Bay Region IV School Support & Improvement Center

Volume 3, Number 1, March 1998

Serving Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa,
San Francisco, San Mateo and Solano
County Offices of Education and School Districts

Volunteers for America

April 12-18 is National Volunteer Week. Volunteers make all the difference in every community, and this is an opportunity to highlight their contributions in public formats.

community service

There are many campaigns at this time of year to recognize the selfless efforts of those who volunteer. It is a good time to encourage the media to report on how volunteers are making a difference. This is also an important time for recruiting new volunteers. A list of organizations in need of help can be compiled and posted in the local news, on the Web and at grocery stores, teen centers and the library.

youth service day

In the last two years, National Youth Service Day (April 15, 1998) has generated nearly 20 million hours of community service and encouraged many young people to become involved in their communities on an ongoing basis. To encourage young people to get involved in community service efforts, schools can convene a group of representatives from various agencies to speak to students. It is also important to create community service projects that parents and young people can work on together.

Contacts:

Rhonda Taylor, at the Corporation for National Service, (202)606-5000, ext. 282, and on the Web: www.nationalservice.org

Omar Velarde-Wong, at Youth Service America, (202)296-2992, ext. 34, and on the Web: www.servenet.org