We drove 20 minutes from where the conference was to the Nashville Fire Department #20 which is right next to where the school shooting happened. It was pouring rain but that wasn’t gonna stop us, so we got out of our car with a tiny little umbrella and started running through the fire department’s front lawn, the water was dripping down our backs but the cards were safe! We got to the front of the building and someone opened the door and said “This must be important”! She let us in and I started to hand the cards to her and explain what we were there for, but she stopped me and said that there was a man in their lounge room that actually responded to the shooting. We handed the cards to him and he was very grateful and said that they have been hanging all the cards on the front window. We started chatting with them a bit and the nice woman that answered the door was actually EMS! So we said that we actually had EMS cards in our car and I offered to run to get them and she let me out the back door, I got back and we took a selfie and she said that they would give the cards out to the people that needed them! After a little more chatting they said they would also take the 911 dispatch and hospital staff cards and give them out to people they think need them.

The Police Department we went to was the Nashville Midtown Hills Police Precinct. When we got there the doors were shut and locked, it was closed. We started walking back to the car and then someone came out the side door! I ran over and introduced myself and my mom and then explained what we were doing and he was very happy being that he had responded himself. After a bit of chatting with him, we got back in the car and I said MOM WE FORGOT THE FIRST RESPONDERS CARDS! And I grabbed them and ran to catch him before he left, he thanked us and said he would give them out the next shift he had. We also left him the big “We Care” poster.

​In the end, making and giving cards to first responders in your local community is a great way to spread kindness and show your love. I really enjoy it because they go through and see a lot of hard things that can’t be undone and the cards make them feel loved.

The post Creating Kindness first appeared on National Youth Leadership Council.

Recently, we wrapped up the 2023 National Service-Learning Conference and celebrated the National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC)’s 40th birthday! This experience was incredible and impressive in every way. From the number of enthusiastic participants (even leaders from overseas!) and supportive environment on the Youth Advisory Council (YAC), to the astounding work of the NYLC staff and unique storytellers and presenters. There was so much trust and teamwork there, which I felt from the moment I met the NYLC team and YAC all the way to the way we embraced each other when saying our farewells.

I have learned so much from my fellow YAC members there with me—Michelle, Kaleb, Molly, and Rafiel—who are all extremely passionate, hardworking, intelligent, dedicated, thoughtful, and kind individuals. The same can be said for all of the NYLC staff (special thanks to Amy, Anthony, Miranda, and Zahra for guiding us every step along the way) who worked tirelessly to deal with logistics and coordination in order to shine the spotlight on the YAC and other leaders. Everyone supported each other and we created a beautiful learning and growing environment.

During the Conference, I was so honored to be given the opportunity to emcee a plenary session, present my personal passion project, “Research to Empower the Next Generation of Aspiring Young Researchers”, as well as contribute to the Guidebook on Education Equality that was presented at a workshop. Unlike many other conferences that I have attended before, which mainly consisted of me passively listening to speakers, this conference was truly an extension of the ideal classroom, allowing youth leaders to play a crucial role in a national movement. We have been given the opportunity to create something so spectacular that it changes how adults perceive young people.

What also made this conference so magical was the inspirational presenters and speakers, such as the CEO of AmeriCorps Mr. Michael Smith, former Congressman Brian Baird, the Youth Panel (Khalique Rogers, Mys. Helen Martin, and Walter Cortina), and many, many others. Just to name a few, I had key takeaways like “dreams don’t work unless you do”, finding commonalities with others and then advocating for why they should care about your issues, and the importance of being down-to-earth and working hard even in higher leadership positions.

Ultimately, this entire conference’s core was to empower youth through service learning and celebrate the tangible impact made. It serves its mission exactly! We learned, inspired, and connected here. I already cannot wait for the next conference and what is to come!

The post Reflecting on the 34th Annual National Service-Learning Conference first appeared on National Youth Leadership Council.

The National Service-Learning Conference is the largest gathering of youths and practitioners from the service-learning field, drawing nearly 500 attendees from across the United States and several other countries. “The event is more than workshops and keynote addresses; it is an extension of the classroom, allowing for the youth and adult attendees to be part of a national movement, to learn and share with each other, and to demonstrate and celebrate the positive impacts each has had on the community and the world, “ NYLC CEO Amy Meuers.

Throughout the conference, youth plan programming, emcee plenary sessions, inspire attendees through keynote addresses, and lead workshops for youth and adult peers from around the world. Youth are given the opportunity to create something so spectacular that it changes how adults perceive all young people — as solutions to real problems.

“Volunteer Tennessee is very excited to partner with the National Youth Leadership Council on the 34th Annual National Service-Learning Conference.  It will boost our ongoing efforts to expand service-learning in the Volunteer State and offer a rare opportunity for our local partners to attend this well-respected, national conference in Tennessee.  The focus on service-learning also nicely compliments Volunteer Tennessee’s mission to encourage volunteerism and community service,” Jim Snell, Executive Director, Volunteer Tennessee.

The post Nashville, TN Hosts 2023 National Service-Learning Conference first appeared on National Youth Leadership Council.

Young people and adults alike shared their experiences from Hawaii to Burkina Faso, expressing service-learning as a social justice strategy, the intersections of service-learning and civic engagement, and role of social and emotional learning in service-learning. Participants illuminated the need for youth leadership on systemic local and global issues such as violence economic disparities, mental health, COVID prevention, and racial discord.

Kicking off the event was Sen. Amy Klobuchar, with a reminder that this sort of engagement on critical current issues is an antidote to polarization. To persist, she urged: “You can choose to stand next to someone you don’t agree with for the betterment of the country.”

“This is a moment when we pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off, and continue to do what we do,” because “our democracy must win,” she said.

Minnesota’s Secretary of State Steve Simon built on that theme, urging the audience to encourage voting and voter registration campaigns to help young people begin to think like voters even before they are of age. Quoting a favorite t-shirt, he added, “Failure to vote is not an act of rebellion; it’s an act of surrender.”

A youth panel of activists then reflected on the sources of their courage to act. Poet Isabella Hanson, recipient of the 2022 Youth Leadership for Service-Learning Excellence Award, spoke of the threat to all Black women after Brianna Taylor’s death, which inspired her to start the I Matter poetry competition. In a powerful piece, she asks Google, “Hey, Google, where’s a safe place for Black people to live? How likely is it for Black woman to die in childbirth? What’s the Black national anthem? Why can’t Black lives matter?” After all, service-learning is an inquiry-based instructional strategy.

Similarly, student Caleb Smith was inspired by the Sandy Hook murders to create a nonprofit that features rabbits as therapy animals. Speaking to the mixed audience of approximately one third young people, he reminded the adults that they are the “kindling” to the young people’s sparks.

Such sparks took center stage with the Irreducible Grace Foundation, an ensemble of young people focused on creating safe spaces through mentoring, life skills, employment, and self-care practices such as the arts. Like I Matter, IGF uses spoken word to help address the trauma that is “an injustice of the body and the mind,” as they said in a refrain, with the rejoinder, “But we can heal!” As each actor shared a vignette of their story, the refrain resounded, a reminder that service-learning starts with identity exploration.

The role of mental health in service-learning also played out in one of a series of Wisdom Circles, designed to surface thoughts on current issues such as meeting the needs of educators and educational systems, preparing students for adulthood, and equitable and inclusive social systems. A white paper synthesizing the tabletop discussions of those sessions is forthcoming.

The award-winners took to the plenary stage on the second day of the conference, carrying forward the role of service-learning in addressing current crises. As this year’s Alec Dickson Award-winner, Dr. Andrew Furco, Associate Vice President for Public Engagement and professor at the University of Minnesota said, “Let’s serve together as a means to change the world … to help bring about peace and justice.”

“Stand proud; speak up; make your case!” he urged, with the reminder that “No one succeeds alone… real community action happens through camaraderie.”

Artist and activist Rose McGee, founder of Sweet Potato Comfort Pie and recipient of this year’s Stellar Service-Learning Award, demonstrated the power of food as a catalyst for camaraderie. She sang John Lennon’s “Imagine” as she described her instinct to take a cultural practice of making pie for those who are suffering to the survivors of mass shootings and police brutality.

Similarly, teacher and nonprofit founder Anna Edlund sees young people as prisms, like crystals – which she had shared on tabletops throughout the room. She noted that when young people are surrounded with opportunity – like a light hitting a crystal – they become prisms of light. As one elementary student said to her, “You surround us with opportunities, and then we see which ones make us sparkle.”

Such opportunities abounded on the third day, when participants took to the streets of the Twin Cities, for a day of service with a clean-up day of the Walker Art Center’s outdoor sculpture garden, toy-cleaning and sorting at Ronald McDonald House Charities, and onion-repacking at Second Harvest Heartland, in addition to a half dozen on-site service projects.

NYLC’s Youth Advisory Council members were such prisms for the event, offering their leadership through facilitation, emceeing, and reflections after the Day of Service.

YAC member Kaleb Sy, of Memphis, Tenn., described the conference as “powerful and intriguing” adding that he “learned from uniquely qualified youths and adults who are passionate about service-learning.”

Michelle Song, of Greenville, N.C. and the Love a Sea Turtle nonprofit also said she’d “learned so much in a few short days.”

“There’s power in our hands, and I could feel the energy and passion in everyone at the conference,” added Minneapolis senior Ava VanKeulen, who also served as an emcee.

And fellow Minnesotan Sunny Leonard, who is experienced in service but new to service-learning, said that she’d “never been with so many passionate people in such a small space.”

“The conference was amazing, and now that I have an understanding of what service-learning really is, I can do something impactful,” she said.

Please join us on Wed., April 27, for a virtual day, featuring the new CEO of AmeriCorps, Michael D. Smith, a service-learning showcase of student work, workshops, including a session on advocating for the future of service-learning.

The post TOGETHER Again, at the 2022 National Service-Learning Conference first appeared on National Youth Leadership Council.

As we celebrate America’s independence this 4th of July, it is an excellent opportunity to reflect on the state of civic engagement in our country. Young people have taken center stage this past year as engaged citizens through demonstration on issues such as gun control, education equity, mental health, and more. They have shown both courage and tenaciousness that demands respect from our leaders and from each of us.

Despite current civic actions by young people, as a nation our democracy is weakening. A new report released by the Democracy Project does not shed a positive light on the state of our Union. According to the report released on June 26, 2018:

Democracy is facing its most significant challenge of recent years. Worldwide, the uneven distribution of economic progress and unrelenting pace of change have tested the capacity of democratic institutions and their leaders to deliver. At the same time, authoritarian regimes and populist national movements have seized the opportunity to undermine democracy and the example of freedom it represents.

The phenomenon has not spared the United States, where confidence in our governing institutions has been weakening over many years and key pillars of our democracy, including the rule of law and freedom of the press, are under strain. These trends have raised questions about whether the public has begun to lose faith in basic democratic concepts and what can be done to strengthen popular support.

The report finds that 55 percent of respondents believe our democracy is weak and 68 percent believe it is getting weaker. This lack of faith in our government and the continuous attacks on media – historically the watchdogs of government – does not bode well for future generations.

Leaders from across the world have often heralded young people as the instigators of positive change in government. In a 2012 address at the National Service-Learning Conference in Minneapolis, Archbishop Desmond Tutu said:

“Young people – it was them exclusively organizing youth for change. They helped bring about change on the viciousness of apartheid.”

I recently had the opportunity to hear from the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize winner and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. One of his quotes continues to inspire me and the work of NYLC: “No one is born a good citizen; no nation is born a democracy. Rather, both are processes that continue to evolve over a lifetime. Young people must be included from birth. A society that cuts off from its youth severs its lifeline.”

As we celebrate the birth of our nation, perhaps we can also celebrate that young people are engaging as active, informed citizens. Whether you agree with their platform or not, we should all be inspired by their commitment to participate in the democratic process and follow suit.

This commitment to civic engagement by young people gives me hope that the state of democracy in our country will improve. We must all commit to support and strengthen the state of civic learning for all our children. Our freedom, our democracy, depends on it.

Happy Independence Day, America.

Read the full report from the Democracy Project

The post The Future of Democracy and the Role of Young People first appeared on National Youth Leadership Council.