The St. Joseph Youth Alliance is offering the opportunity for local youth to volunteer and help out in the community this summer. 
According to Caring Communities Director Anita Jolly, the Youth Volunteer Corps works with youth ages 11 to 18 to get them involved with service projects in the community.
“They work around needs and issues in the community, so they learn how they can make a difference,” Jolly said.
The summer program includes eight weeks of projects. Youth can enroll in one week or all eight. The eight weeks run from May 30-July 24 and include a wide range of projects around the community such as “Shelter Chefs.”
“It’s kind of like that ‘Chopped’ show on TV where the kids have cooking competitions. We did it at the Juda House and St. Joe Haven last year and the kids had a competition for making a dessert and an entrée and then we served those to the men at the shelter,” Jolly said. “They learned about homelessness and hunger and then kind of had fun doing it too and got to be creative.”
Jolly said due to some feedback from youth in previous years, they made a change in scheduling for the summer program this year. Some projects will be held in the mornings and some in the afternoons.
The Youth Volunteer Corps program is offered year-round, with after school projects and weekend projects for anyone who may not be able to participate in the summer.
Jolly said the idea behind volunteering and service learning is to encourage kids to get connected to their communities.
“We want them to have wholesome, healthy activities to do, make friends, it’s great for their service requirements for school, it’s great for college applications, but overall, kind of the ultimate goal is that we want kids to be inspired to be involved in service for the rest of their lives,” Jolly said. “It’s (also) about keeping kids active and involved, helps them develop skills that will help them with work, for success later in life, that they don’t get involved with drugs and alcohol, so they make a lot better decisions and it just makes for happier kids and happier parents.”
Applications should be completed and returned by Monday, May 15th, to the St. Joseph Youth Alliance, 5223 Mitchell Avenue. A mandatory parent orientation will be held on Tuesday, May 23rd.
A $25 fee per week will cover project costs such as snacks, supplies and transportation. Jolly said there are opportunities for scholarships.
For more information, call (816) 232-0050 or click here.