YSA Supports 365 'Health Heroes' and 'Good Neighbors' With More Than $280,000 in Grants

Hundreds of schools and organizations across the United States launched youth-led service-learning initiatives last week. Youth Service America & State Farm Companies Foundation awarded $100,000 to support 100 youth-led service projects across the United States and Youth Service America & UnitedHealth Group provided 265 grants worth more than $180,000 to support youth-led projects responding to escalating childhood obesity crisis.

Youth Service America and UnitedHealth Group are supporting projects by awarding UnitedHealth HEROES service-learning grants designed to encourage children and youth to increase their own knowledge on this issue while empowering them to educate their communities about it.
Naming young people as "first responders" to a crisis that directly affects them, HEROES grants challenge youth to impact their peers by serving as educators and advocates for establishing habits that include a healthy diet and exercise. Building on the success of last year's program, the reach of the HEROES grants expanded this year to include 35 states and the District of Columbia; more than 550 grant applications were received.

Youth Service America and State Farm Companies Foundation recently awarded State Farm Good Neighbor Service-Learning Grants to 100 schools and organizations to develop youth-led service-learning projects in their communities. The young people's initiatives will focus on a variety of issues - including hunger, homelessness, education, and environmental sustainability - and many of them will follow YSA's Semester of Service framework that encourages students to spend at least 70 hours addressing meaningful community needs connected to academic standards. Many of these initiatives launched on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, January 18, and will culminate on Global Youth Service Day, April 23-25, the largest service event in the world.

Learn more about YSA's grant programs, including programs currently accepting applications at www.YSA.org/grants