Contact: Elyse V. Walter
Communication Specialist
(517) 241-0063
verberkmoese@michigan.gov
LANSING, MI - The Michigan Community Service Commission, The LEAGUE Michigan, and Youth Service America today announced the distribution of $11,000 in mini-grant funds to support 2011 Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) projects across the state this April.
Thirty-five organizations from across Michigan received the funds to coordinate service projects that tackle critical challenges in their communities; including education, economic opportunity, supporting veterans and military families, health, clean energy and environmental stewardship, disaster preparedness, and public safety. Grants range in value from $160 to $485.
All of the projects funded by the mini-grants incorporated youth in the planning process and/or will engage youth as volunteers.
"These funds will support critical components of 35 different GYSD service projects in Michigan," said Kari Pardoe, Director of The LEAGUE Michigan. "Now these organizations can afford the necessary supplies and resources to implement projects that will make a difference in their communities."
Global Youth Service Day is an annual campaign that celebrates and mobilizes the millions of children and youth who improve their communities each day through service and service-learning. Established in 1988 by Youth Service America, GYSD is the largest service event in the world and is now celebrated in more than 100 countries. On GYSD, children and youth address the world's most critical issues in partnership with families, schools, community and faith-based organizations, businesses, and governments. The official dates of GYSD are April 15, 16, and 17 - but many projects will occur on days outside of those dates.
"We encourage everyone - particularly youth - to find a way to serve as part of the 2011 Global Youth Service Day," said Paula Kaiser VanDam, Executive Director of the Michigan Community Service Commission. "Young people in Michigan have much to offer in the form of their talents and resources and GYSD is a great opportunity to engage them."
Several mini-grant recipients are currently seeking volunteers. If you're interested in serving, visit www.gysd.orgto search for opportunities in your area.
The 2011 Global Youth Service Day mini-grant funds were made possible thanks to generous contributions from the Michigan Community Service Commission, The LEAGUE Michigan, and Youth Service America in an effort to engage more volunteers in national days of service.
Thanks to these mini-grants, hundreds of Michigan youth will lend their considerable resources to addressing critical issues in their communities this April.
Mini-grants were awarded to the following organizations:
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City
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Organization
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Mini-Grant Amount
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Project Details
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Battle Creek
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Calhoun Community High School
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$265
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Students from Calhoun Community High School will offer environmental education activities for local elementary schools on Friday, April 15. Topics will include water quality, animals and habitats, insects, recycling, and forests.
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Battle Creek
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HandsOn Battle Creek
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$400
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On Saturday, April 16, HandsOn Battle Creek - in collaboration with the LEAGUE Michigan, Food Bank of South Central Michigan, and several community school clubs - will host a Fresh Food Initiative to get food into low-income neighborhoods. Students will separate fruits and vegetables into plastic bags to be divided among families in the area.
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Benton Harbor
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Lake Michigan College
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$250
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On Wednesday, April 13, Lake Michigan College will host Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Day to create an easy way for the residents of Berrien County to recycle otherwise difficult items.
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Brighton
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Brighton Nazarene Church
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$250
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Members of the Brighton Nazarene High School Youth Group will divide into teams on Saturday, April 16 in order to conduct projects and services for those in the community that can't do the projects themselves. Service projects will include yard work, spring cleaning, and other small miscellaneous jobs.
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Calumet
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Calumet High School
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$350
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Calumet High School Students will work to improve the Copper Country Artists Association's gallery space, as well as connect with senior artists from the Association. The students will compile a book of interviews, photographs, and art work between April 11 and 17 which they will donate to the Calumet Public Library.
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Carson City
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Carson City Crystal Schools
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$283
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Students will build wooden storage bins to house four 32-gallon trash containers to learn how to turn waste into a resource for green habits. This project will start in April and continue as a yearly classroom project.
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Clare
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Clare High School
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$225
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Clare High School, along with members of the community, will celebrate Clare Pride Day by polishing the town through services such as painting, yard work, cleaning, and gardening. This project will fall around Earth Day, April 22.
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Detroit
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College Prep International
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$300
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Youth members of College Prep International will provide a workshop on Financial Aid and financial literacy for college bound students to high school students in Southwest Detroit on Saturday, April 16.
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Detroit
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Delsprite Club of Delta Theta Sorority
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$200
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The Delsprite Club of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. will host a series of healthy living sessions on Saturday, April 16 to benefit younger youth in the community.
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Detroit
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New Mount Sinai Community Services
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$250
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On Saturday, April 16, youth will engage in a community awareness event with senior citizens to promote healthy living, safety, and literacy; the "Wise Ys" project. This project seeks to bridge an intergenerational age gap and eliminate the fear of youth from senior citizens.
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Detroit
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Resurrection Foundation
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$160
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Resurrection Foundation will host a service day to help restore and beautify a formerly closed Detroit public school, now the property of the Resurrection Foundation. On Saturday, April 16, volunteers will do basic clean-up of the property, paint walls, plant trees, enhance the landscape, and plant in the community garden.
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Detroit
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Youth United
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$214
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Volunteers will participate in "Resource Awareness and Environmental Clean-up Day," a project for youth to take the lead in cleaning the parks and streets in Southwest Detroit. The event will take place on Saturday, April 16, and will be an opportunity to educate the public on local agency resources, activities, and volunteer opportunities.
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Dimondale
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Girl Scout Troop 30596
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$350
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Volunteers will provide home improvements and handmade light stands for seedlings for the Village Summit community garden on Saturday, April 23.
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East Lansing
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St. Thomas Aquinas School
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$245
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On Saturday, April 16, students will make sets of alphabet, number, and color bean bags to be used at orphan schools in Liberia.
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Felch
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North Dickinson County School
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$425
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Sophomores from North Dickinson County School will clean up and renovate Metropolitan Hall, the area's community center, on Saturday, April 16. The back half of the hall has been transformed into a coffee shop, which has already served as a community hot spot.
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Flint
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Mr. Rogers Youth Program
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$225
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Members of the Mr. Rogers Youth Program will clean up two soup kitchens in need of beautification and landscape/horticulture assistance on Friday, April 15.
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Gaylord
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Crawford & Otsego County MYOI
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$250
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Members of Crawford and Otsego County Michigan Youth Opportunities Initiative will host a free laundry day on Saturday, April 16 to benefit local, low income, and/or homeless families.
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Grand Rapids
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Bethany Christian Services
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$255
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On Saturday, April 16, foster care youth and volunteers will revamp an overgrown pocket park, as well as benefit from an educational workshop given by Tony Campbell, Vice President of Heart of West Michigan United Way. The vision of this project is to motivate at-risk youth to stay on track by way of setting and meeting positive goals and giving back to their community.
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Grand Rapids
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Grand Rapids Community Foundation
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$425
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High School students in the Youth Enrichment Scholars Academy will assemble Snack Sacks and Breakfast Bundles for Kids' Food Basket, an organization that helps to fight child hunger in West Michigan.
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Ionia
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Ionia Kids Club
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$375
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The Ionia Kids Club will host its annual "Sweep the Streets" service project on Friday, April 15, which encourages community members and groups to get involved by helping with spring cleaning at local food pantries, or participating in community walks to pick up trash.
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Iron Mountain
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Iron Mountain High School Tri-Hi-Y
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$200
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The Iron Mountain Tri-Hi-Y student service organization will sponsor a Senior Prom in appreciation for the senior volunteers who are a part of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) in the Dickinson and Iron countries on Sunday, April 10.
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Lansing
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Allen Neighborhood Center
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$445
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Allen Neighborhood Center, in collaboration with Power of We, The Boys and Girls Club of Lansing, The Garden Project, and NorthWest Initiative, will collaborate on Saturday, April 16 to construct two accessible raised garden beds to accommodate those who are differently-abled at Hunter Park Garden House.
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Lansing
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Girl Scout Troop 30044
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$400
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Troops from the Girl Scouts of the Heart of Michigan will make fleece tie blankets for Foster Care Youth during the weekend of Global Youth Service Day.
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Lansing
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NorthWest Initiative - The Riddle School
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$400
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On Friday, April 15, children and other volunteers from Riddle Elementary School will prep the Riddle School Children's Garden and Hoophouse for planting.
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Lincoln Park
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Youth For Change Raupp School
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$250
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The Youth For Change project will meet to clean city parks and streets near Raupp Elementary School every Saturday beginning in April and going through June 2011.
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Muskegon
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Embrace Muskegon
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$250
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On Saturday, April 16, volunteers will work together to prepare and plant in the Nims neighborhood community garden.
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New Hudson
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Chapman Academy/Red Apple Preschool
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$398
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On Thursday, April 21, students and parent volunteers will construct a greenhouse, build a compost bin, and plant fruits and vegetables.
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Okemos
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Okemos High School
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$485.50
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The Students for Environmental Action from Okemos High School will develop a worm composting system that uses food waste from the school that will be used to grow vegetable plants to be given to the Greater Lansing Food Bank. The construction of the compost bin will begin during the week of April 18.
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Owosso
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Owosso Middle School Environmental Club
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$432
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The Owosso Middle School Environmental Club, in partnership with the City of Owosso, DeVries Nature Center, and The Friends of the Shiawassee River, will create a native plant pollinator garden on the grounds of the middle school. Kick-off will begin on Friday, April 22, which will include removal of weeds, constructing raised beds and filling them with topsoil, and placing bird houses and baths in the garden.
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Pinckney
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Choose To Lead, Pathfinder Middle School
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$450
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The Choose To Lead Class, in collaboration with Livingston County Red Cross and Kids Against Hunger, will make fleece tie blankets for the Red Cross' Disaster Relief Program, and purchase and package food from Kids Against Hunger to benefit children across the world and Michigan. This project will take place during the "Pathfinder Cares" Spirit Week, April 18-21.
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Roseville
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Global Preparatory Academy
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$250
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Members of the Global Preparatory Academy Student Leadership Team will donate boxes of personal hygiene and educational items to a domestic violence and sexual assault shelter. The packing and distributing of the boxes will be held on Wednesday, April 20.
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Southgate
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Downriver CARES
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$350
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On Friday, April 15, Downriver CARES will engage local youth in the River Rouge and Ecorse communities in service projects that focus on education, health, environmental stewardship, and public safety. The activities for the day include painting murals, creating no-sew blankets, and potting seeds for early germination in the community gardens.
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Traverse City
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American Red Cross of Northwest Michigan
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$362.50
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The American Red Cross of Northwest Michigan, along with Traverse Bay Area ISD and Together We Prepare AmeriCorps, will host a babysitter's expo on Saturday, April 16. This project will educate young people by improving previously learned skills and expanding their knowledge about childcare; including topics on health and safety tips, and business and marketing skills.
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Traverse City
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Preserve Hickory
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$400
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Preserve Hickory will host a Hickory Hills Cleaning Up Day scheduled for the week of April 18. Volunteers from both high schools in the area will repaint and clean the lodge, repair tow rope shacks, and collect garbage.
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Troy
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Susick Elementary
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$230
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On Monday, April 18 second grade students, with the assistance of teacher and parent volunteers, will make fleece blankets and notes of good cheer for cancer patients at the University of Michigan's Comprehensive Cancer Center.
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TOTAL: $11,000
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Additional information about the 2011 Global Youth Service Day can be found at www.michigan.gov/mcscor www.gysd.org.
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BACKGROUND:
The Michigan Community Service Commission builds a culture of service by providing vision and resources to strengthen communities through volunteerism. In 2010-2011, the MCSC is granting nearly $10 million in federal funds to local communities for volunteer programs and activities. The MCSC is funding 26 AmeriCorps programs, 25 Learn and Serve programs, and seven Volunteer Michigan grantees. The Governor's Service Awards and Mentor Michigan are also premier programs of the MCSC. The MCSC is housed in the Michigan Department of Human Services, whose mission is to assist children, families, and vulnerable adults to be safe, stable, and self-supporting. The Corporation for National and Community Service grants the federal funding the MCSC administers.
The LEAGUE Michigan is a school and web-based program for service-learning that builds character and empowers K-12 students to "do good" through service-learning in their community, nation and world. Their website, www.learningtogive.com, is full of resources for students, teachers and community partners and contains; among other things, over 1,400 lesson plans related to service-learning that are made by teachers for teachers and are all aligned to state standards.
Youth Service America improves communities by increasing the number and the diversity of young people, ages 5-25, serving in substantive roles. Founded in 1986, YSA supports a global culture of engaged youth committed to a lifetime of service, learning, leadership, and achievement. The impact of YSA's work through service and service-learning is measured in student achievement, workplace readiness, and healthy communities.
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