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A WEEKLY PUBLICATION OF Published for the Service and Service-Learning Field Since 1994 July 8, 2010 - Volume 17 #27 - Circulation: 37,000 Share the NSB YSA Quick Links Youth Service America Global Youth Service Day Semester of Service Get Ur Good On Grants Tools & Resources ServiceWire servenet   Sponsors United Healthcare Last Week To Apply: Three YSA Grant Program Application Deadlines Next Thursday, July 15 Disney Friends for Change Grants Disney's Friends for Change grants encourage kids everywhere to take steps together with their friends to help the planet. YSA will award 75 $500 grants to youth-led service initiatives around the world that demonstrate youth leadership and the commitment to making a positive impact on the environment. Applicants will be asked to implement their projects between September and November and to connect their projects to International Coastal Cleanup Day, National Public Lands Day (both September 25), or other environmentally-focused days of service. www.ysa.org/grants/announcements/friendsforchange2010 STEMester of Service Grants Funded by Learn and Serve America, STEMester of Service incorporates YSA's semester-long service-learning framework to engage educators and students in addressing critical environmental and disaster preparedness needs and connecting them to STEM curricula. YSA is seeking middle schools with large populations of disadvantaged youth; STEM schools must be located in one of the 19 states with highest dropout rates: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wyoming. The $5,000 grant (that includes travel and training at YSA's Youth Service Institute in Detroit in October) supports teachers as they guide students in addressing local needs by implementing sustainable service projects. www.ysa.org/grants/stem Global Youth Service Day U.S. Lead Agency Grants Lead Agencies are local, regional, or statewide organizations across the United States, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario, or New Brunswick that increase the scale, visibility, and impact of Global Youth Service Day by leading GYSD in their city, region, or state. Lead Agencies receive a $2,000 GYSD planning grant sponsored by State Farm Companies Foundation, travel support to attend the Youth Service Institute, and ongoing training and technical assistance from Youth Service America to ensure a successful Global Youth Service Day.  www.GYSD.org/content/2011GYSDleadagency NEWS FROM THE FIELD SPECIAL GULF OIL SPILL EDITION National Service Agency Oil Spill Response Plan The Corporation's primary focus in the wake of the disaster is to help mitigate immediate and long-term human, economic and environmental needs through direct service and mobilization and coordination of community volunteers. Through its national service programs, the agency is working with Gulf Coast state service commissions and community organizations to expand their operational capacity and develop strategies to recruit and manage volunteers. To date, volunteers and national service participants have been involved in diverse response activities ranging from lining the shores of the Gulf, monitoring coastlines, pre-landfall beach clean-up, providing safety net services, operating and staffing Volunteer Reception Centers, and hosting career fairs for displaced workers. The call for volunteers is expected to grow considerably over time.  Read the Corporation's strategy to respond to the BP oil spill at www.nationalservice.gov/about/newsroom/releases_detail.asp?tbl_pr_id=1795 and www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/factsheet_serviceresponse_oilspill.pdf How Volunteers Can Help The complex nature of oil cleanup, coupled with health and safety concerns, restricts the role of volunteers. The Deepwater Unified Area Command under the direction of Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen has specified that volunteers or unpaid individuals are not allowed to perform hands-on hazardous waste remediation. Find an appropriate volunteer opportunity by typing in your zip code or register to volunteer with one of the Gulf Coast state service commissions at the website below. Volunteers are also encouraged to support disaster relief organizations responding to the spill and to volunteer with human service agencies and nonprofits in the region that are experiencing increased demand due to the effects of the oil spill. www.serve.gov/oilspill.asp                   Disaster Response & Preparedness Resources Youth Service America has updated its "Disaster Relief & Preparedness Through Service-Learning" module. This module includes ideas and resources for planning a high quality service-learning project focused on disaster relief and preparedness. Download this module at: http://tools.ysa.org/downloads/modules/DisasterReliefModule.pdf Middle school STEM educators in 19 states who incorporate disaster preparedness and service into their curriculum are eligible to apply for YSA's STEMester of Service grant program. (See more information in this week's top story.) Additional resources are available from the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse at: www.servicelearning.org/disaster_response Gulf Coast Restoration Act Calls for Service As a Solution to Oil Spill On June 30, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) introduced H.R. 5654, the Gulf Coast Restoration Act, which will create new "wage-earning jobs and national service positions to clean and restore the Gulf Coast waters, beaches, and habitats as well as rebuild local communities and economies." The bill would create a Gulf Coast Community Conservation Corps (CCC). Gulf Coast CCC members would focus on service coordination and providing assistance to individuals and communities harmed by the Gulf Coast oil spill. Members would be eligible for the earned education awards and other benefits associated with national service positions. The cost of implementing the Gulf Coast Restoration Act, including these new and expanded national service positions, would be paid by BP in accordance with provisions of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. Read a press release about this Act, read the text of the Act, or read this one-page summary of the Act. Strategies to engage your Member of Congress are available at: http://voicesforservice.org/action.htm Gulf Oil Spill Volunteers: Problems Matching People To Jobs A recent article from the Huffington Post provides interesting background on the issue of effectively engaging volunteers when much of what needs to be done requires special training or safety equipment - and alternative ways to engage volunteers other than directly cleaning up oil. Excerpts include: "Cleaning oiled birds and tar-stained beaches isn't as straightforward as clearing rubble. In many cases, it's been difficult to find enough work for all the volunteers. ... The needs here are specialized in many ways ... workers also need special safety equipment. ...  There are other ways to help, Some 10,000 volunteers without biohazard training have registered with the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. Hundreds of them have been sent to clear beaches of debris before oil hits, he said. ... In Florida, about one-third of the 7,683 people who offered to help have actually worked, mostly in pre-oil beach cleanup. ... In Alabama, 5,000 people signed up for the first week of a training program designed by Mobile Baykeeper and Alabama Coastal Foundation, that trains volunteers to go photograph and document what's happening along the state's shoreline." Read the full article at: www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/11/gulf-oil-spill-volunteers_n_608641.html GRANTS & AWARDS WaysToHelp.org Grants (Deadline: Ongoing) WaysToHelp.org invites teens in the United States to apply for grants to fund their community service ideas across any one of 16 issue areas.  You can apply for a grant, by visiting www.waystohelp.org and for any issue area, selecting "See Ways To Help" followed by "Apply for a Grant".  Applications are short - just 5,000 words or less - and should summarize: how the project will involve others, who it will help, what effect it's expected to have, when it will start and how the funds will be used.  Grant requests are reviewed and responded to on a monthly basis. www.waystohelp.org UNDP Picture This Contest (Deadline: July 16) The contest, entitled "Picture This: We Can End Poverty,"  is open to amateurs and professionals, who may submit up to three photos focusing on progress towards one of the eight Millennium Development Goals, preferably in a developing country. An exhibit featuring the winning photos will be held during the MDG Summit in September 2010 in New York. For more information please visit: http://picturethis.undp.org Freedom to Create Prize (Deadline: August 15) Established in 2008, the Freedom to Create Prize is a celebration of the courage and creativity of artists around the world who use their talents to promote social justice, build the foundations for open societies and inspire the human spirit. It is open to artists in all creative fields. Each year, $125,000 in prize money is awarded across three categories. The Youth Prize is open to artists or groups whose participants are under the age of 18. The $25,000 prize will be divided into two components. The winner will receive $10,000. The remaining $15,000 will be given to an organisation nominated by the winning entrant to further the cause that the artwork has highlighted. www.freedomtocreate.com/prize.asp For Previously Featured Grants & Awards, visit: www.servicewire.org/nsb/Grants-and-Awards PROFILES IN SERVICE EVERYDAY YOUNG HERO Simone Bernstein - St. Louis, MO Youth Service America recognizes eighteen year old Simone Bernstein of St. Louis, Missouri as this week's Everyday Young Hero for her work to engage youth in community service and expand youth access to volunteer opportunities.   Simone took the initiative to create a database/website for local area youth to easily find volunteer opportunities at www.stlouisvolunteen.com. As an active volunteer in the community since the age of 12, Simone found it challenging to find local youth volunteer opportunities. Many organizations would not allow youth under 18 to volunteer without a parent or guardian on site. She contacted nonprofit agencies, hospitals, museums and religious institutions to create a comprehensive list of organizations that welcome youth volunteers. In addition, she met with numerous organizations to encourage them to consider opening their doors to youth volunteers.  Simone spent hours researching and creating a webpage for area youth and fulfilled a need in the community by creating a paperless, postage-free green website. She utilized her own funds and dove in blindly to create "st louis volunteen.com" since she had no previous website building skills.    The success of the website inspired the idea for her to organize the 1st St Louis Youth and Volunteer Fair. The April 11th Volunteer Fair had a huge number of guests, and Simone plans on making this an annual event.   For her continued effort to advocate for youth volunteer opportunities and to spread the spirit of volunteerism in our community, we honor Simone as a YSA Everyday Young Hero. To nominate a young person who has improved their community through service to be recognized as an Everyday Young Hero, please visit www.ysa.org/awards/hero TOOLS, TRAINING, RESOURCES & RESEARCH 2010 Youth Organizing Field Scan The Funders' Collaborative on Youth Organizing (FCYO) recently released the 2010 Youth Organizing Field Scan - a result of in-depth regional conversations, on-line surveys and one-on-one discussions with over 100 organizations.  FCYO conducts national field scans using a combination of quantitative and qualitative research to document trends, challenges and opportunities.  Field scans provide an opportunity to inform FCYO's strategy and to help advocate for the field of youth organizing. Download the report at: http://fcyo.org/media/docs/2465_Appendix1FCYO2010FieldScan.pdf "Building a Pipeline for Justice: Understanding Youth Organizing and the Leadership Pipeline" Written by Dr. Shawn Ginwright, this paper aims to capture the challenges and opportunities of building a Leadership Pipeline, with youth organizing as a critical starting point, for a more robust and sustainable social justice movement.  Download a copy of this paper at http://fcyo.org/media/docs/6252_FCYO_OPS_10_ScreenVersion.pdf Change-Makers Share 10 of Their Favorite Tools Socialbrite is all about showcasing social tools for social change. In this article, Socialbrite consulted with experts in the field to compile a list of 10 indepspensible tools, including 5 social action tools & platforms and 5 media creation tools. Featured sites include: Mobilize.org, Amazee, Wiser Earth, Charity How To, WeAreMedia, WordPress, OpenStreetMap, BlogTalkRadio, Kodak Zi8, Spot.us & DocumentCloud. Learn more about the recommended tools at: www.socialbrite.org/2010/07/06/social-change-experts-share-10-favorite-tools/ SERVICE CALENDARS Conferences & Events Voices for National Service Capitol Hill Day September 15-16, 2010 Washington, DC Be a voice for national service by visiting your Members of Congress during the Voices for National Service Capitol Hill Day on September 15-16, 2010. The National Service Capitol Hill Day helps to establish and strengthen relationships with our legislators and provides an excellent opportunity for constituents to explain how federal funds are used locally. The meetings on Capitol Hill are a critical opportunity to share with Congress how national service participants are helping to address the country's most pressing needs during this economic downturn. This fall, as pressure builds to control spending and cut the deficit, Congress will be forced to make really tough decisions about funding priorities. It is critically important that we meet with our legislators, stress the impact of national service in our communities, and urge them to fully fund the Corporation for National and Community Service at $1.42 billion. This appropriation - recommended by President Obama - is a 23% increase for the agency, and we must demonstrate that there is a significant need and a strong demand for this level of funding. Due to the limited amount of meeting space in many Congressional offices, we may need to set limits on the number of Hill Day registrants from certain Congressional districts. We encourage you to register early to secure your place and to give us sufficient notice of your planned participation. We want to maximize interest and schedule a productive day of meetings for as many as possible.  Register at: http://voicesforservice.org/events/nshd_Registration/Form_Regis.php Conference Calendar: www.servicewire.org/conferences If you'd like your 2010 conference or event to be included, please e-mail the name, date, and location (city, state) of the conference to dmiranda@ysa.org with the subject line "NSB Conference." Include a short blurb/description of the conference and the website you want people to be directed to. Seasons of Service July 2010   World Population Day - July 11   August 2010   National Kids Day - August 1 National Night Out - August 3 International Day of Worlds' Indigenous Peoples - August 9 International Youth Day - August 12 Seasons of Service Calendar: www.servicewire.org/seasonsofservice If you'd like your annual campaign/awareness event to be included, please e-mail the name, date, and location (city, state) of the event to dmiranda@ysa.org with the subject line "Seasons of Service." Include a short blurb/description of the event and the website you want people to be directed to. QUOTE OF THE WEEK "If you ever think you're too small to be effective, you've never been in bed with a mosquito!" - Wendy Lesko Best,  Michael Minks, Editor-in-Chief Director of Outreach Youth Service America Danielle Miranda, Associate Editor Manager of Outreach Youth Service America nsbinfo@ysa.org Deadline: All submissions to the NSB must be emailed to the above email no later than 5pm EST on Monday for that week's NSB. Disclaimer: Youth Service America offers the National Service Briefing as a resource to the field for information purposes and does not necessarily endorse or support, in any way, the views, opinions, goals of organizations, or sources of grants. Connect to Youth Service America                                                         Join our list Partners America's Promise Alliance National Youth Leadership Council National Service Learning Partnership National Service-Learning Clearinghouse

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