In This Issue:

YPII News

   ^.  YP Ambassadors for Your Community

   ^.  2008 YP Jam: Our Voice Rocks!

Young Hoosier Philanthropist

   ^.  Brittany Oliver

Tools & Resources

   ^.  Building Quality Youth-Adult Partnerships

   ^.  Save the Earth Now Resource

Ways to Give & Serve

   ^.  Join the Biggest Earth Day Ever 

   ^.  The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes

   ^.  Think Globally, Report Locally 

   ^.  Governor's Award for Tomorrow's Leaders

   ^.  ServiceVote Challenge

2008 YP Jam: Our Voice Rocks!
An exciting, action-packed theme, Our Voice Rocks! Citizens in Action, will focus on civic engagement to make this election-year conference a timely event.  The 2008 YP Jam will be held July 10-11  on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis.  Now is the time to start gathering your organization's team of youth and adults to attend.  Brochures with full details will be available by April 15; please let us know how many your group will need.  For Jam updates, visit http://www.ypin.org/ct_ypjam.htm.  Mark your calendar and plan to attend!

Young Hoosier Philanthropist: Brittany Oliver
When Brittany Oliver was young, her parents read to her every night.  Ask Brittany about the impact of this simple gesture, and she'll tell you it piqued her interest in learning and prepared her to succeed in school.  As a young adult, Brittany realizes not all families share the special reading time she enjoyed as a child.  To help remedy that situation, Ms. Oliver created "Reading Teams," a program that recruits school and community volunteers to read to kids in day-care centers and after-school programs. 

At the beginning, Brittany and her sister volunteered to read to kids at a local YMCA.  Amazed by the children's response, she began thinking about additional venues for such services.  Over time, Brittany has developed a network of 80 volunteers who spend time at 10 reading sites.  For her efforts, Ms. Oliver received a 2007 Power of Children award, was named Indiana's top high school volunteer by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and just took home a 2008 George Award from the Lafayette Journal & Courier.  Brittany is a senior at Lafayette Jefferson High School.

Building Quality Youth-Adult Partnerships
Youth Service America has a tip sheet available which looks at the components of creating a youth-adult partnership and what needs to be in place for a partnership to manifest into a sustainable relationship.  Download the tip sheet

See the full tip sheet library: http://ysa.org/Programs/TipSheets/tabid/114/Default.aspx

Save the Earth Now Resource
Plan ahead for Earth Day (April 22) by getting a copy of Save the Earth Now, a K-12 resource that addresses environmental stewardship and philanthropy.  Save the Earth Now is a comprehensive guide for teachers, educators, parents, youth workers and faith-based organizations that educates youth about the importance of environmental stewardship.  It includes grade-specific lesson plans which provide all the materials needed to engage youth in the topic of environmentalism: global warming and recycling, management of natural resources, animal ethics, wilderness preservation and activism.  This resource is made possible by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.  Please email Kiran Tahir at ktahir@indianagrantmakers.org to order, or call Eileen Ryan, Program Director, for more information at 317.630.5200.

Join the Biggest Earth Day Ever
Earth Day 2008 is coming on April 22.  Thousands of groups have jumped on the bandwagon and Earth Day events are popping up all around the globe.  From Tokyo to New York, from Togo to Buenos Aires, Earth Day Network is registering worldwide events on their site. To sign up and get involved, visit http://ww2.earthday.net/~earthday/node/80.

The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes
The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes honors outstanding young leaders who have made a significant positive difference to people and our planet.  Nominations are now being accepted for 2008 prizes, which will go to five youth focused on helping their communities and fellow beings, and five young people focused on protecting the health and sustainability of the environment.  Learn more at http://www.barronprize.org  Deadline: April 30

Think Globally, Report Locally
The People Speak is challenging U.S. high school students to create one-to-two minute video news stories showing a local angle of global issues. The prize for the top three teams is an all-expenses-paid trip to New York to attend the United Nations Foundation Youth Leadership Summit July 17-19.  Video finalists will also be broadcast at the UN and seen by thousands of people from all over the world.  http://www.thepeoplespeak.org/contests/reportlocally.html  Deadline: May 2

Governor's Award for Tomorrow's Leaders
The Indiana Humanities Council is now accepting nominations for the Governor's Award for Tomorrow's Leaders.  Twelve young leaders from across Indiana will receive $1,000 in the form of a scholarship or a contribution to the charity of the recipient's choice.  The awards recognize outstanding Hoosiers, between the ages of 19 and 26, who apply the humanities to achieve outstanding success in entrepreneurial, community and educational leadership.  To learn more, visit http://www.indianahumanities.org/GATL/index.htm.  Deadline: June 2

ServiceVote Challenge
Youth Service America's campaign to engage young people in the political process was recently unveiled with the ServiceVote Challenge. With volunteering and voting on the rise among young people, ServiceVote challenges young people to address the critical issues they care about through community service, electoral and political action. To learn more, visit http://www.servicevote.org.