In This Issue:

YPII News

 § 2008 YP Jam: Our Voice Rocks!! Citizens in Action 

 § Local Communities Receive Resources through YP Ambassadors

Young Hoosier Philanthropists

 §  Benton Community Foundation C.A.A.P. Members

Tools & Resources

 §  Volunteering in America

 §  Family Volunteering

Ways to Give & Serve

 §  Pay It Forward Mini-Grants

 §  State Farm Service-Learning Champion Award

2008 YP Jam: Our Voice Rocks!! Citizens in Action
The voices of 140 youth and adults rocked the Butler Campus on July 10-11 as the 2008 YP Jam welcomed youth/adult partnership teams from all regions of the state.

Our Voice Rocks!! Citizens In Action was the theme of the event built on the three pillars of Indiana youth philanthropy: giving and serving, building leadership skills and civic engagement. With special emphasis on the third pillar, topics covered in the workshops included Feeling The Pulse of Your Community, Organizing Service Events, Fundraising Basics and Pathways Through Politics .  College students and League teachers facilitated Team Huddles throughout the conference to help the participants reflect on and discuss how to integrate what they'd learned into their philanthropic work back home.  To view videos from the event, go to: www.youtube.com/user/ypii

A special THANK YOU to the following organizations for helping to make this event affordable for the youth of Indiana: The Paul Ogle Foundation, The Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County, The Indianapolis Foundation, The League, Morgan Stanley and Networks Financial Institute.

$250,000 in Youth Fundraising Celebrated
YPII recently held a luncheon for a group of youth, donors and foundations involved with the Matching Fund Opportunity.  These representatives of organizations in central and northern Indiana helped leverage a quarter of a million dollars to benefit youth philanthropy in local communities. A fall luncheon will be held in the southern part of the state.  What a reason to celebrate!

Matching Fund applicants were selected by a youth/adult committee for the opportunity to raise funds and have them matched for youth philanthropy endowments. The organizations that were accepted and successfully raised funds for the matching opportunity are:

§ Benton Community Foundation Youth Philanthropy
§ DeKalb County Community Foundation - VOICE
§ Montgomery Youth Service Bureau - Youth As Resources
§ Leadership Fort Wayne - Youth As Resources
§ Noble County Community Foundation - P.U.L.S.E.
§ Putnam County Community Foundation
§ Rush County Community Foundation - Youth In Philanthropy Committee
§ Wabash Valley Community Foundation
§ Youth As Resources -- United Way of Central Indiana
§ Youth As Resources - Wayne County
§ Youth As Resources - Family Centered Services - Wells County
§ Youth Leadership Hendricks County

At the luncheon, youth shared their fundraising experiences and success stories with the foundation group.  A special award was given to Marty Moore, President of the Moore Foundation, for his foundation's generosity, his involvement in raising the matching funds, and his continuous advocacy for growing lifelong philanthropists who give of their time, talent and treasure.

Local Communities Receive Resources through YP Ambassadors
Great resources--both human and print--are available to local communities through the YP Ambassador program.  A northern Indiana orientation for potential Youth Philanthropy Ambassadors will be held on Friday, September 12 at 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.  The day-long event will be hosted by several active northern Ambassadors and held at the Allen County Public Library in Meeting Room A in Fort Wayne. 

YP Ambassadors serve local communities across Indiana to promote the concept of philanthropy among children, youth and young adults.  Thanks to our generous sponsors, this high quality event is available for a nominal fee of $25 per participant.   Along with a continental breakfast and lunch, participants will receive quality resources valued in excess of $1,000 to use in the local communities.  Ambassadors must be interested in and committed to advancing giving and serving for the common good.  For more information about the Ambassadors program or register for this event, visit: http://www.ypin.org  

Young Hoosier Philanthropists:
Benton County Foundation C.A.A.P. Members
Beginning with a $500 Great Grant/Super Service Award at the YP Jam 2007, Benton County's Community Activism Awareness Program (C.A.A.P.) has enjoyed an exciting and impressive year of difference making.  This group of Benton Central Jr./Sr. High School students supported their community by giving of their time, talent and treasure in significant ways.

C.A.A.P.'s 2007-2008 community service touched the areas of youth development and literacy, hunger prevention, the promotion of healthy lifestyles and community restoration.  Members staffed two Super Saturday events for elementary students featuring arts and crafts, games, magic and most importantly, reading.  They organized food drives and served meals to the less-fortunate.  C.A.A.P. students also raised money for cancer research and suicide prevention.  In addition, they staffed the Fowler Theatre in support of a volunteer-driven effort to restore this last remaining local movie theater.

On top of their many hours of volunteering and fundraising, C.A.A.P. also granted monies to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library and the preservation group working to restore Fowler Theatre.

Many thanks to the C.A.A.P. members who make Benton County a great place for youth philanthropy!

Volunteering in America
In a nation where 60.8 million people volunteer, the Midwest is the #1 region for service.  Indianapolis alone boasts 382,000 volunteers, who serve an average of 46.8 hours each year.  The great news?  More than a quarter of those volunteers are under age 24.  To learn more about volunteering in our area and across the nation, visit: www.volunteeringinamerica.gov

Family Volunteering

A study from Indiana University's Center for Urban Policy and the Environment explores why families volunteer, the many benefits of the experience, and the possible drawbacks. 
Read the full report

Pay It Forward Mini-Grants

Pay It Forward Mini-Grants are designed to fund one-time-only service-oriented projects identified by youth as activities they would like to perform to benefit their school, neighborhood or greater community. Projects must contain a "pay it forward" focus - that is, they must be based on the concept of one person doing a favor for others, who in turn do favors for others, with the results growing exponentially - to be considered in the grant making process.  Applications for the fall semester are being accepted August 1 through September 15.  All applications received after September 15 will be considered for spring semester funding.  www.payitforwardfoundation.org/educators/grant.html

State Farm Service-Learning Champion Award

State Farm created the Service-Learning Champion Award to recognize a community member, business partner or public official whose contribution was instrumental to the success of a youth-led service-learning project.  It recognizes a community member who has had a significant and meaningful impact on the growth of service-learning, championing the cause of service-learning through his or her commitment of time, training, materials, personal involvement and passion.  Nominations for the 2009 award will open in September 2008. 
Get more information