GenerationOn Make Your Mark Week Inspires Youth to Give Back to Their Community Through Hands-On Service & Volunteering

Tens of Thousands of Kids Mobilize their Energy, Ingenuity and Compassion to "Make their Mark on the World"

NEW YORK, Oct. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Yesterday marked the official kick-off of generationOn Make Your Mark Week (formerly Kids Care Week), an initiative that inspires and mobilizes kids of all ages to use their energy, ingenuity and compassion to "make their mark on the world" through hands-on service. Celebrated during the third week of October (Oct. 16-22, 2011), Make Your Mark Week encourages young people to do small acts or service projects that together make a big impact on their lives, their communities and the world. The week culminates on Make a Difference Day, the largest national day of community service.

Research has shown that young people want to make a difference in the areas that matter most to them.  Because of this, generationOn has chosen five service areas for Make Your Mark Week 2011 including: animals, environment, homelessness,  hunger and literacy.  In an effort to support the development of the service projects related to these issues, generationOn is equipping youth with educational resources, tool kits, project ideas and incentives for small acts.  

"We are so proud of the young people who are engaged in service and volunteering, and who are making their mark on the issues that matter most to them," said Kathy Saulitis, vice president, generationOn youth & family engagement. "We are hopeful that Make Your Mark Week will encourage more youth to become engaged in service and look to generationOn as a resource to help them make the world a better place."

Select partners have committed to supporting small acts of service by securing in-kind donations as service incentives or offering action opportunities. Our partners include First Book, Share Our Strength, Birthday Wishes, Freekibble.com, HALO Purely for Pets, HarperCollins, U.S. Fund for UNICEF and Keep America Beautiful.

With the help of founding partner Hasbro, Inc., generationOn will also award 200 mini-grants in the amount of $250 each to schools, clubs and youth organizations. In addition, they will provide grants of $5,000 to five HandsOn Network Action Center affiliates who will redistribute the grants to local community partners to support service projects that enable youth in all 50 states to "make their mark."

"Hasbro is thrilled to support generationOn's efforts to empower and encourage youth to give back in a meaningful way," said Karen Davis, vice president of community relations, Hasbro, Inc. "It's inspiring to see and hear the incredible acts of service that are taking place during Make Your Mark Week and the differences that young people are making in the lives of others; we are so proud to be part of it."

Young people and like-minded organizations all over the country from New Jersey to California will be leading projects throughout Make Your Mark Week, including:

• Yapo Wolverines 4-H, Pontiac, Mich. – The Yapo Wolverine group will host a "Harvest Party" for their entire community, many of whom were laid off following the auto industry crash several years ago. Due to the dangerous neighborhood, many of the kids will be unable to trick or treat and instead there will a Halloween movie screening along with hotdogs, cider, popcorn, cupcakes, chips and candy.
• Columbia Elementary School, Omaha, Neb. – First through fifth grade students at Columbia Elementary School in Omaha will make their mark by creating rope devices that will be used to train service dogs to open doors, refrigerators and other various items. Pre-K and kindergarten students at Columbia Elementary will be developing a simple dog toy for these service dogs.  
• Rachel Ley, Stevens Point, Wis. – Rachel, a generationOn National Youth Advisory Council member, has recruited 25 high school students to help package more than 200 books through her organization, Literacy for Little Ones. The books will be delivered to Ministry St. Clare's for an upcoming literacy event.
• Evergreen Community Charter School, Asheville, N.C. – Fifth-graders will take a field trip to Hickory Nut Gap Farm in Fairview, N.C., where they will pick apples and press into cider. The cider will be sold to raise money to purchase "hygiene kits" (toothpaste, soap and shampoo) for teenage migrant workers in western North Carolina who do not have access to health insurance.
• Boys & Girls Club, Georgia – Members of the Boys & Girls Club of Southeast Georgia are using their artistic talents to produce containers featuring plaques that encourage residents to recycle their waste. This Club is located in the Golden Isles where the environment is critical to the habitats of animals.
• Nicholas Lowinger, Cranston, R.I. – Nicholas, a Hasbro Community Action Hero, and his organization, Gotta Have Sole Foundation, are decorating sneakers and creating cards with warm wishes to send to children across the country who are living in homeless shelters.

"Community service and engagement in civic activities has been shown to positively impact the development of moral character, purpose and identity for youth, which is why organizations like generationOn are such an important resource for young people," said Dr. Marilyn Price-Mitchell. "Make Your Mark Week is a wonderful opportunity that encourages youth to get involved in service and volunteering and to make a difference on their world."

With a goal of engaging at least 100,000 young people in service during this week, generationOn encourages kids and families everywhere to get involved and make their mark on their local community by making a pledge to take action at http://kidsvolunteer.generationon.org or on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/mOsipS.

About generationOn
GenerationOn is the global youth service movement igniting the power of all kids to make their mark on the world. As the new youth division of the Points of Light, generationOn brings together the nation's leading youth service organizations under one umbrella with a mission to inspire, equip, and mobilize youth to take action that changes the world and themselves through service. To learn more about how to get involved, visit www.generationOn.org.  

About Points of Light
Points of Light is the leading volunteer organization with more than 20 years of history, a bipartisan presidential legacy and the largest volunteer footprint in the nation. Our mission is to inspire, equip and mobilize people to take action that changes the world. We connect people to their power to make a meaningful difference, by providing access to tools, resources and opportunities to help volunteers use their time, talent, voice and money to meet the critical needs of our communities. We are organized to innovate, incubate and activate new ideas through our action networks, including: HandsOn Network, the largest network of 250 local volunteer centers across the country and around the world; generationOn, the youth service movement that ignites the power of kids to make their mark on the world; and AmeriCorps Alums, the national service alumni network that activates the next generation of service leaders. For more information, visit www.PointsofLight.org.

SOURCE GenerationOn