The Ray
🍀March🍀
Global Youth Service Month is April 11 - May 11, 2025
Learn and Serve Tampa Inc looks forward to seeing local youth plan service projects in classrooms and after-school programs as we celebrate Global Youth Service Month. We seek partnerships with teachers and school leaders and can offer project training and material support. See our "menu" of project ideas below. We encourage local schools to honor Earth Day, Arbor Day, and other environmental, sustainability, and conservation projects throughout April and May.
SPARK PEACE for Global Youth Service Day!
- Student Rebuilds is an arts-focused service-learning challenge for youth around the world.
- Youth study the social issue for theme and then create art, music, writing, dance, or other performances related to the theme. This year it is Spark Peace.
- Youth work is submitted to Students Rebuild and a donation of $5 is made to a peace-building nonprofit by Creative Visions. During February, the amount is DOUBLED!💗
- The Creative Visions Foundation honors former Reuters' photojournalist Dan Elden who was tragically killed at the age of 22 while on assignment in Somalia in 1993.
- Learn more about this year's challenge at StudentsRebuild.org.
Hershey's Heartwarming Grants for Youth 13-17
Do you know a youth aged 13-17 who is a natural-born leader looking to make positive change happen? Share this link for the Hershey Heartwarming Grant to support youth-led service projects! Applications are being accepted until March 16, 2025. Should a student need support in writing the grant, we can set up a virtual session to help them create a successful application. Just reach out!
Youth Leadership Organizations
Learn more about application-based youth service teams, councils, and programs! Follow the link to learn when applications open, requirements, due dates, and any applicable fees (don't let that stop you!). Visit our Youth Resources page.
Roots N' Shoots Clubs by Jane Goodall Institute
Roots N' Shoots provides a framework for youth action. Start a club at your school today and let youth lay the course for positive change. Or, create a project with a few friends! Another amazing resource for service-learning! One of my favorite is Project in a Box! Roots & Shoots is a global movement of youth leading change in their communities. Tampa has a Roots & Shoots Base Camp! Teachers can use the Roots & Shoots model for any type project, not just the green stuff! Sign up for the Tampa chapter today! There are opportunities for small grants to help get your project started. Visit the website and Take Action today!
Realize The Dream is not just for MLK Day!
Join Learn and Serve Tampa as we support Realize The Dream in their mission to collect youth service hours to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with 100,000,000 hours of youth service for his 100th birthday on January 15, 2029! This program is YEAR ROUND. You can submit your hours whenever you prefer, but please submit! Just login and create your account.
Lead4Change
Lead4Change is a FREE leadership program for 6th-12th graders that teaches proven leadership skills for getting big things done. It is a great tool for service club leaders!!!
- Equip students with practical tools to affect change and make a difference. See some of the projects here!
- Get a step-by-step playbook that makes the lessons simple and flexible
- Get a chance to win real dollars for your school.
Riley's Way
Have you considered Riley's Way? Riley’s Way invests in and supports the next generation of kind leaders. The organization provides young people with the programs, support and inclusive community they need to thrive as changemakers. Riley’s Way is committed to supporting young leaders to build a better world that values kindness, empathy, connection and the voices of all youth. Riley’s Way works with emerging leaders, ages 13-23, who are leading social impact projects in areas like food insecurity, homelessness, education equity, and environmental justice – all through the lens of kindness, empathy, and connection.
PassItOn!
PassItOn! billboards are everywhere. You may have also seen commercials and posters! Now, you can submit your own positive message! The Foundation for a Better Life was started by an anonymous benefactor and has built upon the commitments of major media companies to just DO GOOD! Now, the foundation invites you to Pass It On. Upload your positive message!
Spotlight on Oakstead National Elementary Honor Society
NEHS Students at Pasco County's Oakstead Elementary School organized a drive for Thomas Promise, a nonprofit that fights childhood hunger. Students collected and organized nonperishables for bookbags that go home with young children on Fridays to ensure they have nutritious snacks for the weekend. Learn and Serve Tampa connected NEHS Sponsor Ms. Maury with Mr. Simmons of Thomas Promise and transferred the collection. The group is looking to visit the nonprofit soon for a field trip.
9/11 is Six Months Away!
On March 11, 2025, 9/11 will be six months away! It is time to start planning! Our goal is to use an interactive memorial project for 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance to teach students about the causes, events, and consequences related to terrorism, but also to honor and remember those we have lost in these violent attacks. This is a perfect service-learning project for AVID, Civics, JROTC, and IB students, but the groundwork needs to begin now. Teachers, if you are interested in participating, email Learn and Serve Tampa Inc by May 11, 2025 to receive summer communications.
What is Civic Engagement?
Civic engagement is a way to improve the quality of life in a community through political and nonpolitical actions. As a young person, you can volunteer, join a service or civic group, raise funds for a cause, or possibly work on community designs. Civic engagement is vital to our democracy. If you are not yet old enough to vote, you might be 18 within 2 to 4 or 8 years, so being civically engaged at the local, state, and national levels is very important now. One action you can take is to write letters to advocate for your beliefs or values. To learn to whom you need to write, you can sign up with Ballotapia.org. You will have to provide your address and an email. Or you can search each level individually. Here is a federal search site. All elected officials provide several methods of contact. William James said it best: “Democracy is still upon its trial. The civic genius of the people is its only bulwark.”
Teachers and Principals, we are a HCPS Partner in Education!
Our organization is here to offer support for teachers and schools who want to teach youth through community service. We offer FREE virtual consultations and seek funding sources to bring youth service-learning experiences to schools. We plan and support the three National Days of Service so youth can join their community in service. Connect with us today.
Getting those BrightFutures Volunteer Hours?
Need help? Learn and Serve Tampa Inc's website will soon have a tab dedicated to advise youth on finding local service experience that will work with their age and availability, location, and hopefully connected to the youth's interest, passions, and talents. We will not host registration for volunteering, but we will point you in the right direction and also guide you in planning your own service project if you would like to develop your leadership skills! Learn and Serve Tampa Inc posts any of its own volunteer opportunities on the United Way Suncoast Volunteer Website. Youth must be 13 or older to create an account. This website is a great resource for students and families looking for local ongoing service or one-time events. Youth should sign up through VolunteerFlorida. By creating an account , you will receive information about upcoming opportunities around the state. The official forms for documenting service for BrightFutures is linked in this newsletter. These forms can be downloaded, edited, printed, and, MOST importantly, saved!
#Unwanted Gifts & Extra Gift Cards!
You are always welcome to make a donation to help us grow. As a 501(3)(c) nonprofit organization, your donation will be tax deductible! Once the Holiday dust has settled, consider donating those unique and special gifts or gift cards to us to help us in our upcoming Winter Virtual Raffle! Every little bit help us on our mission.
GiveButter
Of course, the most direct route to supporting our work would be a direct donation through GiveButter!
We need to buy materials and supplies for youth projects, to provide transportation when needed, and general operating funds for insurance, bookkeeping, technology, and more. We hope to expand our capacity to serve and need your support! Have a heart and help us help others!
Our Core Values
Student-centered education: Education is a process that needs to be entirely student-centered.
Youth Empowerment: Youth should be empowered to take action on issues that impact the world they are inheriting.
Democratic Thought: Not just what it is, but how you do it. The important role of self-discipline, respect for the rights and beliefs of others, and the process of teamwork and collaboration.
Equity and Equality Matter: An intentional focus on supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion of all human beings.
Healthy Planet, Healthy People: All institutions must adopt and lean into social and environmental sustainability goals.
Service for the Common Good is a Civic Responsibility: Service to others is expected of all. It is not a set of hours to complete. It is a moral imperative to sustaining human civilization. It is a key component to winning in life.