Global Youth Service Day is less than a week away!!

I'm inviting YOU to join residents at the Sterling Village in Piscataway for Global Youth Service Day.

This is a unique opportunity for young women ages 14+ to participate in UNIQUE community leadership, by working directly with senior residents at the Sterling Village. This is a ONE TIME ONLY event, and your participation and feedback is CRITICAL.

In its second year, Remembering Forward is looking for feedback from community members and garnering support to continue this unique program. This event will be part of Global Youth Service Day. Join millions of youth WORLDWIDE as they serve their communities.

Global Youth Service Day

Global Youth Service Day 2010 will be April 23-25

Global Youth Service Day is a campaign that celebrates and mobilizes millions of children and youth who positively impact their communities every day of the year through service and service-learning.

Established in 1988, GYSD occurs in over 100 countries each year and is the largest service event in the world. On GYSD children and youth address the world's most critical issues by partnering with families, schools, community and faith-based organizations, businesses, and governments. In 2010, the event will be April 23-25. Visit GYSD.org for more information, resources to plan events, and a map of GYSD events around the world!

Global Youth Service Day Goals:

Mobilize

• youth to identify and address the needs of their communities;
• organizations to provide opportunities for youth engagement;
• media and policy makers to promote and raise awareness of the youth service movement.

Support

• youth on a lifelong path of service and civic engagement;
• schools and organizations through training and technical assistance, grants, and resources that enable them to engage youth;

Sustain

• community improvement through year-round recognition of youth as problem-solvers and community leaders.*

Partnerships

State Farm Companies Foundation is the U.S. Presenting Sponsor for GYSD.

Youth Service America organizes GYSD through a series of partnerships that include over 75 US Lead Agencies, over 160 National and International partners, and local organizers in over 100 countries.

To view past projects and to register your 2010 project, visit www.GYSD.org.

REMEMBERING FORWARD & GYSD

Intergenerational Community Arts DAY in Piscataway, New Jersey

Who: Young women (ages 14+) who are interested in UNIQUE service opportunity to connect to senior women through creative arts

What: Get to know seniors through the arts -- storytelling, drawing, collage and/or painting

When: Friday April 23 2010 from 2:30 to 4:30 PM

Where: Sterling Village, 1 Sterling Drive, Piscataway, NEW JERSEY 08854

Cost: Free.

Interested in signing up? Email rememberingforward@gmail.com TODAY to reserve a spot! Or call Sadia at 732-272-2714 for more information.

Space is limited!! Please forward to young women who are interested in volunteer opportunity! For more information, or an application, contact me at rememberingforward@gmail.com

What is GlobalYouth Service Day?

Global Youth Service Day, takes place second or third weekend in April and is a public awareness and education campaign that highlights the amazing contributions that young people make to their communities 365 days a year. As the largest service event in the world, it mobilizes millions of young people to address the needs of their communities, and educates the public, the media, and policymakers about the year-round contributions of young people as community leaders.

How did GlobalYouth Service Day begin?

In 1988, Youth Service America (YSA) and the Campus Outreach Opportunity League (COOL)

organized the first Global Youth Service Day, then called "A Day in the Life of Youth Service." Nearly 1,000 programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia participated. In 1990, YSA joined forces with COOL, the United States Conference of Mayors, the Weekly Reader, and the Jefferson Awards to celebrate the day. In the last decade, Global Youth Service Day - US has grown to include more than 90 National Partners, 50 Lead Agencies, hundreds of GYSD grant winners, and millions of young people nationwide.

Why is Global Youth Service Day a WEEKEND and not a DAY?

Originally, Global Youth Service Day was on a Tuesday, and then it was moved to a Friday and

Saturday to allow for schools and after school groups to participate. Jewish organizations then

approached Youth Service America to request a Sunday so they can participate. (Orthodox Jews

participate in the “Sabbath” from Friday through Saturday and cannot work during that time.) So now Global Youth Service Day is three days of celebration: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Who Participates in Global Youth Service Day?

Over the past thirteen years, Global Youth Service Day, originally National Youth Service Day, has brought to people in thousands of communities nationwide. NYSD grew to include over 50 National Partners and millions of young people nationwide. In 2000, the program expanded to include youth projects in over 27 countries for the first annual Global Youth Service Day. Last year, 117 countries participated.

What Happens on Global Youth Service Day?

Youth, businesses, families, schools, individuals and local organizations carry out activities that will serve and improve their communities. Millions of young people are introduced to volunteering on GYSD, and are inspired to begin a lifetime of service. Other Youth Service America Tip Sheets offer ideas for projects, as well as methods of youth organizing, and ways to recognize volunteers with awards and celebrations.

Invitation to Remember

“I can’t draw,” my grandmother in law insisted in Gujarati. She stared at the notebook page, and hesitated before taking the pink highlighter from my open palm. Married in her early teens, Nani never attended school and had not learned English in the 15 years she had lived in America. Instead of language, I communicated with smiles, photos, and occasional translations from my mother-in-law. As I nodded towards my pink highlighter, Nani shook her head. I smiled in encouragement. We stared at each other until she finally took the pen. She drew the perfectly symmetrical petals of a flower. “Nam,” I said, suggesting she sign her work. Instead, she wrote my name in Gujarati above the flower. I beamed.

Because I wanted to share the beauty I experienced in my Nani’s company with other women, I applied for a grant to fund my own community arts program. I designed and executed Remembering Forward, an arts program for an intergenerational group of women between the ages of 14 and 95. The program aimed to facilitate dialogue across generations and across cultures. The weeks of relationship building between student-senior pairs resulted in a community art show, which featured a 9-foot timeline that mapped the major personal and historical turning points in the lives of the participants.

In the process of teaching a group of women who were more than four times my age, as well as young girls born a decade after me, I applied my experiences as an urban educator. Indeed I have served as an educator and an activist since I was 16 years old. I worked in urban educational programs like Sadie Nash Leadership Project (SNLP) and South Asian Youth Action (SAYA!), nonprofit organizations that empower young people to reach their fullest potential. I continued my activism at NYU, where I chaired an educational series around innovation and entrepreneurship specifically within the Muslim American community. I also established the “Empowering Women of Faith” series, in which Muslim women speak about how faith informs their private and public sector careers. Ultimately, my work as an educator has meant facilitating the empowerment of disadvantaged populations, from immigrant youth to minority women to the isolated elderly.

Because of my experiences with my late grandmother, I took my youth development experience and applied it to a different population: the elderly in the suburbs. This blog follows my journey as I try to establish this program in my new hometown, Piscataway New Jersey. I invite you to take this journey with me, as I continue to find funding, generate community interest, and run this program as a service to not only my grandmother, but your grandmothers. I truly feel blessed to be in the company of the elderly, especially the women in my life.

I do this work independently. I am 24 years old. I work in the family business, but will be attending graduate school in nonprofit leadership in the Fall 2010. Remembering Forward is a spiritually sustaining force in my life. This community work is important because it helps me to connect with people on a deeper level. I believe that young people can change the world, because of their energy, passion, and commitment and they need the tools and encouragement to succeed. I believe the elderly are an incredible source of inspiration and information, but are often isolated from their children or grandchildren. I aspire to bring those generations together.

Thank you for your support!