Ann Arbor YMCA - Youth Volunteer Corps

Mission: To engage youth in team-based service experiences that build life and work skills while inspiring a lifetime ethic of service.

The Ann Arbor YMCA is a charitable association of adults and children joined by a shared commitment to nurturing the potential of children and teens, promoting healthy living, and supporting our neighbors. By connecting youth to their potential, purpose and each other, the Y empowers youth and teens to shape the communities of tomorrow, today.

Youth Volunteer Corps (YVC) is a network of affiliated organizations across the U.S. and Canada running that same program by engaging youth ages 11-18 in team-based, structured, diverse, and flexible service-learning opportunities. Youth Volunteer Corps participants serve for a variety of reasons, but one of the most important to the youth is the opportunity to make a difference.

The Ann Arbor YMCA manages our local Youth Volunteer Corps! Our hope is to empower youth to change things and to make a difference. In addition to being a positive influence in the world, while serving with the Ann Arbor YMCA Youth Volunteer Corps, participants will have the chance to meet new people, be challenged with new experiences, fulfill service hour requirements, gain new practical skills, and have fun!

YVC is a youth-driven program that strives to meet the needs of our community and works in collaboration with local organizations to create social change and positive community impact. Through facilitated service-learning projects, workshops, personal development trainings, and interactive dialogue, YVC participants address critical social issues and develop strategies to become active citizens of their community.

As a network, YVC is focused on the following Strategic Focus Areas:

• Compassionate Communities – Projects with this focus promote a community’s basic needs, including social services aimed at promoting the overall quality of life for at-risk populations.
• Healthy Lifestyles – Projects with this focus promote physical and mental well-being.
• Arts & Culture – Projects with this focus promote the visual arts and the humanities.
• STEM & Environment – STEM programming focuses on environmental clean-ups, computer literacy, and projects that focus on science or math.
• Eco Leaders – Youth-led leadership development program for teens who are passionate about combating climate change in their local community and abroad.
• Education – Projects with this focus promote education among the population served by YVC youth, like reading with/tutoring younger children and conducting intro computer classes at a nursing home.