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Hands On Nashville Launches Youth Summer Volunteer Camp

People of every age, race, and socio-economic background make a difference as community volunteers. Hands On Nashville, Middle Tennessee’s only volunteer resource center and an affiliate of HandsOn Network, demonstrates this truth through its Youth Summer Volunteer Camp, which began Monday, July 20. 
 
Created by Hands On Nashville’s Youth Volunteer Corps (YVC), which is composed of diverse teen leaders ages 13 to 18 years old, this weeklong program focuses on six nonprofit agencies or programs: St. Luke's Community House, Nashville Rescue Mission, Wedgewood Urban Community Garden, Good Food for Good People, Lakeshore Heartland and Autism Speaks.  Each day, volunteers meet at the host organization, tour the facility, learn about the services they provide and become acquainted with some of the individuals who benefit from the organization’s services. Then, the YVC members lead efforts to complete volunteer projects, ranging from serving food at the Rescue Mission to painting a mural in Lakeshore Heartland’s common space to delight its elderly residents. 
 
Through this experience, 50 teens work alongside their peers to positively impact their neighbors’ quality of life. They directly serve low-income families, feed homeless men, grow a community garden, divert usable food to those in need, care for the elderly and support people with autism. 
 
Research indicates that those who volunteer early in life are more than twice as likely to continue. By the end of the week, Youth Summer Volunteer Camp participants earn up to 24 service learning hours, and, hopefully, desire to continue working to increase the community’s vibrancy.   
 
For more information about Hands On Nashville’s Youth Summer Volunteer Camp or Youth Volunteer Corps, contact Lisa Davis at 615.298-1108 x 108 or lisa@hon.org.

 

Comments

Service with a Purpose!!!

Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 2009-07-27 12:34.
Hands On Nashville's first ever Youth Volunteer Summer Camp was a HUGE success! We were able to engage over 75 youth volunteers over a period of 6 days, exceeding our initial volunteer goal. Even projects, such as mulching a playground during a humid Tennessee summer day, that as a volunteer coordinator I thought teenager would hate, evoked a sense of pride and accomplishment that outweighed all fatigue at the end of the day. The most rewarding part for me was seeing the genuine interest and concern the teens had regarding issues and disparities in our community. Sitting with them during our lunch breaks, they initiated conversations ranging from silly games, to serious dialogue about what their next steps would be to continue to make a change in their community. "Be the change you wish to see in the world" branded one volunteers’ bag this week. We as a society deem this generation as the most selfish and inhuman. After spending 6 days and over 24 hour with 78 teenagers who are changing the world through their actions, I beg to differ. -Erika Burnett Youth and Teen Engagement AmeriCorps Member Hands On Nashville

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