February 2022
Congratulations, Macee!
YVCHR's Volunteer of the Month
While looking for extracurricular opportunities at her new school early last year, Macee found YVCHR and thought it would be a great way to get involved in her new school and community. She joined her school's YVC club and began serving virtually and in-person. To date, her most memorable project has been the Berkley Village Food Distribution project where youth help deliver food to seniors in an affordable housing community. Macee explained that, "It was very rewarding to experience firsthand the benefits volunteering has on the community." And what she loves most about volunteering, especially with YVCHR, is "getting to understand the importance of our volunteer work" because of the service learning lessons that are incorporated into every project. She says those lessons "really help ensure that everyone fully grasps the benefits of what they are doing."

After high school, Macee plans to attend college to pursue a degree in Psychology.
Fun Fact: Macee has been playing volleyball since the 4th grade.
School Club Spotlight: Hampton Roads Academy
HRA has been doing an amazing job in their first year as a YVC School Club!

Recently they planned and executed a successful recycled pet toy service project. To raise funds for the project materials, the club held a bake sale that brought in over $100; they also collected 28 old t-shirts! On the day of the project, HRA's YVC Club created 17 dog toys using donated t-shirts and old tennis balls, as well as 11 cat toys made from yarn. A special guest speaker from P.A.W.S. (Poquoson Animal Welfare Sanctuary) visited the club to share information about fostering and adopting pets.

Big shoutout to Hampton Roads Academy's YVC Club for working together to complete such a wonderful project! Keep up the great work!
YVCHR's 11th-Annual Canstructure Competition
Calling all K-12 students! YVCHR is recruiting teams of elementary, middle and high school students to participate in this year’s Canstructure Competition, a STEM-inspired, team-based challenge that will help provide thousands of meals to local families experiencing food insecurity. Each year, this 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 of canned food items, which are then use to design and build a 3-dimensional structure that relates to this year’s theme: Wonders of the World! 

  • How do teams compete? Teams meet to plan and brainstorm their canstructure design and to determine their strategy for collecting canned food donations. Teams may conduct food drives, solicit donations from local businesses 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 at the location of their choice. This year’s event is a “build-where-you-want” challenge, which means that teams can work at any approved site—school, church, business, etc.—or at our traditional event site: Patrick Henry Mall. All canstructures must be completed by April 30th, and each team’s presentation will be recorded for the judges to evaluate. The 2022 Canstructure Competition Awards Ceremony will be livestreamed the following week. Winning teams at each level (elementary, middle and high) will receive trophies…but best of all, thousands of pounds of food will be donated to the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank!

  • Want more info? Click the button below for registration information, competition rules, and judging criteria. All registered teams will receive a detailed toolkit. Questions? Contact Anna Crippen or call 757-223-7078.

  • Interested in event sponsorship? Click here for a list of sponsorship benefits!
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!

You can see our youth volunteers in action by following us


12 spots
Saturday, March 5th

(VA Beach)
5 spots
Saturday, March 5th



1 spot
Monday, March 21st



9 spots
Wednesdays in March



10 spots
Wednesday, March 23rd

12 spots
Saturday, April 9th




15 spots
Saturday, March 19th




8 spots
Thursday, March 31st

(VA Beach)
20 spots
Saturday, February 19th

(VA Beach)
20 spots
Saturday, March 12th
Scholarship Opportunities
Don and Jean Sloan Youth Service Scholarship

The Don and Jean Sloan Youth Service Scholarship is awarded through Youth Volunteer Corps Headquarters. The $1,000 scholarship is open to active YVC volunteers who have demonstrated excellence in volunteerism and leadership and who are committed to making a difference in their communities.

To see the requirements, criteria and what you will need in order to apply for this scholarship, please follow the link below.


Deadline: April 30, 2021
$10,000 to be applied to higher education or to a service project

The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes celebrates inspiring, public-spirited young people from diverse backgrounds all across North America. Youth need to be currently working on an inspiring service project or have done so within the past 12 months and need to be working as an individual to lead their service work.

Each year, the Barron Prize honors 25 outstanding young leaders ages 8-18 who have made a significant positive difference to people and the environment.

Deadline: April 15, 2021
Did you know that your online shopping purchases 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!
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