While earning their diploma and trade certification, all students at YouthBuild additionally participate in volunteer and leadership activities in service to their community. Every student is a part-time AmeriCorps member and completes at least 675 hours of service during their YouthBuild year – thereby earning an education stipend to use for furthering their education after YouthBuild. While they change their own lives, students change their community for the better as well. In their Community Change Workshops, students wrote in their journals about their service experience and why service is important part of the YouthBuild experience:
The service I did was at the Drueding Center. I like the Drueding Center because there were young mothers and their children trying to better themselves. I like that because I’m not better than them, I am trying to do the same thing. That’s the best thing; a child can look up to their parents and follow their lead. Service is an important part of YouthBuild because other people help YouthBuild and they give back to the community. We do also and I think that’s the right thing to do.”
– Tiffany
“I did my service at the YES (Youth Emergency Services) Program. It felt good to give back to the community and do something for people who are less fortunate! It felt good because a lot of people don’t have people in their corner helping them out or doing things for them. This service is important to YouthBuild because we are big on community service and giving back to the community. I enjoyed helping.”
– Kamunti
“The service that I did was helping people to vote. It felt really good because it felt like we were actually making a change. It felt this way because it was the first time I helped someone other than myself. I thought that was important because [an] election was critical to anyone’s situation. Service is an important part of YouthBuild because we help change the community in more ways than I will ever know. It also shows people…that anyone is capable of change.”
– Charles
