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Marcus Lee has a place in his heart for children with special needs.
He often tagged along as his father worked as a home health aide with children facing challenges. Now, as a sophomore at Detroit’s Loyola High School, Marcus was inspired to use his experiences to serve his community for Global Youth Service Day.
Last year, Marcus proposed that the school organize a carnival for students with autism and special needs from surrounding public schools. This year, the boys from Loyola are doubling their efforts.
“For me, the carnival idea just brought together a lot of activities for the kids (that might not get to do them otherwise),” said Marcus. “We had to show them how to play the games, and we got to play along with them. We all had a lot of fun, and seeing the big smiles on the kids’ faces … That brought a lot of joy to me.”
Marcus explained that he’s even more excited for this year’s carnival, because they’ve expanded their outreach to include more children with special needs. In total, 102 Loyola students, 23 of whom have disabilities themselves, will join together in over 1,800 service hours to benefit 132 local public school students.
“The biggest highlight was just the look in the kids’ eyes when they were with our high school boys and they were cheering them on,” said Loyola teacher Kathryn Gross. “Almost everyone was moved to tears.”
Global Youth Service Day
Loyola’s students won’t be alone in their Global Youth Service Day efforts on April 21-23. The Michigan Community Service Commission, with partner Youth Service America, will support 35 Global Youth Service Day projects across the state, engaging nearly 4,500 youth volunteers.
Global Youth Service Day, now celebrated in over 100 countries, is the largest service event in the world. The Michigan Community Service Commission will support youth across Michigan who will participate in projects that support education, health, environmental stewardship, and more.
“It’s amazing to see what youth in our state can accomplish,” said Ginna Holmes, Michigan Community Service Commission executive director. “Introducing youth to service and volunteerism at a young age can be beneficial for everyone. We are so proud to help support their efforts.”
More Michigan GYSD Projects
In Northern Michigan, Huron Pines volunteers and Michigan’s AmeriCorps members will spend the day educating youth about the environmental impact of both native and invasive plant species, as well as engaging them in a project that encourages native growth. After the project is complete and the native plants have grown, the children will return to the garden to release the area’s native butterflies.
“This will bring the whole project full-circle, allowing the kids to see how native species interact with native pollinators,” says Wendy Lemon, Huron Pines AmeriCorps Program Director.
In Warren, two third grade classes will visit Stage Nature Center to pull invasive plants and learn about native species. A class from Susick Elementary School in Troy has invited pen pals from Jefferson Elementary School in Detroit to introduce to service learning project and meet for the first time.
“We believe in introducing children to service early,” said Barbara Gottschalk, the facilitator for the project at Susick. “We wanted to give students not only get the opportunity to actually meet their pen pals, but to also get students from another school excited about service. We think this project at Stage Nature Center will be a great way to do that.”
On April 21–23, thousands more youth volunteers will be making a difference across Michigan. To find out how you can make your impact, visit GYSD.org.
The Michigan Community Service Commission will also support the following projects:
|
Allegan County United Way |
Allegan |
This project will recruit cognitively impaired students to clean up a heavily-traveled road in Allegan County. |
|
Allendale Middle School, 7th Grade Science |
Allendale |
Students will learn about invasive species, and to remove those species from surrounding parks. |
|
Boys and Girls Club Youth Volunteer Corps. of Alpena |
Alpena |
Youth will plant seedlings, create art, and learn about the environmental benefits of gardening. |
|
Carson City-Crystal Area Schools |
Carson City |
Students will restore the school nature trail, create fleece blankets for community mentors and the local animal shelter, and implement a recycling program for the elementary school. |
|
Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency |
Detroit |
Youth volunteers will restore 39 community gardens in Wayne County by building plot signs and planting seeds. |
|
Wayne State University |
Detroit |
The AmeriCorps Urban Safety Program will join with youth volunteers to board up hazardous vacant homes and clean up the surrounding areas. |
|
Detroit Public School Community District |
Detroit |
This project will teach Detroit students and their families about nutrition. High school volunteers will run kids' activities tables, lead farm tours, greet guests, and lead workshops at Drew Farm. |
|
Youth Development Commission |
Detroit |
Youth mentees will plan and lead a spring clean-up and beautification project in Detroit's East Side neighborhood. |
|
Loyola High School |
Detroit |
High school students will design and host a carnival for public school students with special needs. Each high school student will be paired with special needs students to support them throughout the day. |
|
Public Allies Metro Detroit Leadership Academy |
Detroit |
This project will take place at a low-income and senior housing community. Youth volunteers will work on the grounds, prep the community garden, and build an irrigation system. |
|
Alternatives For Girls |
Detroit |
Alternatives for Girls' after-school program will create a "Peace Sanctuary" garden to be used by youth in the surrounding community. |
|
Urban Neighborhood Initiaitves (UNI) |
Detroit |
This service project will transform a vacant lot in Southwest Detroit to create a safer route to school for students in the area. |
|
Flint Schools Corps |
Flint |
Volunteers will give hands-on gardening and nutrition education in classrooms throughout Flint. |
|
TrueNorth Community Services- Volunteer Resource Center |
Fremont |
The purpose of this project is to engage youth to help plant trees at Sandy Beach Park, while also engaging youth in conservation discussions. |
|
Huron Pines |
Gaylord |
Youth will learn about native species and their environmental benefits. They will then create clay seed balls, which they will be able to take home and plant to promote native plants and pollinators. |
|
Heart of West Michigan United Way |
Grand Rapids |
Over 100 youth will remove invasive species and clean up trash at Kent County's Millennium Park. |
|
Literacy Center of West Michigan |
Grand Rapids |
This event will engage nearly 1,000 Muskegon County 8th graders in a community-wide parks clean-up. |
|
Hartland High School Mentoring Group |
Hartland |
Hartland High School students will work on the farm and in the fields for Forgotten Harvest. Their work will contribute to food pantries all over Southeast Michigan. |
|
Hazel Park Public Schools |
Hazel Park |
Youth volunteers with learning disabilities and emotional impairments will plant an urban garden in the school courtyard. |
|
Greater Ottawa County United Way |
Holland |
Middle school students will learn about native plants and remove invasive species at two local parks. |
|
Ionia County Youth Advisory Council |
Ionia |
Youth volunteers involved in this service project will plan a healthy meal for food insecure children in Ionia and Montcalm counties. |
|
Partridge Creek Farm |
Ishpeming |
The purpose of this project is to create forageable public garden space, as well as to create additional growing beds for education, community activities, and local food. |
|
Jenison Public School Classroom Teacher |
Jenison |
This service project will put together bags of healthy food for food-insecure families. |
|
South Side Community Coalition |
Lansing |
Youth volunteers will clean up and beautify the landscape surrounding South Side Community Coalition. |
|
Habitat for Humanity Capital Region |
Lansing |
Volunteers will build a 3 bedroom home for a Lansing family. |
|
Peckham Inc |
Lansing |
Youth will plant flowers, lay mulch, and maintain a garden in Lansing. |
|
Refugee Development Center |
Lansing |
This bench-building project will provide an opportunity for intercultural engagement between students from Lansing's established and newcomer communities. |
|
NorthWest Initiative |
Lansing |
Elementary school students will design, build, and plant an edible schoolyard garden. |
|
Allen Neighborhood Center |
Lansing |
Volunteers will maintain and expand the Edible Park Garden in Hunter Park. |
|
South Oakland Shelter |
Lathrup Village |
This project will engage local youth in service projects to beautify the South Oakland Shelter facility, remodel the food pantry, and update the community garden |
|
Pioneer Resources |
Muskegon |
This service project will create a sensory garden for those with sensory processing issues, such as autism or a brain injury. |
|
Community enCompass- YEP! |
Muskegon |
Youth volunteers will re-establish a working urban garden in a food desert. |
|
Saginaw County Community Action Committee |
Saginaw |
Youth will participate in a beautification project at Veteran's Park in Saginaw, cleaning up debris, planting a shade tree, and maintaining the grounds. |
|
United Way of Northwest Michigan |
Traverse City |
The mission of this project is to engage youth by planting a vegetable and herb garden to encourage community involvement and accountability. |
|
Susick Elementary |
Troy |
Third grade students from two public schools will conduct a service project at Stage Nature Center, removing invasive plants and learning about native species. |