Introducing Resources for Recovery

In response to the tremendous long-term needs of those
affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the National Youth Leadership Council has introduced Resources for Recovery — an effort to tap the power of young people through service-learning as a sustainable, effective part of the recovery effort.

”In times of great need, the most accessible resources are
often the most valuable, but also commonly overlooked,” says NYLC
President and CEO Jim Kielsmeier. “In the current situation in the Gulf
Coast region, our youngest neighbors, along with their schools and
youth organizations, are described almost exclusively as victims of the
hurricanes — not as resources for recovery. We think this is a
disastrous oversight, having witnessed the engagement of school-aged
young people in responding to comparable needs.”

Resources for Recovery connects the
individuals
and organizations — including local state education associations — that
are mobilizing youths through service and learning, creating a network
for sharing
ideas, coordinating responses, identifying best practices, and
providing
support to affected communities. Participating organizations and
individuals have been meeting regularly, and have made an initial trip
through
the Gulf Coast region, meeting with young people, educators, state
education
associations, AmeriCorps, local Learn and Serve grantees,
community-based
organizations, and other residents to identify needs and resources.

Participants are currently planning and implementing a
number of events and programs to support those affected, from free
service-learning training to partnerships between schools in New York City and
New Orleans. (A list of scheduled events follows.)

Though the initiative focuses on the current crisis in the
Gulf Coast, it’s also understood — in this year of earthquakes, hurricanes and
a tsunami — that there is a massive need both to engage young people in
devastated areas in the rebuilding of their communities and also to provide a
route for youths outside of those areas to play both direct and supportive
roles. To this end, Resources for Recovery’s
end goal is not only the recovery of the Gulf Coast, but also the creation of
replicable, youth-centered disaster-preparedness and relief models.

For further information, please contact NYLC Director of Professional Development Tony Byers by email or (651) 999-7378.

Current Resource for Recovery partners include Common
Cents New York, Florida Alliance for Student Service, Institute for
Global Education and Service-Learning, National Dropout Prevention
Center, The National Service-Learning Exchange, NYLC, and Texas Center
for Service-Learning.

Resources for Recovery Calendar

February 19-22, 2006
At-Risk Youth National Forum
Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Resources for Recovery partners will be presenting two workshops:
One on developing resiliency and developmental assets in young people
through service-learning, by the National Dropout Prevention Center.
The second, Helping Students, Helping Communities, will present
strategies and resources created as part of the Institute for Global
Education and Service-Learning's YODA (Youth Organized for Disaster
Action) Program and other Resources for Recovery initiatives.

March 22-27, 2006
The 17th Annual National Service-Learning Conference
Philadelphia, Pa.

This year's conference will feature a special series of workshops focused specifically on disaster relief, facilitated by Resources for Recovery
partners and other experts. State education agency leadership from the
Gulf Coast region will be invited to present, along with others
experienced in disaster preparedness and relief.

May 17, 2006
Common Cents New York Global Relief Conference
UNICEF House
New York, N.Y.
This all-day teach-in, Rebuilding after the Hurricanes, will be led by
high school students for their middle school peers. Participants will
also make philanthropic decisions, directing the more than $75,000
raised through the 2005 Penny Harvest.