Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05

Mountain Alliance Recruiting Volunteers for Youth Service Day April 26

Register by April 19

Story by David Brewer

Local nonprofit student leadership group Mountain Alliance is looking for students in grades 8 to 12 interested in giving back to the community to participate in Youth Service Day on Saturday, April 26. The event, which coincides with Global Youth Service Day, will focus the efforts of area students on projects throughout the county, including building restoration, trail maintenance and other physical labor tasks.

“This is a chance for the youth of Watauga County to give back to the community,” said Mountain Alliance Student Leadership Committee member Ashton Lawrence.

According the members of the SLC, students will meet at Watauga High School at 9:00 a.m., where they will be divided into small groups and dispatched to various work sites.

Students will work throughout the day, break for lunch and then return to WHS, where they will receive a free t-shirt, meet and share experiences from throughout the day, and enjoy refreshments. Those wishing to participate do not have to be Mountain Alliance members.

Global Youth Service Day is an annual global event organized by Youth Service America and the Global Youth Action Network, together with numerous international organizations and national coordinating committees that celebrate, recognize, and mobilize the year-round contributions of young people to build their communities and their world through voluntary service, and the contributions made by the community (public, private, and nonprofit sectors) for empowering young people, especially through mentoring.

According to Mountain Alliance Director Todd Nolt, Youth Service Day is the perfect event for the 18-year-old organization, that has always included service learning projects as part of its programming.

“Youth Service Day is something that Mountain Alliance has done in the past. We’re trying to show students that community service is something fun you can do with your friends,” said Nolt. “It doesn’t have to be punishment.”

Nolt and the members of the SLC are excited that the event is for kids and planned by kids.

WHS students can obtain registration forms for Youth Service Day at the school’s main office. Eighth grade students can obtain forms when Mountain Alliance representatives visit their homerooms. The forms, which are due April 19, are also online at www.mountainalliance.org.