Posts Tagged ‘youth service america’

A Taste of Youth Service

Thursday, April 25th, 2013

Chef Remmi Smith

Hi, I’m Remmi of Cook Time with Remmi. I believe every young person can make a difference by doing what they love to do! I’ve always loved being in the kitchen; I was helping out when I was only 4 years old! Now at the age of 13, I have my own cooking show, Cook Time with Remmi, and I’m comfortable cooking for myself and my family.

I hope that my cooking show and the recipes on my website get kids excited about cooking because I believe that cooking at home can help you eat healthier and save money. It’s important that kids learn to eat and cook nutritious meals early so that these habits can stay with them as adults too! And, cooking is a lot of fun―I promise! I have always wanted to be a cook star….and so can you!

My passion for talking to other kids about how easy (and yummy!) cooking and eating nutritiously can be led me to become Sodexo’s first-ever Student Ambassador to Health and Nutrition! Sodexo provides education solutions to nearly 500 school districts nationwide. Their STOP Hunger program enables Sodexo communities, including employees, consumers, clients and suppliers to join together to make a difference and end hunger.

Thanks to Sodexo Foundation, I can reach way more kids and get them as excited about healthy cooking and eating as I am.

The No Kid Hungry campaign teaches families how to cook healthy, affordable meals.

With my Sodexo Foundation Youth Grant, I’m hosting the No Kid Hungry Food Classic – Be a C.H.E.F. on Global Youth Service Day. The event is on April 27th at Metro Appliances and More in Tulsa, OK, from 1:00 to 5:00 PM. I’ll be doing demos and cooking up some of my favorite dishes for you to sample, and I will be talking to everyone about the No Kid Hungry campaign!

We are also having Global Gardens at the event and they will be talking about how to grow your own garden too!

I couldn’t believe it when I found out that 1 in 5 children in the United States struggles with hunger. I want to help end childhood hunger, so I decided to use what I love to do to make a difference and raise awareness and funds for No Kid Hungry.

Along with connecting kids in need with nutritious food, the No Kid Hungry campaign teaches their families how to cook healthy, affordable meals – something I love to do!

If you live in the Tulsa area, you should definitely come by! Be sure to bring canned food or a monetary donation to support Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma and No Kid Hungry. But even if you don’t live in my area, you can still get involved! Cook Time with Remmi has lots of healthy recipes and fun videos from my cooking show. Check out NoKidHungry2.org for fun ways to help end childhood hunger.

I’m so excited for April 27th – hope to see you all there

Chef Remmi Smith is Sodexo’s Student Ambassador for Health and Nutrition.

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Ways to Serve, No Foolin’!

Friday, March 29th, 2013

Bob Stern

April 1st is special for a number of reasons: April Fool’s Day; opening day for Major League Baseball; and now it’s officially recognized as the start of Sodexo Servathon!

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley issued a formal proclamation this year, saluting Servathon and Sodexo’s important work fighting hunger in local communities.

Servathon is Sodexo’s largest employee engagement initiative in North America and around the world. Last year 40,000 employees in 35 countries got involved in the fight against hunger.

This year, I’m afraid the need is as great as ever. 50 million Americans, including more than 16 million children, don’t have enough to eat.

Since improving quality of life is important to Sodexo, it just makes sense that we ask employees to get involved in service projects in their communities to help fight hunger.

Volunteering at the Manna Food Center.

This year we’re asking employees to include youth in their service efforts too. I’ve found that today’s generation of youth is amazingly public-service oriented, and usually very eager to help those in need.

Involving kids also helps raise awareness around the issue of hunger, and helps ensure a strong pipeline of future leaders and volunteers in the fight against hunger. I encourage everyone to think about the young people in their life and find easy but effective ways for them to help out.

Earlier this week, my son, Elliott, joined me and several of my Sodexo colleagues at a volunteer event sponsored by PANG at Manna Food Center near our headquarters.

He’s done it before and he knows that poverty persists in every county and just about every school. My son is student teaching in a high school now, and he told me he has seen how hard it is for students to study when they are hungry. Having my son alongside me for Servathon was a special experience.

PANG, a Sodexo Employee Business Resource group, volunteering at Manna Food Center during Sodexo Servathon.

Need some thought-starters on how to mobilize youth to tackle the massive issue of hunger? Here are just a few simple ideas:

  • Block-out some time; whatever you can spare, minutes, hours or more and prepare or serve meals at a soup kitchen or sort food at a local food bank.
  • Take the No Kid Hungry Pledge, and ask young people in your life to take the pledge with you.
  • Raise funds or collect food to donate in your community.
  • Visit No Kid Hungry 2 for cool ideas on how to involve youth.

You can even check out Sodexo’s Servathon page for additional resources. And don’t forget to let us know what you’ve done, by sharing your Servathon story through our online survey.

Robert A. Stern is senior vice president and general counsel for Sodexo, Inc. and president of Sodexo Foundation, which supports innovative programs to help children and families in the United States who are at-risk of hunger.

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Mineola Macaroni: Making a Difference

Tuesday, May 29th, 2012

Nancy Regan

Thanks to Sodexo Foundation and YSA (Youth Service America), the students in my AP United States History Class at Mineola High School have been fortunate to participate in an extended service-learning program focusing on raising awareness and helping to fight the growing problem of childhood hunger.

The program, based at our school in New York, involved the students tracing the history of hunger in America and researching the depths of the problem in today’s society. The tables then turned, with the students actually teaching a number of 8th grade classes about their research and enlisting the 8th graders help in their service efforts.

There were two service initiatives. The first was a district-wide food drive to benefit Long Island Cares. During the week-long drive, 2,000 non-perishable food items were collected. Students developed innovative ways including “extreme couponing” to gather as much food as possible for donation.

The second, our largest initiative was called Mineola Macaroni Making a Difference. This was a Pasta Dinner to benefit the Mary Brennan Inn, the largest soup kitchen on Long Island which serves around 400 hot meals per day. Mineola Macaroni: Making a Difference was held on Thursday, March 29th. It was a huge success. Over 300 people attended and the students raised over $2,700.

Students at Mineola High School focused on raising awareness of childhood hunger and helping to fight the epidemic as well.

The students together with the faculty volunteers cooked and served dinner, displayed their research, and facilitated mini service projects during the evening. Working on this project and seeing the enthusiasm and dedication of my students to our efforts was one of the most rewarding experiences of my teaching career. We truly became a school community working together for the greater good and our community really supported our efforts. My students’ reflections illustrate the impact of the project and the importance of service-learning:

“I loved being a part of the project. I never knew how good it could feel to spend your time and energy to help a cause that you feel very strongly about. My eyes are opened… I hope to volunteer for the rest of my life!” Katie

“It was incredible being part of this long-term project and its fantastic results. “I never saw a group of high school students do anything like this. It was at this moment that I realized just how much I had contributed to something that really made a difference. It was something to really be proud of.”  Jill

“I’m inspired to continue to make the world a better place.” Janet

Students like Katie, Jill and Janet have inspired us all.

Nancy Regan is a social studies teacher at Minneola High School Garden City Park – a Sodexo Foundation School Engagement Grant Recipient.

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Youth-Inspired Efforts to Fight Hunger

Friday, April 15th, 2011

Youth Service America event in Chicago

Today, more than half the world’s population is under age 25, presenting an unprecedented opportunity to engage young people in solving the most pressing problems around the globe.

What better way to champion a social cause than using such a passion-filled demographic as the purveyors of change? Look around at the world today; democratic uprisings are being started by people barely old enough to drive a car.  

While America is fortunate enough to have a democratic government, our great country is not without challenges. 14.1 million children live in poverty, 1 in 50 kids don’t know where they will sleep tonight and an astounding 1 in 4 children – 17 million — don’t have enough food on a daily basis.

The Sodexo Foundation is putting the ability to solve childhood hunger, directly into the hands of children. Sodexo Youth Grants are unique in that young people age 5 – 25 have the opportunity to apply for them in order to start and implement projects independently.

On Global Youth Service Day, April 15 – 17, hundreds of children across the country will participate in 25 different Sodexo Foundation-funded projects.

For example, the Keystone Kids Project in Philadelphia is addressing hunger and homelessness through film. Kids from age 12 – 17 will interview fellow youth who struggle with poverty daily, including those who rely on soup kitchens to eat. Upon showing the film, participants will hold a 24-hour fast with activities that raise awareness about child hunger among their peers, politicians and members of the community.

Another project of note takes place in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Mayor’s Youth Task Force will conduct a campaign (from April to August) called “Hunger Doesn’t Take the Summer Off.” This will draw awareness to and showcase how many children receive free and reduced lunches during the school year and what their options are during the summer. Grant recipients will set up an information booth at the local library, distribute literature, recruit volunteers to pack food and assist with the local food shelf.

Today’s youth are not waiting to “grow up” to become leaders of change; they are perfectly capable of leading it today.

Steven A. Culbertson is president and CEO of Youth Service America an international nonprofit organization that partners with thousands of organizations committed to increasing the quality and the quantity of volunteer opportunities for young people to serve locally, nationally, and globally.

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Ending Childhood Hunger One State at a Time

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

Participating in Maryland’s Summer Meals Planning Conference was such an honor.  The exciting news included the announcement of Sodexo Foundation’s $20 million commitment to ending childhood hunger in partnership with Share Our Strength and Youth Service America.

Rosemary King Johnston, executive director of the Maryland Governor’s Office for Children, told me that Sodexo Foundation president Steve Brady was one of the first people she met after Governor O’Malley asked her to lead efforts to end childhood hunger in Maryland. Steve assured her that her work with Share Our Strength would make a real impact and attract support from companies, foundations and public servants across the state. Steve, Rosemary and I have seen Steve’s prediction become reality, thanks largely to Sodexo’s vision and steadfast commitment to the children in its headquarters state and beyond.

One question has motivated me for the last six years: “How can we end childhood hunger in the United States?”  Share Our Strength adopted this goal as our priority in 2004 and launched the first childhood hunger plan in Washington, D.C. with funding from Sodexo Foundation. Now, just seven years later, we have launched No Kid Hungry Campaign partnerships in 11 cities and states, including Maryland, and plan to be in 18 states by the end of 2011.

Share Our Strength’s goal of ending childhood hunger by 2015 through public-private partnerships has inspired me to join the Partnership for Public Service. It is more important than ever to build partnerships across the sectors – including companies like Sodexo – to solve the nation’s most serious social problems. 

Although I am leaving Share Our Strength after 12 years to become the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Partnership for Public Service, I’m so pleased to know that the important work of the organization will continue to grow, thanks to the deepened commitment from Sodexo Foundation to ending childhood hunger. Together we have already changed the lives of thousands of families and children.  We have given them not just food, or money, but a voice and hope.  Thank you for your support and best wishes as the partnership continues.

Partnership for Public Service is a national nonprofit organization that works to revitalize our federal government by inspiring a new generation to serve. I am incredibly excited to work on this important issue, and will not forget the important work Share Our Strength, Sodexo and others do every single day to assist those in need.

Patricia Nicklin is the managing director of Share Our Strength®, a national non-profit dedicated to ending childhood hunger in America. She will soon depart to become the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Partnership for Public Service, a non-profit dedicated to revitalizing public service and improving government performance.

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