YVCHR News: Volunteer Opportunities, Canstructure Competition, Summer of Service...and more!

April 2023

Congratulations to Carey!

YVCHR's Volunteer of the Month

Carey, a junior at Menchville High, started volunteering with YVCHR in April of 2022 when he first signed up for Special Olympics Bowling. One year later, Carey is a committed volunteer with the Special Olympics program every Wednesday and also participates in a variety of other YVC projects on the weekends and evenings.

When asked about his favorite organization to serve, he said, "it is difficult to single out one specific organization because they each have a noble mission and, in different capacities, benefit the Hampton Roads community." He noted that Special Olympics holds a special place in his heart as he enjoys "socializing with and supporting [his] teammates." Carey also speaks fondly of his time serving at C.H.A.T.S (Cole's Horse Autism Therapy Station), where he "was able to witness firsthand the organization's impact and its positive reception." Overall, Carey says he really enjoys serving with YVCHR and especially loves the people.

Carey believes volunteering is preparing him for the transition from high school to college: "Participating in YVC-sponsored events has enabled me to increase my teamwork and social skills." We are grateful for his dedication to serving others!

Outside of YVC, Carey (pictured above) enjoys training in martial arts (karate, jiu-jitsu), drawing, and playing video games.

Take the pledge here!

Patrick Mahomes is challenging youth around the globe to “Volunteer for 15!" To complete this challenge, youth must first sign a pledge and then complete 15 hours of service with YVC between May 1st - August 31st! Youth with the highest number of volunteer hours between May 1st - August 31st will receive an autographed item from Patrick Mahomes and one lucky volunteer will receive two tickets to the home game of their choice, airfare for two, and a two-night hotel stay in Kansas City!

School Club Spotlight

YVCHR's 12th-Annual Canstructure Competition

Join us at Patrick Henry Mall on Saturday, April 29 to see this year's teams in action! The event activates youth from across our community to help address the issue of hunger while also providing an outlet for creativity and friendly competition.

What is a CANstructure? A canstructure is a unique work of art that is created by collecting hundreds--sometimes thousands--of canned food items, which are then used to design and build a 3-dimensional structure that relates to this year’s theme-- End Hunger: Game On!

How do teams compete? Teams may conduct food drives, solicit donations from local businesses and/or raise funds to purchase the cans needed to build their structure. Once the team has acquired their “building materials,” they will sort, wrap and carefully stack the cans to create their canstructure either at their school (grades K-5) or at Patrick Henry Mall (grades 6-12).
NEW THIS YEAR! All elementary teams will build their canstructure at their respective school site. Cantructures must be completed by Monday, April 17th. YVCHR staff will coordinate a time/date to visit each school to record each team's presentation. Winners will be announced at Center Court at Patrick Henry Mall on 4/29 at 2:30pm during the awards ceremony.
All middle and high school teams will gather on Saturday, April 29th at 8:00am to build their canstructures in designated work sites at Patrick Henry Mall. Teams must complete their projects by 1:00pm, at whicih point judges will visit each team to evaluate their canstructure. Winners will be announced at Center Court at 2:30pm. We are excited to revive the traditional format for this competition so that students' hard work and creativity will be displayed for the community to appreciate!

Interested in event sponsorship? Click here for a list of sponsorship benefits! All event partners must commit by April 12 in order to have logo printed on t-shirts and other marketing materials.

Canstructure Competition Info

Event Sponsorship Opportunities

Online registration for this year's summer camp program goes live at

8:00am on Monday, April 17th.

Limited spaces available! Be sure to bookmark our Summer of Service webpage (www.yvchr.org/ss2023), which contains the link to the registration site and important camp details. Please read carefully through all camp policies and schedules.

Important: Youth must have transportation to/from each service site. Locations for each session are subject to change; an official schedule will be emailed to all registered participants the Monday prior to the start of their camp session.

The cost per session is $100; need-based scholarships are available.

Session 1: Tuesday, June 13--Friday, June 16; 11am-4pm*

Interactive Sundial Project (STEM Week) at Bluebird Gap Farm
*NOTE: This session has been modified to accommodate school schedules.

Session 2: Monday, June 26--Thursday, June 29; 8:30am-1:30pm

Monday: So All May Eat (S.A.M.E.)
Tuesday: 4-H Schoolyard Habitats Outreach & Diaper Bank at York River Academy
Wednesday: Virginia Living Museum
Thursday: The Gardens at Warwick Forest

Session 3: Monday, July 10--Thursday, July 13; 8:30am-1:30pm

Monday: So All May Eat (S.A.M.E.)
Tuesday: 4-H Schoolyard Habitats Outreach & Diaper Bank at York River Academy
Wednesday: Virginia Peninsula Foodbank
Thursday: The Gardens at Warwick Forest

Session 4: Monday, July 24--Thursday, July 27; 8:30am-1:30pm

Monday: So All May Eat (S.A.M.E.)
Tuesday: The Mariners' Museum & Park
Wednesday: Virginia Peninsula Foodbank
Thursday: The Gardens at Warwick Forest

Session 5: Monday, July 31--Thursday, August 3

Monday: So All May Eat (S.A.M.E.)
Tuesday: The Mariners' Museum & Park
Wednesday: Virginia Peninsula Foodbank
Thursday: The Gardens at Warwick Forest

YVCHR's Summer of Service Online Registration Page

Introducing Christine Fallon,

YVCHR's New Director of Development

With increased demand for service-learning programs, we are excited to add a new member to the YVCHR team who will focus on capacity-building efforts for our affiliate. Christine brings years of experience in the nonprofit sector and is eager to use her grant writing and event planning skills to help us expand our programs to more youth in Hampton Roads. Stay tuned for her Development Corner section in future newsletters!

Upcoming Service Opportunities

Click the project links below for more information about each service opportunity. Some projects have special requirements/considerations, so please read carefully.

Check out the PROJECT CALENDAR on our website and be sure to sign up when new projects are posted! Volunteer spots go fast!

Ensure you receive timely project confirmations and informational emails by adding programdirector@yvchr.org to your contact safelist.

Click here for Safelist directions !

You can see our youth volunteers in action by following us

on Facebook and Instagram!

Hampton Special Olympics:

Track & Field Regional Championships

(Hampton)

25 Spots

Saturday, April 15th

Challenger Baseball

(Newport News)

12 Spots

Saturday, April 15th

Challenger Baseball

(Newport News)

12 Spots

Saturday, April 22nd

Respite Night at Sky Zone

(Hampton)

10 Spots

Monday, May 1st

Challenger Baseball

(Newport News)

15 Spots

Saturday, May 6th

Challenger Baseball

(Newport News)

15 Spots

Saturday, May 20th

Lasagna Love

(Virginia Beach)

10 Spots

Sunday, April 30th

Peninsula Rescue Mission

(Newport News)

5 Spots

Monday, May 15th

Soundscapes

(Newport News)

8 Spots

Thursday, May 25th

Bags to Mats

(Newport News)

12 Spots

May 3rd, May 10th, May 17th, May 24th (All Wednesdays)

*This is a 4-part project and youth need to be able to attend all 4 sessions*

Champions of C.H.A.N.G.E. Training

(Newport News)

12 spots

Thursday, May 4th

Junior League of Hampton Roads 2022-2023

Volunteer Scholarship Opportunity

The Junior League of Hampton Roads (JLHR) founded in 1956 is an organization of women whose mission is to advance women’s leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration, and training. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.

The Volunteer Scholarship was established in 2018 to support the volunteer potential of our youth by awarding one or more scholarships ranging from $500-$3000+ to high school young women who demonstrate outstanding volunteer performance in the community.

Scholarships will be due on Friday, April 14^th via email - vpcommunity@jlhamptonroads.org. Access the application here!

Find the JLHR Volunteer Scholaship Application Here!

The Newport News Youth Development Collective is hosting Camp CommUnity Connection for middle school students in Newport News from June 26th - June 30th at the Mariner's Museum. See the flyer above for details and access the waiver/permission slip here.

The Don and Jean Sloan Youth Service Scholarship is offered annually by Youth Volunteer Corps Headquarters and is open to active volunteers from across the YVC network.

Learn More Here

Apply Here!

Community Knights Bingo

High school students and adults who would like to help local schools and nonprofit organizations (like YVCHR!), please consider signing up to volunteer at Community Knights Bingo. Proceeds from bingo are donated back into the Hampton Roads community!

NOTE: Community Knights will sign volunteer logs for those who need evidence of service hours. This is not a YVCHR-facilitated activity, so a team leader from YVCHR will not be on-site.

Community Partner Spotlight