Creating Kindness
Hello everyone, I'm Jaida, I am 12 years old and I came to the SLC with me and my mom's nonprofit KIDS CARE. Being the service people that we are and the horrible Nashville school shooting that just happened, we decided to make kindness cards for the front-line workers who responded to the shooting. With the help of the SLC and our new friends at Laurel Springs School we were able to collect 115 Kindness Cards from the people at the conference. We drove 20 minutes from where the conference was to the Nashville Fire Department #20 which is right [...]
Reflecting on the 34th Annual National Service-Learning Conference
By Grace Chenxin Liu, YAC Member 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. [...]
Nashville, TN Hosts 2023 National Service-Learning Conference
On April 2-5, 2023, the National Youth Leadership Council, with Volunteer Tennessee and the Tennessee Afterschool Network, will convene hundreds of youth and adults at the 34th Annual National Service-Learning Conference®, One Giant Leap for Service-Learning. 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 [...]
TOGETHER Again, at the 2022 National Service-Learning Conference
Despite the forces that have kept people apart over the last two years, young people and adults convened for the 2022 National Service-Learning Conference in Minneapolis at the University of Minnesota this past week for the first time since 2019. As the mosaic behind the conference theme “Together” illustrated, the event’s parts made more than a whole. The joy was palpable in the first words on the plenary stage, in workshop sessions, “lightning” tabletop talks, and service projects – on- and off-site. Young people and adults alike shared their experiences from Hawaii to Burkina Faso, expressing service-learning as a social [...]
The Future of Democracy and the Role of Young People
At NYLC, we envision a world where all young people become civically informed and engaged global citizens. We work with youths and educators, both in and out of school, to integrate service-learning as a strategy to meet learning objectives, including citizenship and 21stcentury skills, in order to inspire all young people to change the world. 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, [...]