About NYLC
For more than 25 years, NYLC has led a movement that links youth, educators, and communities to redefine the roles of young people in society. That movement is service-learning, and it empowers youth to transform themselves from recipients of information and resources into valuable, contributing members of a democracy.
Service-learning is a teaching method that enriches learning by engaging students in meaningful service to their schools and communities through a process that is carefully integrated with learning objectives. It emphasizes critical thinking and problem solving, tackles challenges such as hunger and homelessness, and values people of all ages as having talents to offer.
Each year, thousands of service-learning practitioners improve their practice with the help of NYLC. The National Service-Learning Conference draws nearly 3,000 attendees from around the world for three intensive days of speakers, workshops, and networking. Growing to Greatness publishes research that is transforming the field of service-learning and influencing public policy. And the Generator School Network is reshaping the way teachers and students conduct service-learning.
Among its many accomplishments, NYLC helped write the service-learning provision for the National Community Service Act, advised the Clinton transition team on the creation of the Learn and Serve America grant program, and is now consulting on the role of high quality service-learning practice in the Obama service and education agendas. NYLC has led the development of nationally accepted standards for K-12 service-learning practice, and is helping implement and improve service-learning programs around the world.
See a timeline of NYLC's first 25 years
As it moves through its third decade, NYLC remains focused on its mission to create a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world with young people, their schools, and their communities through service-learning.
NYLC strives for a world where...
- All youth are challenged to serve, learn, and lead, and the transition to adulthood is defined by acts of leadership, engaged citizenship, and meaningful service.
- Schools at all levels serve a civic mission of community improvement that, in partnership with community-based organizations, immerses students in rigorous, relevant, and results-based learning.
- People from every walk of life and heritage are valued partners for learning and community-building.
NYLC is a member of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits
