Mayor Vincent C. Gray and Serve DC Announce Global Youth Service Day Signature Project Grant Awards to Engage DC Youth

Media Contact: Clarence J. Fluker, (202) 727-7927, clarence.fluker@dc.gov

(Washington, DC) Mayor Vincent C. Gray and Serve DC – The Mayor’s Office on Volunteerism are pleased to announce the winners of the Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) Signature Project grant competition. Global Youth Service Day is the only annual service event that specifically engages youth as community leaders worldwide. From April 20 to 22, millions of young people from more than 100 countries plan and lead service projects that promote sustainable solutions to their ongoing community problems.

“We are glad to be able to offer support to these local schools and organizations," said Mayor Gray. “Fostering a spirit of service for young people in the District is vital to building strong communities and ensuring that they grow to be active and engaged Washingtonians.”

Serve DC is the GYSD Lead Agency for the District in Columbia, funded in part by a planning grant from Youth Service America presented by State Farm. As the District of Columbia Lead Agency for GYSD, Serve DC provides planning grants of up to $500 to promote youth as community leaders through volunteerism. The Serve DC Global Youth Service Day Signature Project grants are awarded to organizations that reflect collaborative, youth-led service projects which address our city’s most pressing concerns. We are proud to present these awards to support projects that will reach more than 700 young people throughout the District of Columbia and address a diverse set of issue, including economic development, hunger and food access, environmental support, literacy, and community development.

Visit serve.dc.gov for more information on Global Youth Service Day and how you can participate. 

Serve DC Global Youth Service Day Signature Project grantees are:

Sasha Bruce Youthwork: Ballou Senior High School GYSD at Saint Elizabeths East Campus

Sasha Bruce Youthwork’s GYSD project is made up of three initiatives at the St. Elizabeths East Shelter including: beautification projects, making sandwiches for the Martha’s Table food service provided at the campus, and collecting oral histories of the shelter residents. Along with the vision of a new job and technical resource center at St. Elizabeths, this project allows for ongoing service learning and an enhanced partnership with the campus and the students at Ballou Senior High School.

Turning the Page: Sow Seeds for Seniors

In continuation of a partnership with Knox Senior Hill Senior Residence and the Parent-Teacher organizations at Martin Luther King, Garfield and M.C. Terrell Elementary Schools in Ward 8, Turning the Page will engage students in environmental awareness and intergenerational fellowship.  Students are growing plants in their classrooms and will give them to their neighbors at Knox Hill Senior Residences.

Capital City Public Charter School: School Gardens Kick Off!

Students and their families will prepare the outdoor learning spaces and demonstration gardens that will support learning at the new shared CCPCS facility in Ward 4. High school students will lead elementary and middle school students with mulching, tree planting and gardening. This project will support the CCPS “Be Water Wise” club and help build community and give families a hands-on opportunity to literally shape their new campus. 

DC SCORES: Fighting Against Hunger

DC SCORES will be working at Bancroft Elementary School in Ward 1 to promote food access. Students will organize small scale food drives and packaged on Global Youth Service Day to benefit the pantries of SOME (So Others May Eat). Students will also engaged in community canvassing teams and learn about food access from hunger activist organizations at an outreach fair. Throughout the service project student will learn how to make nutritious snacks, compete in soccer games, and model overall wellness.