From One Generation To Another

This weekend, more than 30 DeKalb County high school students and adult volunteers teamed up with the City of Decatur to volunteer for the MLK Annual Service Day and repair community seniors’ homes.

The teens helped repair the homes and yards of local community seniors by raking leaves, trimming bushes, removing invasive plants and doing other work as deemed necessary under the supervision of adult volunteers.

According to Diane Jackson-Chapman, program director of Youth Leadership DeKalb, the project teaches youth the importance of volunteering. “By getting students involved in this service project, it helped them to understand the importance of civic engagement and it fostered a stronger commitment in students to serve those with special needs,” said Dr. Jackson-Chapman.

Since 1988, Youth Leadership DeKalb, which has 40 student participants each year, has included community service as a component of its program to educate students on the importance of helping others in facilitating the growth of young leaders.

Applications for the Class of 2013 are now available for high school sophomores and juniors. For more information, please visit www.leadershipdekalb.org.