January 2022
Congratulations, James!
YVCHR's Volunteer of the Month
James began volunteering with YVCHR in late 2020 after participating in the Newport News Police Department's Citizen Police Academy for Youth (CPAY). The No Kid Sleeps on the Floor bed build project with Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) was his first project and is his favorite to this day. In fact, he loved it so much that he has become a regular volunteer with SHP for deliveries and even helps show new volunteers the ropes on build days. "Seeing the joy on the children's faces when they receive their bed" and "being a bright light in the community"--that is what he loves most about volunteering! James encourages all youth who haven't experienced YVCHR to sign up for that first project: "You will have a sense of pride and will look forward to volunteering again."

After high school, James plans to join the Army and become a military police officer. What a heart for service!
Fun Fact: James is part of his high school's rifle team and JROTC honor and color guard.
School Club Spotlight: Smithfield High School
This month’s YVC club spotlight is shining on Smithfield High School! As the club sponsor for the past 3 years, English teacher Ashleigh Jedlowski says she is “impressed by how student-driven the club is.” With strong leadership from members like Akilah Frye, a senior at Smithfield High who founded the club in 2019, Smithfield’s YVC club is focused on making an impact in Hampton Roads.
 
Club members recently hosted a school-wide drive to collect basic necessities for the homeless; students, faculty and families of Smithfield High donated personal hygiene items, socks, gloves and undershirts. But rather than just dropping off the donations at Peninsula Rescue Mission, YVC club members wanted to personally serve the men staying at the shelter. On December 20th, the group met at PRM to help with the dinner shift—prepping the dining room, serving the food, greeting the men, and cleaning the kitchen afterward. The club’s biggest takeaway from this experience? “Actually being able to see and understand the local need versus just associating those donations that we delivered with a statistic. When you interact with the people you’re serving, you see the challenges they face and are genuinely inspired to help them get back on their feet.” Mrs. Jedlowski also says that the YVC experience is important for students because it “allows them to connect with those who come from different walks of life.” Kudos to the YVC club at Smithfield High! Keep up the great work!
Welcome to the YVCHR Team, Anna!
In response to YVCHR's recent "growing pains," we are thrilled to announce the addition of a new staff member who will manage and support our school-based programs. With 6 years of school counseling experience and a strong passion for youth development, Anna Crippen brings great energy, creativity and a vast set of skills to her role as Director of School Programs. She will work to support our many school clubs and connect more students to meaningful service-learning experiences.
Fun fact: Anna was a Team Leader for our Summer of Service program in 2018!
YVCHR COVID-19 UPDATE
As always the health and well-being of our volunteers, staff and agency partners is our top priority. We want to continue offering safe in-person projects, but we need your help to ensure everyone remains healthy during this ever-evolving pandemic.

In response to the recent surge in community COVID-19 positivity, YVCHR respectfully asks that all of our volunteers and families remain diligent in their COVID mitigation strategies outside of YVCHR projects (i.e. frequent handwashing, masking wearing, social distancing, etc.). In return, we will also do our best to keep youth safe during projects by following the above mitigation strategies, as well as any other CDC recommendations.

We also recommend that youth who attend in-person projects upgrade their masks to one of the following: N95, KN95, single use surgical masks, or double-mask (i.e., a surgical mask on the inside and cloth mask on the outside). We understand that masks can be uncomfortable when worn for long periods of time, so we will be sure to allow youth to take mask breaks as needed.

And finally we ask that volunteers refrain from attending in-person projects AND contact the YVCHR office to be removed from the roster if any of the following apply:

  1. The volunteer has symptoms of a cold, the flu or COVID-19.
  2. The volunteer has been in close contact with anyone who is symptomatic or has tested positive for COVID-19.
  3. The volunteer, a family member or close contact is waiting on results from a COVID-19 test.
  4. The volunteer has tested positive for COVID-19, flu, or other contagious illness.

We greatly appreciate your patience and understanding as we continue to navigate this pandemic. We will get through it if we all work together.
Check out the PROJECT CALENDAR on our website and be sure to sign up when new projects are posted! Volunteer spots go fast!

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

You can see our youth volunteers in action by following us
January & February
Service Opportunities
Peninsula Rescue Mission
5 spots

10 spots
Monday, January 17th

(Virginia Beach Location)
10 spots
Sunday, January 30th

(VA Beach Location)
10 spots
Wednesday, February 2nd

18 spots
Monday, February 21st



4 spots
Wednesdays starting January 26th through February 23rd


(HYBRID PROJECT)
Benefitting the GHR Diaper Bank
12 spots
January 24, 26, 28, Feb 3 & 4



10 spots
Saturday, February 5th




(project prep only, including wood sorting and sanding; no assembly)
10 spots
Saturday, January 15th
Delivery Volunteers Needed

Sleep in Heavenly Peace is in need of volunteers to help deliver and assemble beds (some of which were constructed by YVCHR volunteers) to deserving children in our community.

This is NOT a YVC project so we will not be directly involved or tracking hours if you choose to sign up to deliver the beds. But this IS a wonderfully rewarding opportunity for you and your family.

Click the red button for more information on how the deliveries work and to sign up.
Did you know that your holiday shopping can help fund YVCHR programs? Consider designating Youth Volunteer Corps of Hampton Roads as your charity of choice!

  • AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases on Amazon to YVCHR.
  • Simply shop at smile.amazon.com. The donation will be made at no extra cost to you.
  • Though 0.5% is not a large donation and it isn't intended to replace your regular charitable contributions, AmazonSmile is still a great way to maximize your impact! It all adds up!
Bank of America
Student Leaders Program

Student Leaders® recognizes those who lead and serve in their own communities and beyond. Bank of America will connect Student Leaders to tools and resources that will help them make communities better.
Student Leaders:
• Work as a paid intern at a local nonprofit for eight weeks in the summer
• Attend the week-long Student Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C.
• Develop leadership and career skills
• Connect with like-minded students from their community and across the country

Juniors and Seniors may apply from November 1, 2021 to January 28, 2022.
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