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Partnership Helps to Promote Youth Structure Building Competition in the Community

by Youth Volunteer Corps of Reading

Jan 30, 2019

Reading, PA –For the second straight year, Youth Volunteer Corps (YVC) of Reading is partnering with Performance Toyota to bring the annual YVC Canstructure Contest, a structure-building competition to fight hunger, to Berks County this spring. Teams of youth throughout Berks County, mentored by artists, architects, engineers, or contractors, will compete in a contest to build incredible designs made entirely from cans of food that will be collected during food drives over the next several weeks. The structures will be built on the morning of March 16, 2019 at the Berkshire Mall. Following the competition, all canned food will be donated to the Greater Berks Food Bank. Last year’s contest engaged over 100 youth participants and resulted in 3.2 tons of food being donated to the Greater Berks Food Bank.

Performance Toyota of Sinking Spring is the title sponsor for the event and is engaging the community through an employee- and customer-wide canned food drive throughout the month of February. The project is part of Performance Toyota’s corporate culture of encouraging employee volunteerism and giving back to the community. Karen Linder, Performance Toyota Charitable Giving Coordinator, said: “We are proud to partner with Youth Volunteer Corps of Reading in their food drive for Canstructure and are excited to see the sculptures students create with the canned goods they collect.  It’s a win-win community service project that fosters important skills in our youth and helps to fight hunger at the same time.  How could we pass that up?”

Youth Volunteer Corps of Reading is a program of VOiCEup Berks, a local nonprofit dedicated to connecting people with meaningful volunteer opportunities in Berks County. “Performance Toyota has been a fantastic partner for this event. Their canned food drive is a great way to raise awareness about food scarcity and to collect cans that will supplement youth teams that may have difficulty with food drives in their community. We are excited to partner with such a civic minded organization,” said Christi Terefenko, Executive Director for VOiCEup Berks.

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.

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