In This Issue:

YPII News

   ▪ 2008 YP Jam: Our Voice Rocks!

   ▪ YP Ambassadors for your Community

Young Hoosier Philanthropist

   ▪ Brandon Taylor

Tools & Resources

   ▪ The Teen Guide to Global Action

   ▪ Governor's Conference on Service & Volunteerism

   ▪ Save the Earth Now Resource

Ways to Give and Serve

   ▪ Think Globally, Report Locally

   ▪ ServiceVote Challenge

   ▪ Governor's Award for Tomorrow's Leaders

   ▪ The Power of Children Awards: Making a Difference

   ▪ Join the Biggest Earth Day Ever

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 soon; 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!

YP Ambassadors for Your Community
Recommendations are now being accepted for the Youth Philanthropy Ambassadors spring orientation.  The training will be held Friday, April 25, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at The Community Foundation of Southern Indiana in New Albany. 

YP Ambassadors serve local communities across Indiana by promoting 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 $20.00 per participant.  Along with a continental breakfast and lunch, attendees will receive nearly $1,000 worth of resources to use in their organizations and local communities.  Ambassadors must be interested in and committed to advancing giving and serving for the common good.  For more information or to make a recommendation, visit http://www.ypin.org/ambassadors_overview.htm.

Young Hoosier Philanthropist: Brandon Taylor
Brandon Taylor is a 2007 Power of Children Awards recipient from Merrillville, Indiana.  During a brief hospital stay in mid-2004, Brandon noticed how few toys were available to hospitalized children.  To help remedy the situation, Brandon formed the Kids 4 Kids foundation.  The group primarily participates in local community service projects focused on improving kids' hospital stays, but serves in other capacities, such as the delivery of holiday food baskets to senior citizens.  Since the foundation's inception, Kids 4 Kids has raised $1,000 in donations and plans to expand its efforts to include a youth rally.

The Teen Guide to Global Action
The Teen Guide to Global Action is an exciting new book that features stories of youth from over 30 countries who are making a difference and taking action on local and global issues.  The book includes a rich and varied menu of opportunities for service, fast facts, hands-on activities, user-friendly tools, and up-to-date resources kids can use to put their own volunteer spirit into practive. 

To learn more, visit:
http://www.freespirit.com/catalog/item_detail.cfm?ITEM_ID=584&CAT_ID=0.

Governor's Conference on Service & Volunteerism
Learn more about how to involve youth in community service, promote volunteerism in youth agencies, and encourage philanthropy at the Governor's Conference on Service and Volunteerism, March 25-26 in Indianapolis.  The event is hosted by the State of Indiana's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and will feature eight separate tracks: Mobilizing More Volunteers, Engaging Students in Communities through Service-Learning, Ensuring a Brighter Future for All of America's Youth, Harnessing Baby-Boomers' Experience, Addressing Local Needs through National Service, Empowering Indiana's Faith-Based Organizations, Training Indiana's Next Generation of Philanthropists, and Building Organizational Capacity.  For more information, visit http://www.in.gov/ofbci/2472.htm.

Save the Earth 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.

Think Globally, Report Locally
ThePeople 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.  Deadline is May 2, and video finalists will also be broadcast at the UN and seen by thousands of people from all over the world. For more, visit http://www.thepeoplespeak.org/contests/reportlocally.html.

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.

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.

The Power of Children Awards: Making a Difference
Do you know a young person, grades 6-11, making a difference in the lives of others or in the community through volunteerism and demonstration of good citizenship?  The deadline for highlighting the extraordinary work of that Hoosier youth through The Children's Museum of Indianapolis' Power of Children awards is March 14 .  Award recipients will receive a $2,000 cash reward to continue their charitable efforts, as well as a post-secondary educational scholarship to an Indiana-based institution of higher learning. 

Please visit http://www.childrensmuseum.org/special_events/powerofchildren/index.htm for more information and to download a nomination form.  You may also call the museum's Customer Service Center at 317.334.4000 to receive the information by mail.

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.