Happy International Volunteer Day!

Celebrated on December 5th, this day is a chance for volunteer-involving organizations and individual volunteers to celebrate their contributions to development at local, national and global levels. Here at YSA, while we honor the work of volunteers of all ages around the world who believe that giving their time can create positive change and great community impact, we would like to say a special thank you to young volunteers around the globe who are committed to service.

Every hour of every day, somewhere in the world there is a young person who is volunteering in his or her community.  Young people are volunteering at record rates, realizing that the problems and challenges of tomorrow will fall upon their generation. 365 days of the year, YSA celebrates the achievements of young volunteers and works to share their stories with the entire world. On this special day, we wish to say thank you for your passion for serving others, your dedication to volunteering, and your continued desire to help build a better and more just world.

How will you celebrate International Volunteer Day?  Here are a few ideas from the team at YSA:

• Nominate an outstanding young volunteer in your community as a YSA Everyday Young Hero and he/she will be featured in YSA’s weekly National Service Briefing. Submit a nomination here: www.ysa.org/awards/hero.
• Enter the volunteering matters online photo competition organized by United Nations Volunteer to showcase how you are celebrating International Volunteer Day. Visit the online competition page  after December 7^th and it will showcase a digital mosaic ‘snapshot’ of our volunteering world.
• Apply for a Sodexo Youth Grant to fund a volunteer project that addresses youth hunger and homelessness in your community.

For more information about today’s celebrations follow @volunteerplus10 and these hashtags on twitter today: #IVD and #IYVplus10.