The Food Bank for Central and Northest Missouri

On Monday July 19th, Youth In Action brought 10 volunteers to The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri. For three hours we stood in the volunteer room, opening crates of Kids Cuisines. In order to give these t.v. dinners away, we had to tape over prize winnings on the front and back of each cuisine. Then we had to put the boxes back in the crate and seal it up. We did this to 3,600 boxes of Kids Cuisines. It was hard work but we accomplished a ton and made a difference!

Volunteers pose with 1 of 4 flats of Kids Cuisines.

Ronald McDonald Adopt-a-Snack

Youth In Action participated in the Adopt-a-Snack program at Ronald McDonald House. We made these cute and delicious Frog Cupcakes for families of sick children. As people at the cupcakes they couldn't help but smile!

Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture 2!

The CCUA Farm at Smith and Fay

Jill with her carrot she pulled from the ground.

Adam holding his new favorite farm cat.

Muslimah with her carrot.

The volunteers help melons climb up the rope.

Team Building Day!

Youth In Action doesn’t let the rain stop the fun! On the a stormy July Tuesday, Youth In Action headed out to Stephens Lake Park to eat pizza, and get to know each other. We played Parcheesi, spoons and the muddy tree-hugger. The hit of the day was swimming at Stephens Lake Park; we even built a sandcastle with a 360 degree moat!

The ground was so wet we hung our belongings on trees and on a fence.

The Start of the castle!Silly Josh, don't step on the castle!

Mount Saint JoshTylerLogan

Paquin Towers Wii Bowling Tournament

On Thursday June 24^th, Youth In Action participated in Paquin Towers Wii Bowling Tournament. The Parks and Recreation department organizes a variety of activities at Paquin Towers for the elderly and individuals with disabilities. Seven people competed to become the Wii Bowling Champ. Personally I was way out of my league. Everyone was bowling turkeys left and right. Caitlin made it to the next round and ended up getting 3^rd place! The winner was an older man in a wheel chair. He was phenomenal and at one point bowled 7 strikes in a row!

All the Wii Bowling competitors; the winner with his award(second from the right).

Stream Cleaning with the City of Columbia

Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture

June 21^st, 9 a.m. Youth In Action met at the office of Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture. It’s a quaint little house from the outside; the backyard contains a chicken coop and the world’s sweetest dog trying to play with us and not caring that chickens were all around him. To the right of the house is a community garden plot and one the corner of the street is a well established demonstration garden. The rows are organized and neat; it is obvious that careful, experienced hands created this garden. The plants are big and healthy; there are no chemicals used in this garden, simply compost and care.

Daniel from CCUA educating us.

The food is technically not organic, since that word can not be used without federal approval. My favorite plant to see growing was the blue berries. Since Missouri weather is not ideal for blue berries, as Daniel put it, “You have to trick them.” Growing this fruit requires digging trenches and filling them with straw to make them think they are in a bog.

The CCUA Farm at Smith and Fay.

After the grand tour we made the ¾ of a mile walk to the CCUA farm at Smith and Fay. It’s a large farm, around the size of an acre. Currently half is nice and neat; it looks well established
like the demonstration garden. The other half is a work in progress. YIA focused on this part—shoveling dirt to help prepare the land. After a couple hours of hot and hard work, we put down the shovels and learned how to plant bulbs. Everyone was enthusiastic about planting; who doesn’t love to play in the dirt!

Youth In Action learns how to plant bulbs.

Planting the bulbs.

Youth In Action contributed to Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture, a relatively new non profit in Columbia. Here’s their purpose statement form their website http://columbiaurbanag.org/about/

“Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture exists to help facilitate the development of a local food system in all of its many interrelated and complex components. These include but are not limited to compost, gardens, education, markets, commerce, policy, transportation, job creation, and city planning.”

Moving dirt to prepare the land.

Shoveling dirt to be moved.

Daneil for CCUA.

Brian, Holden and Morgan take a water break.

Look at all the dirt we moved!

Event hours: 15 Total hours: 81.5

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KMOS Kids Day 2010

KMOS is all about promoting literacy and so was Youth In Action at KMOS Kids day on June 19th. In a back hallway of Rock Bridge High School, we stood and helped kids pick out a book. We were located directly after Clifford, the big red dog. For some kids, meeting Clifford meant meeting one of their favorite children’s book characters. For others, it was more filled with tears than smiles (a giant red dog is not always easy to take). Whether they came smiling or crying, the kids we instantly excited when they realized they would each receive one free book. Of course, the Clifford books were extremely popular. “Ten Fat Turkeys,” was one of the volunteer favorites and soon became a Kids Day favorite as well.

KMOS estimated the 2,000 people would attend and while I don’t have the exact numbers, it felt like we served a couple thousand people. If a third of those people were children, that means about 700 children received a free book. Literacy rates can be can be affected by income level, so offering a book free-of-charge can help break that statistic. One of the fundamental steps in achieving literacy is being read to as a child. A book makes that possible. (University of Michigan) http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/reading.htm

Handing out stickers to kids.

Setting up the table.

A child browses the book table.

Event hours: 25 Total hours: 66.5

Family Fun Fest

On Wednesday evening, June 16th, the Youth In Action-ers gave up their time to make a difference. We volunteered at a craft tent; helping kids make bug bookmarks and leaf rubbings. The hit of the night was defiantly face painting (see photos). At one point the line stretched all the way to the head of the fire truck!

Jacob demonstrating the intensity
of the sun!

Nora painting a face masterpiece.

Emma painting a snake on a face.

Holden showing the kids
how to make a leaf rubbing.

Event Hours: 15 Total Hours: 41.5


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Show-Me State Games

The 26th annual Show-Me State Games started off this weekend with a splash. Youth In Action volunteered at the swimming events held at Hickman High School, and boy did we get wet! We learned the official way to keep score. Two people stand at the end of each lane: one holds a stopwatch and a back-up buzzer while the other holds a stopwatch and a clip board. As the athlete swims their last 25 meters, the timers look over the edge of the pool to see the second they hit the wall. One the wall is also a electronic pad to time their finish (we are the keeping the hard copy back-up).

The best Show-Me moment came at the end of the day. We were sitting on the benches, waiting for the next 500 freestyle to start. A man checked into the lane next to us who said next week he was going to be 80 years old. He too was swimming the 500 free style. In the Hickman high school pool that means down and back 20 times. I hope that I can be that healthy and motivated when I’m 80 years old.

It was wonderful to be part of the Largest state games in the nation (according to the Show-Me State Games website https://www.smsg.org/index.php )
Without volunteers, the State Games could not happen. What is so wonderful about these games, is the range of skill level. We witnessed middle school students, moms with cheering sections and grandfathers show off their strokes. Just by giving a few hours of our time, we helped make the goals of the young and young at heart happen.

Event hours: 17.5 Total Hours: 26.5


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Art In The Park

On Sunday June 6th at 11:15, a group of young volunteers gathered at Stephens Lake Park. We made our way from the entrance benches to the big, blue volunteer tent where we were handed name tags and official white t-shirts with “Columbia Art League,” the organization that puts on the event, across the front. This was my first time at Art In The Park, the oldest and largest fine arts festival in mid-Missouri according to the Art In The Park’s website (http://artinthepark.missouri.org/info.html). I never imagined that the festival would be this detailed and busy. By 10:30 human traffic jams appeared: people rubbing-necking in awe of jewelry that used to be silverware and the mugs that looked like shrunken heads. Around every corner was a different species of animal topiary: the moose at the beginning to the startling bear and my personal favorite the dinosaurs.

For one day, we Youth In Action volunteers were granted the gift of magic. As they say, “with great power comes great responsibility,” we used our gift for good and taught others how to wield magic in a wand. The Boone Electric Kid’s Art Spot was full of kids wanting to make wands; with just a wooden rod, tissue paper, tape, feathers, pipe cleaner and ribbon, the kids were able to be their own wizard. They were allowed to leave with their wand as long as they promised not to turn their parents into frogs.

It was great to be part of the community; we helped kids and parents realize the creativity that can be found in house-hold items. We were part of a festival that reminds Columbia of the value of Art; that art fosters imagination and breeds creativity.

YIA makes an impact!

Event hours: 9 Total Hours: 9



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Spotting Youth In Action

 It's easy to spot the Youth In Action Intern in a crowd; just look for the colorful binder!

2nd Open House of the Summer!

Hello All!

This afternoon, Youth In Action will be hosting its second open house of 2010.  At the open house anyone can come and sign up for volunteer projects or learn a little more about Youth In Action.  I hope to see you Wednesday, June 2: 3:30-6:00 p.m. at the Office of Neighborhood Services, 3601 S. Providence Road, in the old fire station just north of Gerbes!

Here's a taste of summer projects in case you're interested!



-Family Fun Fest
-Creating a Rain Garden
-Stream Cleaning
-Baking treats at the Ronald McDonald House
-Timing swimming events at the Show-Me State Games
-Fire In The Sky
-Lunch In The Park/Swimming

....and so much more!


Feel free to email me with any questions!
-Amy
ovsinter@GoColumbiaMo.com


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Welcome!

Hi, I'm Amy, the 2010 Youth In Action Intern.
Welcome to the Youth In Action Blog!  Here, I will be posting about the different projects in which Youth In Action participates.  I hope to give you a better understanding of YIA and the impact we have on the Columbia Missouri community.  You're never too young or old to make a difference; hopefully you will be inspired by YIA to go out and make your community a better place!