Supporting Global Youth Service Days

Floor Speech

SUPPORTING GLOBAL YOUTH SERVICE DAYS -- (House of Representatives - May 05, 2009)

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Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 353, a resolution to support the goals and ideals of Global Youth Service Days.

Global Youth Service Days is an annual global event that highlights and celebrates the ongoing contributions of youth to their communities through volunteer service and service learning. Just last month, President Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which reauthorized programs that support national and community service, including the goal of tripling the number of youth volunteers in our communities.

Service learning extends the classroom into the community. It provides young people with the opportunity to give back locally, as well as offer real-life applications to prepare them for their lives.

Global Youth Service Days takes that one step further by promoting projects that encourage youth to work collaboratively across national boundaries to address global issues, to increase intercultural understanding and to promote the sense that they are global citizens.

Global Youth Service Days is the largest service event in the world, and in 2009 it's being observed for the 21st consecutive year in the United States, as well as for the 10th year in more than 100 countries. Over the past 21 years, Global Youth Service Days has brought together more than 40 million people in thousands of communities worldwide.

The benefits of service for young people are countless. High quality semester-long service learning, when used as a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with academic curriculum, increases students' cognitive engagement, motivation to learn, school attendance and academic achievement.

Opportunities like Global Youth Service Day provide avenues for youth to apply their knowledge, idealism, energy, creativity and unique perspectives to improve local communities by addressing critical issues such as poverty, hunger, illiteracy, education, natural disasters, climate change and more. Past Global Youth Service Days have taken place in the United States as well as around the world.

In Colorado's Second Congressional District that I have the honor to represent, the weekend before last I celebrated Global Youth Service Days with Project YES in Lafayette, which hosted one of 75 major worldwide events and joined over 600 volunteers, who helped out Boulder County organizations such as the Emergency Family Assistance Association, Kids' Park in Lafayette, Sister Carmen Community Center and several local schools. I was thrilled to see the motivation and excitement that these young people had for improving our communities.

Young people and teachers in Tarija, Bolivia, addressed the public health issues surrounding unsanitary drinking water. Young people and teachers in Kuchinarai, Thailand, engaged 55 children who were orphaned by AIDS in a week-long summer camp focused on education, life skills, leadership, and self-esteem.

Both young people and their communities benefit greatly from expanded opportunities for youth to engage in community service and service learning.

Madam Speaker, this resolution serves to recognize and commend the significant contributions of the youth of the United States and to support the goals and ideals of Global Youth Service Days 2009 internationally.

I would like to thank Representative DeLauro for introducing this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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