The Michigan Community Service Commission, Michigan Nonprofit Association, Volunteer Centers of Michigan, The League Michigan, and Michigan Campus Compact, with support from Youth Service America and the Corporation for National and Community Service, announced the distribution of more than $10,000 in mini-grant funds to support 2013 Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) projects across the state. Thanks to these mini-grants, hundreds of Michigan youth will lend their considerable resources to addressing critical issues in their communities this April.
Twenty-eight organizations from across Michigan received the funds to coordinate service projects that tackle critical challenges in their communities; including education, economic opportunity, health, clean energy and environmental stewardship, hunger, homelessness, and public safety. Grants range in value from $87 to $500.
All of the projects funded by the mini-grants incorporated youth in the planning process and/or will engage youth as volunteers.
"These funds will support critical components of 28 different GYSD service projects in Michigan," said Donna Murray-Brown, president and CEO of the Michigan Nonprofit Association. "Now these organizations can afford the necessary supplies and resources to implement projects that will make a difference in their communities."
Global Youth Service Day is an annual volunteer event that celebrates and mobilizes the millions of children and youth who improve their communities each day through service and service-learning. Established in 1988 by Youth Service America, GYSD is the largest service event in the world and is now celebrated in more than 100 countries. On GYSD, children and youth address the world's most critical issues in partnership with families, schools, community and faith-based organizations, businesses, and governments. The official dates of 2013 GYSD are April 26, 27, and 28, but many projects will occur outside of those dates.
Several mini-grant recipients are currently seeking volunteers. "We encourage everyone - particularly youth - to find a way to serve as part of the 2013 Global Youth Service Day," said Paula Kaiser VanDam, executive director of the Michigan Community Service Commission. "Young people in Michigan have much to offer in the form of their talents and resources and GYSD is a great opportunity to engage them." If you're interested in serving as a volunteer, visit www.gysd.org to search for opportunities in your area.
The 2013 GYSD mini-grants were awarded to the following organizations:
| City |
Organization |
Mini-Grant Amount |
Project Details |
| Bellaire |
Antrim Conservation District |
$350 |
Volunteers will protect and restore trails in the Cedar River Natural Area on April 26. Participants will also install interpretive signs and tree identification tags throughout the area. |
| Carson City |
Carson City Crystal Area Schools |
$400 |
Students in the Youth Leadership Team will organize and host a sack lunch packaging project to help combat local childhood hunger. |
| Detroit |
Urban Neighborhood Initiatives |
$350 |
A volunteer beautification and clean-up project will be held in Springwells Village on April 27. |
| Detroit |
AmeriCorps Urban Safety Project |
$500 |
Community volunteers will board- and clean-up 11 vacant and open properties in the Virginia Park neighborhood on April 26 and 27. |
| Detroit |
Green Living Space |
$500 |
A community day will be held at the Lincoln Street Art Park on April 27. Attendees will participate in the development of a rain garden and rain barrel beautification projects. |
| Detroit |
Volunteers in Prevention, Probation & Prisons, Inc. (VIP Mentoring) |
$500 |
Students and community members will perform debris clearing and clean-up on a field behind Denby High School to prepare the ground for agricultural use. |
| Detroit |
Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation |
$500 |
Volunteers will participate in a park clean-up and restoration project on April 26 and 27 at Stoepel Park to prepare the grounds for Little League baseball. |
| East Lansing |
St. Thomas Aquinas Parish School |
$285 |
Students will create learning games for orphans in West Africa by using durable shower curtains. |
| Ferndale |
Eight Mile Boulevard Association |
$500 |
A community clean-up and beautification project will be held along Eight Mile Boulevard on May 4. |
| Flint |
C.S. Mott Community College |
$500 |
Youth and volunteers will participate in a school beautification project at Flint Northwestern High School on April 26. |
| Grand Blanc |
Grand Blanc Community Schools |
$350 |
Students will participate in two different service projects; helping to plant flowers throughout the community and assisting with Special Olympics events. |
| Grand Rapids |
Blandford Nature Center |
$500 |
Youth volunteers and their families will help to remove invasive species and debris at the Blandford Nature Center on April 28 to improve native habitats. |
| Grand Rapids |
Cherry Street Community HealthCorps |
$300 |
Volunteers and national service members will educate the community about the Be.Nice. anti-bullying program and local mental health services on April 26. |
| Grand Rapids |
Harrison Park School |
$200 |
Students will participate in a variety of service projects on April 25 including cleaning a park, visiting with veterans, assisting the local Habitat for Humanity, painting trim through Habitat for Humanity, and packing lunches for Kids Food Basket, among others. |
| Grand Rapids |
Kent Innovation |
$87 |
Students will participate in a tree-planting event at Riverside Park on April 27. |
| Ionia |
Montcalm Youth Advisory Council |
$150 |
Students will lead an anti-drug and alcohol campaign on April 26 to raise awareness about local substance abuse issues. |
| Ionia |
Ionia County Intermediate School District/ Ionia Youth Advisory Council |
$350 |
Community members and students will join together on April 12 to make blankets for a women's shelter, treats for an animal shelter, and create hygiene packs for the homeless shelter. |
| Jackson |
Middle School at Parkside |
$200 |
Students will hold a seed drive to create a Seed Bank for the school greenhouse. Seeds will be used for various educational projects throughout the year. |
| Jackson |
T.A. Wilson Academy |
$216 |
On May 3rd, students will participate in a school clean-up and beautification project. |
| Jackson |
Jackson High School |
$200 |
Students will create bags from t-shirts and hold a personal hygiene item drive. The bags will be filled with hygiene items and donated to a transitional housing program. |
| Lambertville |
Bedford Junior High Green Team |
$200 |
Youth will clean-up and green-up the school grounds and campus during a beautification project. |
| Lansing |
The Fellowship of St. Paul Catechism Class |
$500 |
Students will participate in a food packing project on April 27 that will benefit Kids Against Hunger. |
| Lansing |
Allen Neighborhood Center |
$500 |
Youth and volunteers will cultivate and prepare garden beds at the Learning Leaves Community Garden and Hunter Park Gardenhouse on April 26. They will also build "Little Free Libraries" at Prospect Place which will be used by children and people with disabilities. |
| Mt. Clemens |
Macomb County Habitat for Humanity |
$500 |
Youth volunteers will participate in a clean-up, landscaping, and beautification project on the local Habitat for Humanity grounds on April 27. |
| Sault St. Marie |
United Way of the Eastern Upper Peninsula |
$500 |
On April 25 and 26, local area students will volunteer at two assisted living facilities to assist with grounds clean-up, maintenance, and visiting with residents. |
| St. Johns |
Habitat for Humanity of Clinton County |
$200 |
Youth will participate in a picnic-table building project on April 27. Tables will be given to Habitat for Humanity homeowners. |
| Troy |
Susick Elementary |
$350 |
Students will volunteer at the Lloyd A. Stage Nature Center by removing invasive species and picking up trash on April 26. |
| Troy |
Michigan's Campaign to End Homelessness AmeriCorps |
$500 |
AmeriCorps members will hold a board- and clean-up project for local students and community volunteers on April 26-28. The project will address several vacant and abandoned properties in the Brightmoor community. |
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BACKGROUND:
The Michigan Community Service Commission builds a culture of service by providing vision and resources to strengthen communities through volunteerism. In 2012-2013, the MCSC is granting more than $7.5 million in federal funds to local communities for volunteer programs and activities. The MCSC is funding 23 AmeriCorps programs and six Volunteer Michigan grantees. The Governor's Service Awards and Mentor Michigan are also premier programs of the MCSC. The MCSC is housed in the Michigan Department of Human Services, whose mission is to assist children, families, and vulnerable adults to be safe, stable, and self-supporting.
Michigan Nonprofit Association (MNA) serves nonprofits to advance their missions. With more than 800 members, MNA serves as a statewide network for the sector, a resource center on effective management practices, and as an advocate for the nonprofit community. For more information, visit www.MNAonline.org.
Michigan Campus Compact promotes the education and commitment of Michigan college and university students to be civically engaged citizens, through creating and expanding academic, co-curricular and campus-wide opportunities for community service, service-learning and civic engagement. For more information, please visit www.micampuscompact.org.
The LEAGUE Michigan is a program for service, service-learning and philanthropy education that builds character and empowers young people to "do good" in their community, the nation and the world. For more information, visit http://www.mnaonline.org/league.aspx.
The Volunteer Centers of Michigan strengthens, develops and connects Volunteer Centers throughout the state. Our goal is to ensure that all volunteer centers have the capacity to positively impact every Michigan community and their citizens through volunteerism. We believe that volunteer centers play a leadership role in mobilizing people and resources to deliver creative solutions to community problems. For more information, visit www.mivolunteers.org.
Youth Service America improves communities by increasing the number and the diversity of young people, ages 5-25, serving in substantive roles. Founded in 1986, YSA supports a global culture of engaged youth committed to a lifetime of service, learning, leadership, and achievement. The impact of YSA's work through service and service-learning is measured in student achievement, workplace readiness, and healthy communities.
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