Serve Your Community This Global Youth Service Day

Greening Forward is a youth-driven, youth-imagined organization working across the world to empower young people to become young environmental problem-solvers and changemakers. Our staff of high school and college students develop environmental action programming and environmental leadership programs for a community of over 1,500 young changemakers, thereby creating a dynamic organization for young people by young people. Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) is one of our favorite times of the year as we build coalitions of youth groups from across Gwinnett County for a collective impact.

Now in our third year of celebrating GYSD here in Gwinnett County, Greening Forward celebrates Global Youth Service Days in Gwinnett County, Georgia through a week of community beautification and environmental education service projects.

I hear well-intentioned adults say: “I never would be thinking about doing stuff like this when I was your age.” Our generation has access that any other generation has never had before. When we want to know something – we know where to find the answer. When we don’t want to know something – the answer still finds us. We live in a world where young people are realizing that our world is full of problems. And with more young people living in the world today more than ever before, we can’t wait till young people “grow up” to begin giving them the tools they need to solve these issues. But, they’re not asking adult’s permission anyways…youth know that feeling of being a modern-day hero and it’s an insatiable feeling.

There are many great organizations out there working to educate communities about the reality of environmental issues, but for the young people that already understand, how do they take that knowledge and apply it to real-world problem-solving? This is where Greening Forward and campaigns such as GYSD meet. Some transformational things occur when we let young people drive the change they wish to see in their communities. Young people bring a different mindset, energy, and creativity to the table.

We are equal stakeholders in the future as much as we are today. If we want a community of young doers, we need to welcome their voice and GYSD has served as an effective outlet for communities to do just that.

So this April 27, young people around the world in over 85 countries, four continents, and all 50 of the United States unite in the largest service event in the world. Be a part of history and join us for Gwinnett County’s only local GYSD project: http://globalyouthservicedays.webs.com/.