Why is it Important?
YMCA YFACE – Youth Finding Activities in Community Engagement – is an innovative project created through a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service. It’s intended to engage and grow the ethic of service through meaningful and intentional service-learning and volunteerism for teens. YMCA YFACE provides local YMCAs with a powerful and interactive tool to support the goal of holistic development of children and youth, especially teens.
YMCA YFACE is about making connections. It is about youth-serving professionals and volunteers helping teens to discover and realize their passions and “sparks.” Sparks, according to Peter L. Benson, Ph.D., of Search Institute, a Minneapolis-based non-profit that promotes healthy youth development, are the “hidden flames” that all youth possess. Sparks are not learned but rather “come from the gut…They’re authentic passions, talents, assets, skills and dreams…Sparks can be musical, athletic, intellectual, academic, recreational…” (Sparks: How Parents Can Ignite the Hidden Strengths of Teenagers, p.2). By igniting these sparks, teens can channel their energy into positive outlets; motivated teens are more likely to avoid compromising situations.
To learn more about YMCA YFACE please follow the link below to take the YMCA YFACE Survey, see Video Reflections, find YMCA Resources and use the YMCA YFACE Guide.
For more information go to the YFACE website.
