Mr. President, I wish to speak about a resolution designating April 15 through 17, 2011, as Global Youth Service Days'' that recognizes and commends the significant community service efforts that…
Mr. President, I wish to speak about a resolution designating April 15 through 17, 2011, as Global Youth Service Days'' that recognizes and commends the significant community service efforts that youth are making in communities across the country and around the world on this weekend in April and every day. This resolution also encourages the citizens of the United States to acknowledge and support these volunteer efforts. Passage of this resolution sends a very strong message of support to the thousands of youth across our great nation who are contributing positively to their communities--your efforts are recognized and appreciated.
Beginning this Friday, April 15, youth from across the United States and around the world will carry out community service projects in areas ranging from hunger to literacy to the environment. Through this service, many will embark on a lifelong path of service and civic engagement in more than 100 countries around the world.
Mr. President, the participation of youth in service to their communities is more than just a way to spend a Saturday afternoon. All year long, young people across America--indeed across the globe-- identify and address the needs of their communities, make positive differences in the world around them, learn leadership and organizational skills, and gain insights into the problems of their fellow citizens.
The positive effects of this service are not limited to the projects our young people complete. Youth who are engaged in volunteer service and service-learning activities do better in school than their classmates who do not volunteer because they see a direct connection to what they are learning and the real world in which they live. Youth who engage in volunteering and other positive activities are also more likely to avoid risky behaviors, such as drug and alcohol use, crime, and promiscuity. Service within the community also contributes positively to young people's character development, civic participation, and philanthropic activity as adults.
Youth service also plays a role in encouraging our young people to stay in school. A survey by Civic Enterprises found that 47 percent of high school dropouts reported that boredom in school was a primary reason why they dropped out. High quality service-learning activities can, however, help young people see that school matters to them personally.
It is important, therefore, that the U.S. Senate encourage youth to engage in community service and to congratulate them for the service they provide. I thank Senators Begich, Feinstein, Akaka, Mikulski, Levin, Stabenow, Cochran, Murray, and Mark Udall for joining with me in cosponsoring this resolution and all other Senators for supporting passage of it.
In an effort to recognize and support youth volunteers in my State, I am proud to acknowledge some of the activities that will occur this year in Alaska in observance of National and Global Youth Service Days:
Anchorage's Promise, which works to mobilize all sectors of the community to build the character and competence of Anchorage's children and youth, will sponsor the annual Kids' Day three-day events in Anchorage again this year. Youth will provide significant service to their peers and to adults who will attend Kids' Day activities this weekend:
Over 100 youth and AmeriCorps members will spend their day
volunteering at Kids' Day in order to help make it a safe,
fun, and successful event.
Teens will serve as greeters, pass out bags, help vendors
set up their booths, and clean up during and after the event.
Kindness for Kids, Inc. will provide students with
materials to stuff and sew pillows which will later be
delivered to the children in the hospital.
Adults and youth will be able to make cards to express
support for our troops.
Youth who formed the Japan Relief Fund will sell bracelets
they have made the benefit the relief efforts of the Red
Cross in Japan.
Anchorage's Promise Youth Advisory Board will present Teen
City Center Stage, a positive, judgment-free space where
teens can create graffiti art, join youth-led organizations,
and enjoy entertainment.
Students from Chugiak High School's Family Career and
Community Leaders of America program will present a family
meal toolkit that will contain healthy family meal recipes
that incorporate simple, affordable, and healthy food
choices.
Volunteer students from the Anchorage School district will
read to their younger peers as part of ``Wild About
Reading''. The child will then get to take the book home.
Youth volunteers with Volunteers of America Alaska and
Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol will provide an
art project and information on underage drinking.
The Anchorage Public Library Teen Advisory Board will help
kids decorate banners that will be put on display in the
library.
In addition to the Kids' Day events, young people from every region of Alaska will serve their many ways, including:
Students at Pacific Northern Academy have donated hand-made
fleece scarves, hats, blankets, greeting cards, meal, and
decorations to various local agencies in Anchorage.
Youth volunteers, coordinated by the Anchorage Public
Library, will help organize summer reading celebration
materials.
Members of the St. John's United Methodist Church youth
group spent their spring break volunteering at the Food Bank
of Alaska in Anchorage.
Last November, the Wrangell Community Youth Action Group
collected and donated over 10,000 pounds of food for needy
families and Thanksgiving dinners in their community.
Hundreds of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts participated in
``Scouting for Food'' last weekend by distributing flyers
about their food drive in neighborhoods, and then going door-
to-door collecting the donations.
The St. Francis Xavier Youth Group held a cake auction to
raise $2,590 to support a mission in Jamaica that helps the
poor with food, transportation, and education.
The Anchorage's Promise Youth Advisory Board volunteered at
Covenant House Alaska to assist them in preparing for First
Friday, a monthly art walk that takes place in downtown
Anchorage. YAB members put together sandwiches, made name
tags, and made labels for the art work that was displayed.
Members of the Chugiak Family Career and Community Leaders
of America held a Christmas party for the homeless teens at
Anchorage's Covenant House.
Youth from Two Rivers donated clothing items to Big
Brothers Big Sisters of America.
Youth in Dillingham have created a ``Chain of Kindness'' to
which people from the community contribute links when they
observe acts of kindness. The chain is hung in the entrance
of the local high school.
The Alaska Youth for Environmental Action has created a
resolution for the Anchorage assembly on beginning an annual
``Week without Bags,'' to encourage consumers to bring their
own bags to the grocery store and encourage retailers to
provide incentive for customers that do so.
Mr. President, I am so proud of all of these young people and many more across my State of Alaska. I value their idealism, energy, creativity, and unique perspectives as they volunteer to make their communities better and assist those in need.
Many similarly wonderful activities will be taking place all across the nation. I encourage all of my colleagues to visit the Youth Service America Web site www.ysa.org to find out about the selfless and creative youth who are contributing in their own States this year.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
