by Michelle Nunn, CEO, Points of Light Institute

When he was 14 years old, David Sanchez was on the way to his after-school restaurant job when he saw a homeless man holding a “Will Work for Food” sign.

Later, David wanted to give him his tips, but he never saw the man again. “That experience bothered me,” he says, and motivated him to launch Job-Link Racine in Wisconsin to help homeless and at-risk teens find work.

Since 2008, David, now a high school senior, has taught readiness training to more than 300 teens, secured interviews for 60, and helped 30 land jobs in a tough economy.

He also donates bus tokens and work clothes.

Thanks to high school senior Thanh Pham, and the Empower Our Youth program that she started, more than 400 students have learned to defend themselves against date rape and domestic violence.

Thanh, 17, founded the nonprofit two years ago to fund the classes at inner-city Boston schools.

In five years, Texan Justin Churchman, 17, has built 15 houses for families who live in cardboard homes along the El Paso–Juarez border.

As a volunteer for Casas por Cristo, he has recruited more than 75 volunteers and raised $43,000.

These exceptional teenagers were among the Parade All America Service Team award winners honored June 23 at a White House reception.

Fifteen high school students from across the nation were chosen for their outstanding service contributions to their communities in economics, the environment, education, community, and health.

Among them they have created tutoring programs, led food drives, reduced the carbon footprint of their schools, raised money to educate orphaned girls in Rwanda, and much more.

Vice President Joseph Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan paid tribute to these young service leaders at the reception.

“I admire all of you,” said Biden. “You decided to make a difference, and you did it when no one was looking … By your example, you lift us all.”

“These young people are just staggering; they have phenomenal talent and phenomenal commitment,” said Duncan. “They are what I call social entrepreneurs. They saw a challenge and they just fixed it; they just went to work.”

Parade magazine partnered with the national youth-service organization the LEAGUE to select the All America Service Team members.

The LEAGUE is a school and online system for service learning, with Learning to Give as its curriculum for teaching K-12 philanthropy, and Points of Light Institute is extremely pleased to announce that it intends to add the program resources of the LEAGUE to its portfolio.

These resources will increase the capacity of Points of Light and its youth service division generationOn to inspire, equip, and mobilize young people to take action that changes the world.

In particular, these resources will add to their ability to reach youth and to engage schools in creating a culture of service starting in the earliest grades.

The leading Learning to Give program meets education standards in all 50 states, and teaches kids the power of service and giving.

It will be an extraordinary complement to the array of programs and resources offered by generationOn.

The added power of the LEAGUE programs in 700 schools, its service coach model, the Learning to Give curriculum, and its Parade All America High School Team Service Awards will help generationOn realize a truly comprehensive approach to improving schools and leveraging service learning to improve the academic and life success of students.

At next week’s National Conference on Volunteering and Service in New York City, Points of Light will announce new and innovative plans to reach and transform youth and schools across the country, bringing the best resources and models forward for schools to use and replicate across the nation.