Program Background
In 1988, David Battey from Kansas City, Missouri, started the Youth Volunteer Corps as a project for Youth Serve America. The purpose of YVC was to "increase volunteer opportunities for groups of middle and high school youths." In 1990, YVC of America was launched with a W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant. Since then, it has spread all over the United States. The King County YVC was formed in 1992, and anyone 11 and over can volunteer. For teenagers 11-18 there are fun, and exciting volunteering opportunities, and for people over 18 there are leadership positions. There is even an advisory board that people of all ages can join.

Past Projects

Lettuce Link
Out on a four-acre farm in South Seattle, 11 YVC youth volunteers from 8 different schools helped tend the Lettuce Link Community Garden which donates its produce to a nearby food bank and shelter. Volunteers spent time watering the garden, weeding, harvesting produce and building a fence. Together they contributed over 300 hours of service at the Lettuce Link Community Garden.

Cascade People’s Center Mural Project
This summer 12 YVC volunteers put their talent to work designing and painting a mural for the Cascade People’s Center in Downtown Seattle. Working in pairs, the youth identified unique aspects of the surrounding neighborhood to highlight in their design. You can see the mural hanging above the entrance to their building at 309 Pontius Ave N, Seattle.

Operation Sack Lunch
Operation Sack Lunch provides hundreds of meals everyday to hungry people in Seattle. YVC volunteers helped prepare and serve lunches to people in need for 2 weeks with Operation Sack Lunch. One youth on the project had this to say about their experience, “I learned more about the real world and that homeless people are just like everyone else.” Another YVC volunteer said that when it comes to service they realized, “a little thing can make a big difference.”

Hope Academic Enrichment Center
A few YVC volunteers put their brains to use at Hope Academic Enrichment Center this summer. Some YVC volunteers used their expertise help set up donated computers and get them ready for students to use. YVC volunteers also led games with the kids who came to the center and also tutored them in math and reading.

Colman Park
15 Youth Volunteers partnered with Seattle Parks and Recreation to pull out invasive plants at Colman Park. They contributed nearly 200 hours of service to the park—restoring trails, pulling out invasive species and preserving native plants. Together they accomplished a lot and one volunteer had this to say afterwards, “Hard work is good”.

If you are interested in participating in any of these projects in the future, check out our opportunities page.