Youth Food Advocates Thanksgiving Campaign

Youth Food Advocates (YFA) interns are growing to become the next generation of food justice leaders. This school year YFA has 17 interns at 15 high school campuses across the five boroughs ready to engage in the policy making process and create systemic change in the nation’s largest school system.

Interns are set to launch their annual YFA Thanksgiving Campaign on November 7, 2023. This youth-created, youth-led campaign was first launched in 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, to recognize the unique and crucial role the NYC Department of Education Office of Food and Nutrition Services (OFNS) cafeteria workers played as frontline responders to provide meals to students learning remotely. YFA interns will collect notes of gratitude during the month of November and distribute them to their OFNS school staff during Thanksgiving week.

All NYC schools are invited to join in giving thanks to our school food staff! The YFA Thanksgiving Campaign Toolkit includes the campaign’s origin story, facts about school food workers, videos and readings, a suggested timeline and activities to get started at your school, and blank signs for students to draw and write thank you notes. Last year YFA designed and printed Thank You postcards. YFA is in the process of creating new postcard designs that schools can download to order their own prints, for as little as $0.03 per postcard. Tag YFA on Instagram when your school begins to collect thank you notes/postcards @youthfoodadvocates.

Apply to a 2023-24 Service in Schools Program!

Are you interested in engaging your students in helping their community? Would you like to provide your students with authentic connections to academic curriculum and social emotional learning? Starting Monday, October 2, teachers are encouraged to apply for a Service in Schools program! Learn more and complete an application by 11:59 PM on Monday, October 23 to be considered.

Service in Schools is excited to offer three professional learning and student programs for teachers and their students in kindergarten through grade 10. The Kids Action Team, Students Taking Action Today, and Students Advocating for the Environment programs are designed to support teachers in leading students through a service-learning project to address a community need. Each program will run from December 2023 through June 2024 and includes in-person professional learning sessions, access to digital resources, connections with local organizations that are working to effect change, personalized support from the Service in Schools team, and the opportunity for students to showcase their service-learning action and advocacy to educators and peers from across the city. Learn more about the programs on the Service in Schools libguide and email ServiceinSchools@schools.nyc.gov with any questions. We look forward to receiving your application!

Service of Recognition for Service

The NYC Department of Education offers a locally-approved diploma seal of recognition for youth service. The Seal of Recognition for Service, or Service Seal, recognizes high school students who accumulate a minimum of 100 hours of service over their high school years. Service hours may include community service completed independently or as part of service-learning and/or a school-led service program. For further guidance on the Service Seal, teachers and school-based staff can refer to the Seal of Recognition for Service guidance document behind login on the InfoHub. We hope all high schools will support students in pursuing and achieving the Service Seal. For questions, email ServiceinSchools@schools.nyc.gov .



FABSCRAP

Have you heard of FABSCRAP? FABSCRAP is a commercial textile waste recycling service, an affordable art and fashion supply store, a sustainability education center, and a community hub. FABSCRAP is popping up in Manhattan! For a very special limited time, FABSCRAP will be hosting volunteer sessions and fabric shopping at The Canvas 3.0 in the Westfield World Trade Center on October 7-9 and 28-30, 2023. Sign-up via this link to volunteer and drop-in between 9:00am-5:00pm to shop fabric and materials. Volunteers will receive a $25 voucher to redeem at the pop-up fabric store or at the FABSCRAP Brooklyn Warehouse.

DOROT

DOROT has service opportunities this Fall for high school students interested in intergenerational engagement with adults 65+ years old. Registration is now open for DOROT’s virtual volunteering program, GENuine Connections. Join a group of teens and older adults for a weekly workshop over Zoom. Learn more here and complete this application to apply and sign up for an orientation. DOROT's Fall Teen Internship is also currently accepting applications. The internship runs from October 16 through December 14, 2023. Learn more on DOROT’s website and complete the online application. Acceptance for both programs is on a rolling basis, with October 10 as the deadline for both applications.

Equipping students to connect with others and develop the ability to listen and empathize with others is foundational in service-learning programs and experiences. This is the backbone of good, critical service learning that shapes students’ understanding of the world and opens up complex layers of thinking about self, community, equity, and belonging. Leeanne Lavender is a career educator, equipping students and educators with the tools to engage in foundational service-learning programs and experiences. Through her blog, LeeAnne shares insights on topics such as the role of empathy in service learning and how important it is in the foundation of critical service-learning. For educators, she also touches on the whole school approach to service learning. LeeAnne also provides additional resources such as the changemaker superpower toolkit for teachers and a service learning reflection guide. If you are an educator interested in getting involved with service learning, LeeAnne’s blog is an excellent resource.

Spread Love

Connect to an organization in your community for #HungerActionMonth. NYC Service chose eliminating hunger as the September #SpreadLoveNYC impact area to uplift organizations on the frontlines serving communities experiencing food insecurity. September is also Hunger Action Month, established to raise awareness about food insecurity and turn awareness into action. Take action now, or during any month of the year, to eliminate hunger with one of the #SpreadLoveNYC partners that nourish, strengthen, and help New Yorkers in need. To connect with an organization in your borough, visit the Spread Love page

Affordable Connectivity Program: Back-to-School Edition!

Learning happens inside and outside the classroom. To make sure that all kids can continue learning at home and on their computers, the federal government has launched the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) under the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This benefit provides qualified New Yorkers with $30 off their monthly internet bill. Learn more and apply today!

Does your school have a great service project to share? If so, the Service in Schools team wants to know!

Invite the Service in Schools team to visit your service project. We want to see your students and school community in action. Email the Service in Schools team at ServiceinSchools@schools.nyc.gov with two weeks’ notice, and we will schedule a visit to your school to learn about your project and see the impact you are making on the community. 

Visit our website. Follow @ServiceinSchools on Twitter and @ServiceinSchools on Instagram to receive program updates, upcoming service opportunities, resources, and more. We encourage students who use Twitter and Instagram and are interested in service opportunities to follow us.

Mission: Service in Schools strives to expand the number of NYC students engaged in transformative community service and service-learning experiences that enable them to use their voice, skills, and critical thinking to strengthen communities.