Christmas in July!

On July 28th, YIA volunteered with the Voluntary Action Center at the Christmas in July event. It was fast paced and rewarding. Every year Voluntary Action Center puts on this event, and this year they served over 400 people. Unfortonately, because it was so fast and busy, I did not get a chance to take any photos of YIA volunteers hard at work. Here is a photo of YIA at Coldstone after the event.

Boone County Fair

YIA volunteered at the Boone County Fair on July 27th and 28th. We volunteered at the Children's Barnyard. Both days they opened this area up during the day so that preschoolers could come and look at the animals and learn about local farms. However, due to the heat not very many people showed up. That didn't stop us from having fun. We played games and even had a tractor race. Caitlin won that and was crowned the YIA 2011 Tractor Racing Champion in a fancy ceremony!

Project Homeless Connect

On July 26th, Youth In Action volunteered with Project Homeless Connect. We were able to help them set up for the event which was going on the next day. This year they are planning on serving as a "one stop shop" for over 100 homeless individuals. We learned about homelessness and what we can do to prevent it. Youth In Action volunteers were a great help, Thanks!

Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture

Youth In Action Volunteered with the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture on 7/25. While we were there we learned about sustainable living using gardening and urban farming. We were able to help out by doing some basic farm chores and weeding. We ran out of time and did not get to do the planting of parsley that we wanted to do, but still had a lot of fun.

Cedar Creek Therapeutic Riding Center

On Saturday, July 23rd, Youth In Action had a volunteer event at Cedar Creek Therapeutic Riding Center (CTR). CTR is a riding center for individuals who have disabilities. We were able to help with some farm chores, but the most exciting things we got to do was interacting with the horses and their riders. We got to help groom the horses, lead them while they were being ridden, and "side walk" with the horses and riders. It was a great experience and YIA made a big difference!

Boone County Health Department

Today we volunteered at the Boone County Health Department. They used their cots last winter during the blizzard and extreme heat to provide a place to stay for the homeless. The health department needed their cots cleaned so that they would be ready to use in case of another emergency. That is were we came into play. We cleaned LOTS of cots today. It was hard work but we made it fun!

Family Fun Fest

Youth In Action volunteered at the Family Fun Fest on July 20th. We helped with face painting, running several water games, and playing frisbee. It was hot, but we stayed enthusiastic!

Community Garden Coalition

On July 18th, Youth In Action braved the heat and helped out at the Community Garden at New Haven Elementary. We learned about gardening and giving kids the opportunity to have fresh healthy food. YIA helped in both the vegetable garden and the native plant garden. We worked for several hours and made a big difference!

Lunch in the Park

We served 186 lunches at Douglas Park at the "Lunch in the Park" program. The program is a community collaboration between the Food Bank of Central and Northeast Missouri, the Voluntary Action Center, and Columbia Public Schools that provides lunches to children who depend on the school lunch program. Our volunteers did a great job!

Ronald McDonald House & Resume Building class

Today we went out to the Ronald McDonald House and prepared a snack for the residents there. We made some delicious Apple Breakfast Cake which Aitriona said, "smells like cinnamon rolls!" It is great to be able to provide some home cooking to families who are staying at Ronald McDonald House while a family member is in the hospital. After that we met up with more volunteers and went to the Career Center at the University of Missouri Campus. There we learned all about how to use YIA in a resume!

Stream Cleanup

This stream cleanup was great! Mike Heimos (Storm Water Educator for the City) taught us about storm waters and how important it is to keep them clean. Then we got right in the creek and cleaned up! We actually found some interesting animal life while we were there. After we were done we spent some time at the sprayground at Flat Branch Park to cool down. We were able to get 16 bags of trash out of Flat Branch Creek helping to keep our local waterways clean.

July 7th at Marineparents.com

Today we had a great event at Marineparents.com. While we were there we were able to help package A LOT of drink mixes and hard candy for care packages to marines deployed around the world. By taking just a few hours out of their time, our volunteers helped to make a difference in the lives of American Heroes.

Fire in the Sky

On July 4th, YIA volunteered with the City of Columbia's Parks and Recreation Department at the Fire in the Sky event. We had many volunteers for this event and we needed all of them. Thousands of people came out to enjoy the family games and atmosphere as well as to watch the fireworks. YIA helped make that experience fun and memorable while having a little fun of our own.

Household Hazardous Waste

On Saturday 7-2, YIA volunteered with the City's Public Works Department at the Household Hazardous Waste event. Every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month, the City holds an event that allows citizens to drop off waste like batteries, paints, or chemicals. We were able to help mix up some of the paint to be recycled and redistributed. It was hot and hard work but we made a difference.

Storm Drain Marking

On Thursday June 30th, YIA was able to work with the City of Columbia's Storm Water Educator Mike Heimos doing Storm Drain Marking. We marked all the drains at the new parking garage downtown. By marking them with No Dumping markers we help to prevent pollution of our local waterways. Thanks to all our volunteers!