When it comes to service, if you don’t have a youth strategy, you don’t have a strategy at all. For 27 years, Youth Service America (YSA) has tapped into the passion, creativity and ingenuity of young people, and provided them with the opportunities and tools to improve their communities through service to others. Through mobilization campaigns, funding, training and the provision of free resources, YSA calls upon children and youth to find their voice, take action, and create real change.
Organized by a 17-year-old, some younger members of the Austin, Texas Boys and Girls Club spruce up a local elementary school's community garden on Global Youth Service Day 2013
Each April, YSA convenes Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) to celebrate the contributions that young people make year-round, and to provide a highly visible and accessible on-ramp to service activities. We have just celebrated Global Youth Service Day 2013, during which we engaged youth in 2,700 communities around the world. Young people from all 50 U.S. states served side-by-side with youth from 135 other countries at this annual event – the largest service event in the world!
The ideals of academic achievement, career and workforce readiness, and stronger communities all become realized through service to others. YSA envisions a global culture of engaged young people committed to positive and sustainable change through a lifetime of service, learning, leadership and achievement. We have been able to help bring about this vision by collaborating with our global network of nonprofit, education and corporate partners – including IBM.
Last year, 54 IBM engineers were connected via MentorPlace with students in 10 middle-school classes engaged in STEMester of Service – YSA’s school-based service and learning program. As these young people worked to address substantive environmental issues in their communities, IBM mentors helped them explore and connect to information about STEM-based (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) careers.
In January 2013, YSA’s senior leadership honed their strategic assessment skills through an IBM Services Grant. On Global Youth Service Day 2013, YSA forged a relationship with IBM and TOUCH Community Services, a Singapore-based NGO that works with disadvantaged and at-risk youth. The story of how this partnership came to be typifies IBM’s commitment to sustainable, authentic partnerships and demonstrates the value of IBM’s time, talent and technology.
The YSA team began conversations with IBM in East Asia to identify opportunities to collaborate around Global Youth Service Day. We facilitated a Singapore connection with TOUCH Community Services, and IBM Singapore worked closely with them to provide resources and expertise. IBM Singapore introduced TOUCH to the IBM Reading Companion program, developing a sustainable infrastructure for future partnerships. IBM Singapore also presented a Smarter Planet Awareness talk focused on climate change and energy efficiency to introduce IBM’s science offerings to one of TOUCH’s secondary school support programs. Through these and other service efforts, TOUCH supported students as they contributed more than 1,000 volunteer hours to Global Youth Service Day activities.
As YSA continues its commitment to support the power of youth, we know we cannot do it without the power of partnerships, such as that forged with IBM. Together, with shared vision and values, we multiply our efforts, create new networks, and help youth change the world.
Steven A. Culbertson is the President and CEO of Youth Service America.
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