Wayne State University to coordinate effort
Global Youth Service Days program will involve 1,000 civic-minded volunteers in Detroit metro area
Some 1,000 youthful volunteers from Wayne State University and elsewhere will fan out to multiple sites in the Detroit metropolitan area between April 16-22 to perform community service as part of National & Global Youth Service Days. The volunteers will participate in more than 20 assistance projects ranging from planting flowers to assisting at a soup kitchen, and from community clean-up efforts to participation in a program at Wayne State to promote international cultural understanding.
“We are recruiting volunteers primarily between the ages of 5 and 25,” explains Kelley Skillin, communications director of the Center for Community-Based Education at Wayne State and coordinator for the Youth Services Days program in the Detroit metro area. “That’s in keeping with the mission of Youth Service America (YSA), the founder and national coordinator of this annual community service initiative. But I tell people that we’ll gladly accept volunteers from ages 5 to 100.”
Wayne State is the only lead agency chosen by YSA for Michigan, and one of only two universities in the nation named as lead agencies. The other is the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Lead agencies coordinate the projects of several groups in their area.
The goals for the program, now in its 19th year, are to encourage youth to identify and address service needs in their communities, to promote and support a lifetime of service and civic engagement, and to inform the public about the contributions of young people as community leaders.
The projects or organizations involved were selected by a youth advisory board consisting of Wayne State students, who also will serve as coordinators at the various sites. A list of volunteer opportunities is available on the Center for Community-Based Education’s Web site at ccbe.wayne.edu/nysd/events.php.
Among participating organizations are Gleaners Community Food Bank, St. Dominic’s Outreach Center in Detroit, Children’s Home of Detroit, Detroit Zoo, Presbyterian Village of Michigan, Maybury and Harms elementary schools in Detroit, Macomb County Adult Day Service, Warren-V8 Collaborative Community Clean-up, and many more.
Prospective volunteers can sign up online at the site noted above. Skillin points out that a few of the service opportunities have already reached the maximum capacity for volunteers during Youth Service Days. However, should someone be interested in volunteering with a particular organization or project at a different time, she can provide contact information. Contact her at 313-577-9216 or kskillin@wayne.edu.
Wayne State University is a premier institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 11 schools and colleges to 33,000 students.