All Stories
Youth Movement Loses Global Leader
The youth service movement lost a founding leader when Donald Eberly, founder of the nonmilitary service movement and the National Service Secretariat, ended a longstanding battle with illness on Dec. 25, 2011. Eberly was born in Cortland, New York, and educated at MIT and Harvard.
Project Ignition Students Share Youth Perspective in Washington D.C.
On Monday, Jan. 9, 2012, student representatives from 10 Project Ignition National Leader Schools spent the day at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in Washington, D.C., to share how they and their classmates are positively impacting teen driver safety in their communities.
Twenty-Five High Schools Receive Project Ignition Grants to Promote Safer, Smarter Driving
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, auto crashes are the number one cause of death for teens in this country. Project Ignition is a youth- and schools-led response that connects academic goals to address the issue of teen driver safety through service-learning. The grants will support student-designed and student-led campaigns aimed at preventing car crashes in their community.
NYLC Research Director Named Vice Chair of International Service-Learning Research Organization
Dr. Susan Root, Research Director at the National Youth Leadership Council, has been named vice chair of the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement. This past November, IARSLCE held its 11th annual conference, Research for Impact Scholarship Advancing Social Change, gathering hundreds of researchers focusing on service-learning from K-12 to post-secondary education in Chicago, Ill.
NYLC Announces Preconference Sessions
The National Service-Learning Conference® and youthrive PeaceJam Leadership Conference, Our World, Our Future, brings you a full day of engaging preconference sessions on Wed., April 11, 2012. Preconference sessions are intensive, 3-hour interactive gatherings that provide materials, strategies, and skills related to building high-quality service-learning. Each session provides opportunities to explore subject areas in-depth and are presented by service-learning experts.
NYLC Announces 2012 Service-Learning Award Recipients
The National Youth Leadership Council is pleased to present the winners of this year’s National Service-Learning Awards. Awards will be presented during the National Service-Learning Conference® and youthrive PeaceJam Leadership Conference, Our World, Our Future, April 11-14, 2012 in Minneapolis, Minn.
Adopting Service-Learning District-Wide Requires Youth and Adult Buy-In
To successfully implement service-learning district-wide, each school should be equipped with trained teachers, administrators, and community partners. However, at the core of any district-wide initiative should be the reason for its existence — the youth. On Nov. 19, 2011 the National Youth Leadership Council staff trained teams of 130 high school youth and their adult mentors in North Carolina who are a part of the Guilford County Schools Service-Learning Ambassadors. This training focused on service-learning basics and creating action plans to help bring service-learning into schools throughout the rest of the school year.
Stories of Inspiration: Molly Messner
"Finding your passion. Finding what you're good at. Then finding a need in the world that you can apply it to. That's what it's all about. It's this unselfish attitude, combined with the knowledge that we are both taught and innately given, that results in true service-learning. And for our youth - there's no age requirement, nor is there an age limit for service. If you're not already doing so, start now."
April 6-9, 2011 marks four of the most incredible days of my life, when these words were delivered during the opening plenary of the National Service-Learning Conference by high school senior, Justice Walker.
Stories of Inspiration: Nick Lewis
Through my work with Project Ignition, I’ve been able to step outside of my comfort zone and become a leader in my community. I’ve worked with our city council and county supervisors to declare May as the month to “Drive 2 Stay Alive.” I’ve worked with other programs, have had the opportunity to travel the country, and have gained different perspectives.
Stories of Inspiration: Mahati Pidaparti
I believe that service-learning is so important because it helps people at both ends — obviously, with service you’re helping someone else, but with the reflection and learning parts of service-learning, you’re growing and learning too. It affects your own personal development, and I think that’s very important.
