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Michigan Youth Volunteering Alliance
Troy
Hero Story
Nidhi Ikkurthy and Vishnu Nair from Troy High School co-founded the Michigan Youth Volunteering Alliance (MYVA) in August 2020. Initially, they had 10 youth members and the purpose was to engage youth in volunteering and helping society. This organization was started during the pandemic when they realized that youth and Senior citizens are impacted with anxiety, stress, and depression and senior citizens are feeling more isolated than ever. The team started brainstorming ideas where they could increase social connection and compassion for youth and help senior citizens in the community. They decided to utilize the potential of the youth by engaging them in volunteering and striving to enhance their teamwork and leadership skills. The aim is to bring a positive change to the lives of citizens in the community as a whole.
Michigan Youth Volunteering Alliance wanted to engage more youth and in the pandemic, it was difficult to meet in person. They conducted virtual sessions and send Whatsapp messages and emails to their classmates and friends asking them to attend and advocated on the benefits of volunteering, especially in the pandemic. They also went through safety measures to lower the risk for volunteers. Their efforts were not in vain. 30 more youth joined the MYVA team by December 2020.
MYVA Projects: Most of the projects through MYVA aims in addressing hunger needs and social connections of senior citizens and kids in society.
1. Meal delivery for older adults who are home-bound and unable to prepare meals for themselves. A friendly hello at the door can brighten the day and can even save their life and cheer them up . To date, the MYVA team has delivered around 350 meals to senior citizens as part of this program by collaborating with Meals on Wheels of Oakland.
2. During Fall, the MYVA team helped by raking senior citizens' yards who need assistance. They also engaged in clearing invasive plants from the Troy Nature Center Park, which allows people to use the park safely.
3. In Michigan, 1 in 7 kids struggle with hunger. Through MYVA, youth have completed multiple donation drives to raise food and cereal for kids in need of food. They donated 250 cereal boxes to Gleaners and 200 canned food to Gleaners.
4. The MYVA team did a can and bottle drive and collected around 1000 bottles and cans and raised money to buy cleaning supplies for the neighborhood CARE house in Pontiac City. MYVA delivered 150 cleaning supplies including sanitizers, cleaning sprays, soaps, detergents, and more to CARE House Pontiac.
5. Another project focused on the well-being of kids, which was the virtual story reading for kids in Detroit schools who may not have access to a public library due to the pandemic. The team collaborated with brilliant.org for this initiative.
6. The MYVA team also volunteered with the Bottomless Toy Chest organization and helped them wrap 100 toys for kids impacted by cancer. This was devoted to delivering empowering toys, craft projects, and interactive activities to hospitalized pediatric oncology patients. The mission was to lift the spirits and promote a positive state of mind in young cancer patients by providing them with engaging, empowering activities while they are going through treatment
7. MYVA conducted two donation drives for animal rescue and shelter homes to provide gently used supplies to animal rescue shelters.
8. MYVA team recently did an education kit drive where 25 education kits were given to kids in need through the Catholic Church of Pontiac. In our region, 44 percent of families struggle to afford their basic needs. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the percentage of families without access to critical resources is rising. On top of this, families are taking on the responsibility of managing most educational needs from home. Building a DIY Learning At-Home Kit is a great way to ensure families have important educational items to fuel learning from home.
9. The MYVA team adopted a mile of road in Troy City. Adopt-A-Highway is a Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) program designed to help keep the state's highway roadsides clean and attractive. Participants adopt both sides of a section of state highway roadside and clean it twice annually.
The MYVA team will continue to focus on engaging youth in volunteering and funds will be utilized in projects to address hunger and education of kids in Michigan. Their main goal is to engage youth and tap into their potential to increase their ability to accomplish their missions and long-term sustainability. They also plan to engage youth volunteers by ensuring that their high school volunteer hour credits are met and the organization is certified to issue the President Volunteer Service Award if the youth meets the volunteering hours.
Michigan Youth Volunteering Alliance
Troy
Hero Story
Nidhi Ikkurthy and Vishnu Nair from Troy High School co-founded the Michigan Youth Volunteering Alliance (MYVA) in August 2020. Initially, they had 10 youth members and the purpose was to engage youth in volunteering and helping society. This organization was started during the pandemic when they realized that youth and Senior citizens are impacted with anxiety, stress, and depression and senior citizens are feeling more isolated than ever. The team started brainstorming ideas where they could increase social connection and compassion for youth and help senior citizens in the community. They decided to utilize the potential of the youth by engaging them in volunteering and striving to enhance their teamwork and leadership skills. The aim is to bring a positive change to the lives of citizens in the community as a whole.
Michigan Youth Volunteering Alliance wanted to engage more youth and in the pandemic, it was difficult to meet in person. They conducted virtual sessions and send Whatsapp messages and emails to their classmates and friends asking them to attend and advocated on the benefits of volunteering, especially in the pandemic. They also went through safety measures to lower the risk for volunteers. Their efforts were not in vain. 30 more youth joined the MYVA team by December 2020.
MYVA Projects: Most of the projects through MYVA aims in addressing hunger needs and social connections of senior citizens and kids in society.
1. Meal delivery for older adults who are home-bound and unable to prepare meals for themselves. A friendly hello at the door can brighten the day and can even save their life and cheer them up . To date, the MYVA team has delivered around 350 meals to senior citizens as part of this program by collaborating with Meals on Wheels of Oakland.
2. During Fall, the MYVA team helped by raking senior citizens' yards who need assistance. They also engaged in clearing invasive plants from the Troy Nature Center Park, which allows people to use the park safely.
3. In Michigan, 1 in 7 kids struggle with hunger. Through MYVA, youth have completed multiple donation drives to raise food and cereal for kids in need of food. They donated 250 cereal boxes to Gleaners and 200 canned food to Gleaners.
4. The MYVA team did a can and bottle drive and collected around 1000 bottles and cans and raised money to buy cleaning supplies for the neighborhood CARE house in Pontiac City. MYVA delivered 150 cleaning supplies including sanitizers, cleaning sprays, soaps, detergents, and more to CARE House Pontiac.
5. Another project focused on the well-being of kids, which was the virtual story reading for kids in Detroit schools who may not have access to a public library due to the pandemic. The team collaborated with brilliant.org for this initiative.
6. The MYVA team also volunteered with the Bottomless Toy Chest organization and helped them wrap 100 toys for kids impacted by cancer. This was devoted to delivering empowering toys, craft projects, and interactive activities to hospitalized pediatric oncology patients. The mission was to lift the spirits and promote a positive state of mind in young cancer patients by providing them with engaging, empowering activities while they are going through treatment
7. MYVA conducted two donation drives for animal rescue and shelter homes to provide gently used supplies to animal rescue shelters.
8. MYVA team recently did an education kit drive where 25 education kits were given to kids in need through the Catholic Church of Pontiac. In our region, 44 percent of families struggle to afford their basic needs. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the percentage of families without access to critical resources is rising. On top of this, families are taking on the responsibility of managing most educational needs from home. Building a DIY Learning At-Home Kit is a great way to ensure families have important educational items to fuel learning from home.
9. The MYVA team adopted a mile of road in Troy City. Adopt-A-Highway is a Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) program designed to help keep the state's highway roadsides clean and attractive. Participants adopt both sides of a section of state highway roadside and clean it twice annually.
The MYVA team will continue to focus on engaging youth in volunteering and funds will be utilized in projects to address hunger and education of kids in Michigan. Their main goal is to engage youth and tap into their potential to increase their ability to accomplish their missions and long-term sustainability. They also plan to engage youth volunteers by ensuring that their high school volunteer hour credits are met and the organization is certified to issue the President Volunteer Service Award if the youth meets the volunteering hours.