Done with My Sessions.”
4. On payment page, below balance summary, select “
