February 02, 2007

K-12 youth, educators and community-based professionals will share best practices during Youth Philanthropy and Service Annual Workshop

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Hundreds of local students, educators and community-based professionals will gather to share advice and anecdotes on how engaging in community service and volunteering made a difference in their schools, neighborhoods and beyond during the 11th Youth Philanthropy and Service Annual Workshop on February 14 at the Holiday Inn South in Independence, Ohio.

Youth Philanthropy and Service (YPS) is an initiative of the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Case Western Reserve University. The program's mission is "to develop and promote leadership and personal involvement by youth in the giving of time, treasure, and talent to their community."

YPS began in 1996 by providing resources to K-12 educators on service learning. In 2001, YPS began providing these services to community-based organizations. The annual workshop brings together Cleveland-area educators, K-12 youth, volunteer coordinators and youth development professionals to learn about best practices and local projects focused on community service. During the day-long workshop, the youth and educators will lead and participate in a variety of workshops focused on the theme of "Connecting through Community."

Workshop highlights include:

  • Power of One—The power and drive of one person can start a chain reaction of positive change. Participants will be encouraged and empowered to create a vision for their schools and build teams that will carry out service projects in their schools and communities.
  • They Gave You $50,000 to Do What? Youth Talk About Grantmaking Experience—Four high school students from the John K. Mott Youth Fund Distribution Committee were involved in awarding grants for projects that would improve the lives of young people in Cleveland. They'll share their experiences as grantmakers.
  • Navigating the NEO Community as a Young Civic Entrepreneur—Cleveland Brain Gain, a program that teaches high school students about the professional opportunities in the Cleveland area, was founded by a young civic entrepreneur. Having young people stay and contribute to the area's growth is vital, and Madeleine Bruml will discuss how her program encourages youth to give Cleveland a second glance.
  • Some of my Best Friends are…Examining Diversity in Our Lives—Participants will examine the diversity in their lives, and explore ways of making connections with people of varying backgrounds to enrich their lives.
  • Other workshops will focus on service learning in El Salvador; creating a meaningful service project at a minimal cost; the exploration of leadership styles; and finding funding for projects. A complete list of workshops can be found online at http://www.case.edu/mandelcenter/yps/training/annualworkshop/YPSWorkshopSessionList.pdf.

In addition to the workshops, a keynote talk will be given by Colonel Robert L. Gordon, senior vice president for civic leadership at City Year. A member of the AmeriCorps network, City Year is an "action tank" for national service that seeks to demonstrate, improve and promote the concept of national service as a means for building a stronger democracy. Gordon helped found the AmeriCorps network when he was a White House Fellow and director of special operations for the Office of National Service.

Participating in community service as a youth builds a foundation that can last a lifetime. According to a joint report from Youth Service America and Independent Sector, 44 percent of adults volunteer, and two-thirds of these began volunteering their time when they were young; high school volunteering recently reached the highest levels in the past 50 years; and adults who began volunteering as youth are twice as likely to volunteer as those who did not volunteer when they were younger.

The YPS workshop begins at 8:30 a.m., with the last session starting at 2 p.m. Registration—which includes continental breakfast, lunch, and all workshops and exhibits—is $75 for adults through February 7. Registration fees after that date—along with additional information—can be found online at http://www.case.edu/mandelcenter/yps/training/annualworkshop/.

For more information, contact YPS at 216-368-0455 or Kimyette Finley, 216.368.0521.

Posted by: Heidi Cool, February 2, 2007 11:50 AM | News Topics: Community Outreach, Events, HeadlinesMain, Provost Initiatives

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