From Carmen Clay's Desk-PVSA, NVW and GYSD 2018

Presidential Volunteer Service Award 2018 Recognition Ceremony

YAC Co-Presidents 2018-2019

Today was the last school day of National Volunteer Week 2018.  The YAC Co-Presidents of next school year (Katherine S'19, Sahanya B.'19, and Ellison G.'19)  recognized at Upper Division Chapel this year's Presidential Service Award Winners.

"The President's Volunteer Service Award is a part of the Corporation for National and Community Service and is administered by the Points of Light Foundation.

Through a shared mission of inspiring more to answer the call to service, the President's Volunteer Service Award celebrates the impact we can all make in bettering our communities and our world. Presidential recognition sets you apart from your peers. It is a tremendous honor.
Even though you may not seek recognition, your example can deliver a powerful  
message that encourages others to take action.  

Hours are measured over a 12-month period.

YAC Co-Presidents decorated the tables for the doughnuts
appreciation before and after chapel gathering for PVSA medallists

The awards are offered in several categories " kids, teens, young adults, adults, and lifetime service achievement."    

Each award category includes bronze, silver, and gold levels.  The highest honor, the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award, is for those who contribute more than 4,000 hours of service in a lifetime.

Awardees will receive a medal, a certificate, and a letter from the President of the United States at an ice cream social in their honor when the medals arrive and all members of the senior class finish documenting hours served for requirement completion."

The Medalists

The bronze medal; teens 15 or younger need a minimum of 50 hours, while young adults 16 or older must serve a minimum of 100 hours.  

Isabel Alberola, Jack Barrett, Will Bennett, Quinn Bunnag, Jackson Davis, Sophia Dystra, Charlee Enderby,  Nika Gorski,
Caroline Hawley, Adam Hughes, Alec Karam, Jillian Kim, Aurian Kutner, Cooper Lindstrom, Courtney Melton,
Isabella Moore, Margo Naifeh, Kaili Nguyen, Isabella Pardo, Sharun Philip, Aidan Raikar, Tara Ramakrishnan, Caleb Richards, Justin Schneider,
Caroline Terrell, Mason Thomas, Michael Ting, Milley VanSant, Celine Voung, Noah Youmans

The silver medal, teens 15 or younger need a minimum of 75 hours, while young adults 16 or older must serve a minimum of 175 hours.

Lucas Barrett, Hannah Jordan,, Eva Rangel, Lukas Schneider, Ellie Taylor, Grace Utz

The gold medal, teens 15 or younger need a minimum of 100 hours, while young adults 16 or older must serve a minimum of 250 hours.

Ahmed Hussan, Gabriella Karam, Zaadia Nazir, Neeley Patel, Malavika Rajaram, Katherine Schoeffler, Brandon Trachtenberg, Doran Walters

Presidential Service Award Winners with YAC Co-Presidents for 2017-2018 and 2018-2019

The Presidential Volunteer Service Award Winners had doughnuts, water, coffee and tea in their honor, before and after Chapel, as a small token of the YAC's appreciation for all the good they do for the Oklahoma and global communities in need.

Casady's National Volunteer Week 2018

The Week started delivering small tokens of YAC's Gratitude to all divisions children, youth and adults, including staff, kitchen, and campus ground keepers for their help and donations to all YAC service projects this year.

During the double, the service-learning office screened the movie "Pay it Forward "because participants arrived at 3:15 at the Transept and "Pursuit of Happiness" was not available yet.  

Students who participated in the screening of "Pay it Forward" stated, "the movie was better than expected." "Was it a true story?" No, it was not a true story.  "Pay it Forward" was based on the fictional book of the same name, a story created by Catherine Ryan Hyde 

There will be a later date screening of the "The Pursuit of Happiness." at the Transept as the location was ideal for small movie showings provided that it does not disturb the praying room of our Muslim students. 

On a personal note, it was ironic to have on the schedule, for my last official National Volunteer Week activity at Casady as the Community Service-Learning Director, a movie, selected by the YAC leadership, that had Pursuit and Happiness in the title since those two words define the value of volunteer service to me.  When a person focuses on volunteering with mind, body, and spirit, we find the best in ourselves, we define compassion in our hearts.  Encountering that piece of our souls brings happiness.  Our genuine compassion for others allows us to care deeply and see our own humanity in them, full of possibilities for a peaceful future. 

In the midst of getting things ready for the ISAS Arts Festival, daily studies, sports, and preparing for AP exams, a small group of YAC members decided to follow Katherine S' lead and started the "One Day Care Bag for a YWCA Mother,"  YAC's action project for National Volunteer Week 2018.  The supplies were purchased with funding provided by the compassionate heart of the Rainbolt Family Endowment. 

As a grandmother of a toddler baby boy and a four-month baby girl, I felt a deep sadness for the loving Oklahoma families facing domestic abuse when we started placing diapers, wipes, sanitary napkins, sunscreen, and an organic fruit snack.  As we continued to make art supply packages,  I felt happy that every smiley bag was going to make a few minutes of one day easier for a mother and her babies, an Oklahoma human story which hopefully will have a happy ending.

YAC's Connection to Earth Day 2018: 
Oklahoma Centennial High School Community Garden and Rain Barrels

After school, I represented the Casady YAC and spent an hour at Centennial High School Community Garden, a connection made by Sahanya when she brought the rain barrel idea from the National Service-Learning Conference.  

 

Oklahoma Centennial had to cancel their National Volunteer Week workday at their garden because of the teacher's walkout.  I delivered the fruit snacks for Chef Carrie's classes as a token of YAC's appreciation for the way they embraced becoming a lead school in service during Peace Week,  9/11, MLK Day, and the amazing activities they facilitated at their school during National Volunteer Week 2018. 

Chef Carrie invited YAC to help with the garden on Fridays after school and during the summer break.

NVW Tuesday, Sharun P. and I delivered Animal Crakers to Stanley Hupfeld Elementary to thank the teacher whose students were part of Casady Positive Directions mentoring program.

Ellie's compassion for Oklahoma homeless motivated YAC to continue the WARM Project of making fleece blankets for Positive Tomorrow Reading Program.  YAC Vice-President, Ellie G.  delivered the fleece blankets to Positive Tomorrow's.  Ellie will volunteer at Positive Tomorrow during the summer break.

At the end of the school year, we will deliver placemats decorated by first and third graders at the YAC booth man-powered by Sharun, Safra, and Mariam during STUCO's Walk-A-Thon to the Children's Hospital Aikman End Zone.

In June, as I turn in the keys for the YAC Community Room with the "Leaving Giving Tree" purchased for Katherine's ICS Hope for the Holidays Drive, YAC will continue their "Pursuit of Happiness" journey through giving under the sponsorship of a new Dean of Activities and Service-Learning. 

It has been an honor to serve at Casady since the year 2000.  I will continue my pursuit of happiness in Boston. When in OKC, I will be substituting at Casady and other OKC school.  I will also be looking forward to participating as a volunteer in ongoing Casady YAC Pursuit of Happiness through giving experiences.

Global Youth Service Days 2018

Casady Service Learning is promoting the Students Rebuild Facing Difference Challenge around campus, and at Oklahoma Centennial High School. 

30 Years of Youth Changing the World

 

In October 1988, YSA sent photographers out across the United States to capture images of “A Day in the Life of Youth Service” and the public was stunned at the depth and breadth of the energy, commitment, idealism, and creativity of children and youth-serving their communities. That awareness helped lead to the creation of AmeriCorps and an expansion of national and community service programs in schools, nonprofits, and youth organizations.

Over the last 30 years, as "A Day in the Life of Youth Service" became National Youth Service Day in 1990, grew to a three-day event in the '90s and expanded into Global Youth Service Day in 2000, the goal has never changed from the original one: "to document, promote, and celebrate young people making a difference." We're now sharing these stories in ways that we never could have imagined in 1988, and they continue to inspire us every single year.

Celebrities like the Backstreet Boys, Clay Aiken, Raven Symone, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and Miss America Teresa Scanlan have helped us call youth to serve. First Ladies Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama have each helped recognize young leaders. 

Of course, it's not just about the number of years. It's about the results you've achieved in those 30 years. Because of over 100,000 youth-led projects, the world is cleaner, safer, smarter, healthier, greener, and fairer. Youth are using their sparks and building their skills by leading ASAP by organizing Awareness, Service, Advocacy, and Philanthropy projects that are working towards achieving the Global Goals.