National Youth Leadership Council Day Declared in the State of Colorado

In honor of the National Youth Leadership Council’s thirty-year commitment to engaging youth, educators, and community leaders to empower youth as valuable resources in solving the critical issues that affect them by advancing the field of service-learning, supporting educators, and developing young leaders through it programs and service, Colorado Governor John W. Hickenlooper has declared Saturday, March 16, 2013 as National Youth Leadership Council Day in the state of Colorado.

More than five hundred students, educators, and government leaders will come together and celebrate the 30 year anniversary of the National Youth Leadership Council on Saturday, March 16, 2013 during a Day of Service as part of the National Service-Learning Conference®. In partnership with the Piton Foundation and Earth Force, NYLC will provide conference attendees and community members the opportunity to work side-by-side with community members in the  Denver Children’s Corridor. Youth and adults will come together as they give back to the city and engage in meaningful service-learning and service projects. Community members become better informed and inspired by the nonprofit organizations and educators working to improve their community.

The National Service-Learning Conference will convene at the Colorado Convention Center March 13-16.  Unlike other professional gatherings, the National Service-Learning Conference features young people who lead many of the workshops, serve as keynote speakers, and host discussions — just as they are leading the call for change across the globe.

“There are so many opportunities for students to apply their academic skills to real community needs: tutoring younger students, creating school gardens, developing public service campaigns on teen driver safety ― all while strengthening their own grasp of theoretical concepts,” says Kelita Bak, NYLC CEO.

Youth and adults alike will explore hundreds of these powerful learning experiences during workshops, on- and off-site projects, and keynote addresses. On Wednesday, attendees will hear from Marc Keilberger, co-founder of Free the Children; Thursday, they will be inspired  by Reginald Dwayne Betts, Councilmember, Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Special Olympics athlete and Youth Activation Committee member Danielle Liebl, and Special Olympics Youth Activation Committee member Kaitlyn Smith;  on Friday, Naomi Tutu, daughter of South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and associate director of the Office of International Programs at Tennessee State University will speak along with Jorge Zamora, a student at Chicago Bulls College Prep and Dawn Engle, the Executive Director of the PeaceJam Foundation.

Consider joining this remarkable event. To learn more, visit www.nylc.org/conference.

A range of online opportunities, including webinars featuring keynote speakers, also are available for those unable to participate in-person. Visit gsn.nylc.org to learn more.