Community Service- Oregon Food Bank
It is important to teach our youth how to give back to their community. It is our hope; the more engaged they are in the community, the more compassion they will have for others. The number of crimes committed by teenagers in this country is rising due to a lack of education, parenting, and love, which can lead to a disconnect with their own communities. Our goal is to teach our young people how to be responsible citizens. In order for them to be accountable, we must also teach them how to have sympathy and empathy for the elderly, less fortunate and others. We all have a circle of family and friends, but we need to extend that circle to include the community, our state, our nation and ultimately recognize that we are part of a global society.
BYD (Blessed, Young, and Determined) will be participating in community service projects on a regular basis, so our next generation of youth will be better than previous generations. The more our youth are active in the community, the likelihood, they will see the needs of the people. Hopefully, when they become future representatives, our country will see the changes needed for a better society. We invite you to visit our photo gallery to see the pictures of our youth volunteering at Oregon Food Bank.
Benefits for Youth Participants
Youth who participate in high-quality community-based service-learning are likely to benefit in a number of ways (Chung, 1997; Coe-Regan et al, in press; Lewis-Charp et al., 2003; Tannenbaum, S. C., 2007; and YMCA of the USA, 2004):
- Young people gain access to the range of supports and opportunities (or developmental assets) they need to grow up healthy, caring, and responsible. One study of youth civic activism found that these settings had particular strength in cultivating youth and community involvement (Lewis-Charp et al., 2003).
- Increased sense of self-efficacy as young people learn that they can impact real social challenges, problems, and needs.
- Higher academic achievement and interest in furthering their education.
- Enhanced problem-solving skills, ability to work in teams, and planning abilities.
- Enhanced civic engagement attitudes, skills and behaviors. Many leaders in public service today speak about how they were nurtured, inspired, and shaped in early experiences in community service or volunteering.