Reading, PA — On Sunday, April 23, volunteers of all ages will participate in service projects in City Park, 11th and Washington Streets, from 1-3 pm for Global Youth Service Day 2017 (GYSD), a Youth Service America (YSA) international event. The event will culminate in a celebration of youth service with food, games, dance performances and music from 3-4. With grant funding from State Farm along with training and support from YSA, the event will be led by VOiCEup, a 2017 Global Youth Service Day Lead Agency.
VOiCEup has partnered with Reading Public Works Department and Permacultivate again this year to identify and complete several projects in City Park including: general park clean-up, flower planting, mulching, mural painting, park beautification, bench painting and other projects inside the City Greenhouse. The event in City Park will engage approximately 300 volunteers and will be supported by various organizations, groups and school districts. Volunteers can sign up for the event at https://www.voiceupberks.org/
The event is rain or shine.
As an affiliate of Youth Volunteer Corps (YVC), VOiCEup engages youth ages 11-18 in meaningful community service. GYSD will serve as one of the Youth Volunteer Corps Days of Service that is offered to local youth. Volunteers will be led by the Youth Advisory Board, a component of the YVC programming in Berks County . The Youth Advisory Board consists of 10th and 11th grade students from schools across the county who are passionate about community service and leadership.
Now in its 29th year, GYSD is the largest and longest-running youth service event in the world, and the only event dedicated to celebrating the contributions that young people make to their communities year-round. State Farm® is the U.S. Presenting Sponsor of YSA’s Global Youth Service Day campaign, and the Program Sponsor of the Global Youth Service Day Lead Agency grants.
“We are thrilled to partner with VOiCEup and the thousands of young people in Pennsylvania who will serve and celebrate on Global Youth Service Day,” said Steven A. Culbertson, President and CEO of YSA. “We know that young people are uniquely suited to help solve problems, if given the opportunity. They are wired for novelty (learning new things and creating new solutions), risk (trying things adults might not), and peer authority (kids listen to other kids more than they do to adults). Today’s social and environmental problems are immense; we need youth in Berks County to be leaders and problem solvers today, not just the leaders of a distant tomorrow.”
VOiCEup Berks, a fund of Berks County Community Foundation and an affiliate of Youth Volunteer Corps, is a local organization dedicated to connecting all sectors of Berks County to volunteer opportunities through service learning. Formed in 2015, VOiCEup is the collaborative effort of a group of experienced volunteers who are committed to the power of service. VOiCEup currently facilitates school-based service learning and leadership academies at area middle schools and a Youth Advisory Board for high school students. Summer programming includes YOUth CAN! Leadership Camps for middle school students at Albright College.
“VOiCEup was established to show our youth that they have a voice in our community and that they can be agents of positive community change,” said Christi Terefenko, co-founder of VOiCEup Berks.
For more information, please visit www.voiceupberks.org or https://www.facebook.com/voiceupberks
