Northern Virginia Participates in a global youth service event!

April 26^th – April 28^th will mark the 25^th annual Global Youth Service Day (GYSD)! What is GYSD and why should you care? GYSD is the LARGEST service event in the WORLD and the only day of service dedicated to children and youth. Celebrated in over 100 countries, GYSD has helped to mobilize millions of children and youth around the world to improve their communities by addressing the world’s most critical issues through service and service training. GYSD seeks to give youth an early step on a life-long path of service and community engagement and raise public awareness of the year-round contributions of young people among the media and public officials.

Locally in 2012, a total of 744 volunteers, including 20 nonprofit and government agencies and 24 community groups, participated in 32 projects on Global Youth Service Day.  On a worldwide scale, there was a reported 570,192 volunteers participating in almost 5,000 projects. Approximately 3,261,015 volunteer hours were served equaling $71,057,516 worth of volunteer time contributed.

Global Youth Service Day, a campaign of Youth Service America (YSA), is the perfect opportunity for youth ages 5-25 to become engaged and responsible citizens in their community.  If you are interested in joining youth across the globe promote change and celebrate volunteerism, it is not too late.  This year there will be over 30 projects and 1,300 volunteer spots! To find out more information about how to participate in GYSD and to learn how you can make a difference, click here.

For great ideas on starting your own project, cool promotional tools, and stories about youth and how volunteering has changed their lives and the lives of others you can also visit www.gysd.org!

Here are some projects happening this weekend!

Habitat Restoration at JEB Stuart on April 27

SpringFest Fairfax on April 27

Garlic Mustard Challenge at Clermont Park on April 27

Take Back the Forest at Rutherford Park on April 28