2012 National Conference on Volunteering and Service Youth Summit and Youth Workshops

During the recent 2012 National Conference on Volunteering and Service in Chicago, generationOn (the youth enterprise of Points of Light) hosted a special Youth Summit with workshops exclusively to inspire, equip, and mobilize teens to take their leadership and service to the next level. Over three days, nearly 100 teens from across the nation participated in two service projects benefiting over 250 seniors in the Chicago community. First, they prepared Good & Ready “Black Out Boxes” to help seniors during emergencies; then they created tote bags filled with games to help seniors maintain mental agility.

Attendees participated in seven skill-building workshops that focused on communication skills, fundraising, social media, public relations, public speaking, idea development and service-learning and heard from an array of experts in the youth service field. Attendees were equipped with two toolkits to help them make their mark on their own communities. During one workshop session, attendees were asked "who does service?" The resounding response from the participants was: “kids!” Youth Summit and Workshops were a true testament to the power of youth to make their mark on the world.

The next National Conference will be held in June, 2013, in Washington, D.C.

For information on volunteering, take a look at our database, www.bergenvolunteers.org. For additional information and resources about fun summer service projects you can replicate on your own, visit www.generationOn.org.