Detroit, MI— Youth Service America announced it will partner with Wayne State University in Michigan to promote National & Global Youth Service Day in southeastern Michigan. Wayne State University will mobilize more than 500 young people to participate in National & Global Youth Service Day, April 20 through April 22, 2007 in southeastern Michigan. Volunteers will conduct service projects addressing literacy, hunger, public safety, the environment, and other important issues in the community. One of the 2007 Lead Agency Award Recipients, Wayne State University was the only organization chosen as a partner in Michigan, and one of two universities chosen nationwide.

Several units within the university are contributing to the efforts, including Wayne State’s Honors Program and its newly launched Center for Community-Based Education (www.ccbe.wayne.edu). The Center works to coordinate service-learning projects among students who wish to seek academic credit while learning in and from the community. Additional support is being provided by the Children’s Bridge, an initiative to promote interdisciplinary collaboration among faculty throughout the university in order to address the many interrelated challenges facing today\'s children.

Wayne State is planning a number of events to take place across the three days around the metropolitan area. “This is a wonderful opportunity for Wayne State to work with the community to address local needs,” said Jerry Herron, director of the Honors Program and professor of English. “It is also a chance for Wayne State students to learn, while serving those needs. With over 180,000 alumni living and working in southeastern Michigan, Wayne State has a significant presence in the region. Wayne State is not just helping the community—it is part of the community.”
Every school and college of the university has at least one program involving K-12 schools, including more than 150 programs involving more than 300 contacts in the school systems. Projects range in type from direct services to students, enrichment programs, programs in collaboration with community agencies, curriculum and instruction partnerships, to inter-institutional consortia or other resource sharing arrangements. These collaborations establish linkages among counselors, faculty, teachers, health service professionals and school and college administrators for reform in education at all levels. The Detroit Public Schools system is the site for more than 100 of these projects.

Wayne State University is a premier institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 11 schools and colleges to more than 33,000 students. The Honors Program provides a community of scholars within a large urban research institution. Honors\' goal is informed citizenship as the basis for academic excellence in a diverse, global setting. The Honors experience is founded on four pillars: Community, Service, Research, and Career.

Youth Service America (www.YSA.org) is a national nonprofit resource center that partners with thousands of organizations committed to increasing the quality and quantity of volunteer opportunities for young people, ages 5-25, to serve locally, nationally, and globally. Founded in 1986, Youth Service America’s mission is to expand the impact of the youth service movement with communities, schools, corporations, and governments. Youth Service America envisions a global culture of engaged youth who are committed to a lifetime of service, learning, leadership and achievement.

In addition to National & Global Youth Service Day, which takes place concurrently each April, YSA also hosts SERVEnet (www.SERVEnet.org), providing the largest database of volunteer opportunities in America.