SPRING YOUTH SERVICE DAY
Spring Youth Service Day, one of Alpha Phi Omega’s largest service events, offers an opportunity for members to work alongside Youth Service America’s Global Youth Service Day to provide a special kind of service: serving the youth of all nations through projects for and with them. This year’s Spring Youth Service Day will take place on April 26-28, 2024.
For this global service event, members are encouraged to think outside the box to connect with pre-college-age youth in a meaningful way. A Spring Youth Service Day project can start a strong foundation for building long-term relationships with youth organizations in the community and can instill the value of servant leadership in a new generation of youth!
To learn more about Spring Youth Service Day and how to plan, implement and report a project, read the Spring Youth Service Day Handbook here. Check out some project ideas below to get inspired and start thinking about how you can get involved in Spring Youth Service Day!
A LOOK BACK AT SPRING YOUTH SERVICE DAY 2023!
Below are a few images showcasing how some APO chapters helped positively impact the youth in their community through Spring Youth Service Day 2023.
More Information about SYSD
Spring Youth Service Day is held in conjunction with Global Youth Service Day, which is the world’s largest service event organized by Youth Service America.
Global Youth Service Day includes more than 100 countries and millions of young people worldwide. Projects are organized by communities, schools and local organizations. Youth Service America’s Global Youth Service Day has given APO a renewed resolved to fulfill Frank Reed Horton’s dream that Alpha Phi Omega would make the world a better place, particularly through service to “the youth of all nations.”
Alpha Phi Omega first made a commitment to become a part of Youth Service America’s National Youth Service Day in 2001 (now Global Youth Service Day). Our involvement helps us meet part of the commitment we make to America’s Promise, the “Network for Youth” founded by General Colin Powell (Ret).
PROJECT IDEAS
The possibilities are endless for Spring Youth Service Day projects! Members can plan a long-term program or hold their project over a day or a weekend, and these projects can cover an array of locations and themes. The most important thing is to plan something that helps youth!
SHORT-TERM PROJECTS
- Collect diapers, toys or other baby essentials for families in need
- Sponsor a toy drive for a local organization or youth charity.
- Make blankets or stuffed animals for sick children or children in need.
- Collect food and funds and provide assistance for local food pantries and soup kitchens.
- Sponsor a book drive for a local library, school or community center.
- Host cleanup projects at community centers, summer camps, local parks, etc.
- Help with playground building, repair and litter control.
LONG-TERM PROJECTS
- Coach or sponsor a youth athletic team (as permitted by your university and risk management plans)
- Create an after-school program for local children where they can get help with their studies or learn a new activity
- Collect diapers, toys or other baby essentials for needy families
- Sponsor a toy drive for a local organization or youth charity
- Make blankets, stuffed animals, etc., for seriously ill or needy children
- Help to provide leadership for a youth organization such as Scouting, 4-H, Campfire, etc.
- Collect food and funds and provide assistance for local food pantries and soup kitchens
- Sponsor a book drive for a local library, school or community center
- Help with child-care services at a shelter or day care center
- Record books for blind children
- Raise money for an organization that serves youth through walk-a-thons, rock-a-thons, etc.
VIRTUAL PROJECTS
- Create an online after-school program for local children where they can get help with their studies or learn a new activity.
- Record books for blind children.
- Raise money for an organization that serves youth through walk-a-thons, rock-a-thons, etc.
- Hold a virtual children’s story time in conjunction with a local library, elementary school, etc.
- Teach younger children the values of proper hand washing techniques and staying clean over video conferencing or on-demand learning.
- Hold an online educational seminar for teens.
PROJECTS WITH PARTNERS
- Organize a Merit Badge University or advancement event for Boy or Girl Scouts
- Work with Child Rescue Network or local police departments to create photo/fingerprint ID cards for children
- Hold a career/college fair at a local high school
- Develop or staff an event for a youth related organization, such as Ronald McDonald House, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Boys/Girls Clubs, YMCA, child abuse centers, etc.
- Do a joint service project with a high school service club such as the JROTC, Key Club, etc.
- Volunteer to help at a Special Olympics event