Today’s guest post comes from Youth Service America.

Editor’s Note: Simone Bernstein is a sophomore at St. Bonaventure University in upstate New York and a member of the YSA Youth Council. She is co-founder of StLouisVolunteen.com, a youth-led volunteer, intern and scholarship resource for students, families, schools, and nonprofits. StLouisVolunteen.com organizes and hosts an annual spring STL Youth & Family Volunteer Fair.

As military dependents, my brother and I appreciated the generosity of our community when my dad was deployed. Friends, neighbors and the kindness of strangers helped us get us through the long and challenging months of my dad’s deployment. My brother and I wanted to pay it forward and find ways as youth that we could give back to support our community. We were both active in scouting and our religious school service projects, but we wanted to do more. Unfortunately, many nonprofit agencies required volunteers to be 18 years or older to volunteer on site.

As we got older, through word of mouth, we learned of opportunities for youth to volunteer on site at a variety of nonprofit organizations in our community:  at the local library, the VA Hospital, our city’s children’s museum, and an emergency crisis nursery. However, there was no local website or resource specifically geared towards youth and family volunteerism listing these opportunities. My brother and I created StLouisVolunteen.com  to fulfill that basic need. We created a simple resource for area schools and youth to promote volunteer opportunities.  We categorized the various organizations that offer volunteer opportunities for students by age group and area of interest. Each spring we host a community-wide Youth and Family Volunteer Fair to share the variety of opportunities available for teenagers and families with young children to volunteer in our community. The Volunteer Fair marks the kick-off to Global Youth Service Day(GYSD), the largest service event in the world.

I first learned about GYSD when I was researching youth service ideas and opportunities on the Internet.  I knew I wanted to be part of this global celebration that unites and connects youth throughout the world with the common goal of making a difference to improve their communities. GYSD provides information and grants for youth to create their own projects and/or partner with non-profit organizations. As a current member of the YSA Youth Council (watch the PSA we made!), I have the opportunity to not only increase the impact of my project from last year, but also show young people around the world that they too can use service to solve important issues in their communities. But my favorite thing about GYSD is that it shows age is not a barrier to serving! Anyone at any age can do something to make a difference.

I am asking you join me and my fellow youth council members for GYSD on April 20 -22, 2012 and either plan or join a service project. No project is too small and every single thing you do has potential to make a tremendous impact.

This video originally appeared on the .

 

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