Y Student Programs at Virginia Tech    Learn. Lead. Serve.
Y Student Programs provides opportunities for you to develop leadership skills while participating in volunteer service within our local community, nationally, and internationally. Our programs include student and community volunteers, but are all run by student leaders and advised by YMCA staff.     Interested in volunteering  with one of our many programs?  Visit our office at 312 Squires Student Center to fill out an application and talk with Sandy or Jen.   Spring 2008 Calendar of Events February 4              YSP Sites begin February 19            Student Staff Meeting, Cranwell Int'l                                                            Center, 6:45pm March 1-9                VT Spring Break, office closed March 19                  Student Staff Meeting, Cranwell Int'l                                                             Center, 6:45pm March 21                  YMCA Donor Reception:  A Red Carpet                                                         Event! April 5                       Big Event AND YSP Spring Retreat April 12                     Healthy Kids Day!!  April 24                     Student Staff Meeting, VT Break Zone, 6:30pm April 18                     Relay for Life April 25                     Last day for YSP Sites May 3-8                   Ytoss? collection on campus (read below                                     for more info)	Read our Fall Newsletter     Click on the Do Something Good  button below for the descriptions of the many YSP volunteer programs available.   All volunteers are welcome regardless of age or experience. If you are with a group, please call the YSP office at 540-231-3734 or send us an email: ymcasp@vt.edu.  We'd be happy to find ways for you to fulfill your community service obligations.   If you are interested in the YSP Leadership Program, click HERE.        Programs You Will Enjoy......   Alternative Breaks After-School Programs GLE Cares 4-H Tutoring Project Hope Buddy Program Project Home Repair Applied Environmental Awareness Garden Project Senior Connection
A huge thank you goes out to VT Recreational Sports, the VT Men’s & Women’s Swimming & Diving Teams and the many vendors and community educators that helped make our 2nd Annual Healthy Kids Day a success!  During our 2007 event, we had 64 people and 28 families that signed in at the registration table to enjoy the day.  I’m pleased to report that during this past Saturday’s Healthy Kids Day, we had 122 participants, representing 59 families from our community out for a day of family fun!  Our goal was to double participation from last year and we clearly accomplished that goal.  With tremendous support from Recreational Sports offering War Memorial Hall and in some cases fitness staff and students, Healthy Kids Day is really starting to evolve into a recognizable event – we cannot thank our partners enough!   With the help of student organizations, as well as campus and community organizations, this year’s Healthy Kids Day was able to incorporate the following events and activities: Family Strength Training, Dance Dance Revolution Stations, Family Yoga Classes, Swing Dance Lessons, Clogging Lessons, Soccer Skills Clinic, Triathlon/Running Training, Fencing Club Demonstrations, Gymnastics/Tumbling Demonstrations, Environmental Craft Activities, Mental Health Support and Tobacco Information, Karate Information, Swimming & Diving Demonstrations, Food & Fun Sampling Table & Nutrition Information, Blacksburg Library, Germbusters & Longfellows Whales Tales Education, Ping Pong, Face Painting & FUN Costumed Characters, Corn Hole, Healthy Teeth Activities, Ambulance, Fire Truck and Police Bike Patrol Tours  **Special volunteer assistance with some local Boy Scouts working on Merit Badges J   We also had campus and community support from the following agencies: Coke Cola * UTZ * VT Recreational Sports * VT Swimming & Diving * VT Parking Services *   Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library * Breakzone * New River Valley Community Services * Curves * Pre-Dental Club * VT Police Department * VT Child Study Center * VT Human Nutrition Foods & Exercise * TriAdventure * Hoorah Cloggers * Virginia Techniques * VT Rescue * American Martial Arts Center * Runabout Sports * Blacksburg Fire Department * YMCA Applied Environmental Awareness * VT Fencing Club             Special thanks goes out to our 72 wonderful event volunteers and the amazing work of 4 YSP office/event volunteers who put in countless time and energy into the planning of Healthy Kids Day whose outreach began in January:  Courtney Simon Grohs and Kristen Wickham - Event Co-Directors, Sherrie Mersdorf – Marketing Coordinator and Nicole Owens – Volunteer Coordinator.    Don’t forget to mark your calendars for next year’s event, which will be held on Saturday, April 11!
Excited for our Third Annual Ytoss?  We sure are!  This year during Student Move Out, the YMCA at Virginia Tech is partnering with Virginia Tech Recycling, the Department of Residence Life, the Town of Blacksburg, Sustainable Blacksburg and other campus and community based organizations to collect items students typically ”toss” during Move Out.  Six collection points will be available on campus for students to donate their gently used items.                                                          May 3 – 8, 2008 | 10am – 5pm: West End Market Slusher Beach: between Slusher and Campbell Halls Upper Quad: between Monteith and Shanks Hall The Prairie (2 locations): between PY, O’Shag, Lee and Pritchard Halls President’s Quad: at the corner Miles and Johnson Halls Collection boxes will be available at Oak Lane Housing Various apartment leasing offices Items collected in May will allow students and community members to make affordable purchases of necessary items during Move In, August 21-22.  In addition to keeping the campus and community clean and reducing waste going into landfills, the proceeds from the Move In Sale help fund the YMCA at Virginia Tech’s leadership development programs.  The Ytoss? Sale is quickly becoming one of Blacksburg’s most notorious “garage sales.”  Items being collected include: TVs and other electronics Microwaves and refrigerators Furniture, rugs and clothing Fans, hutches and more Non-refrigerated foods, paper products and laundry detergent (opened or unopened) are given to a local food bank **Due to safety concerns, Ytoss? Collection Points cannot accept lofts Seeking Volunteers: To make this year’s event successful, we need assistance sorting and cleaning items collected each day.  Volunteer hours for sorting and cleaning will be 12pm-6pm, May 5 – 9.  Additionally, volunteers are needed to staff the campus collection points.  All volunteers providing 4 hours or more of service will receive a free Ytoss? t-shirt! If you would like to volunteer or find out more about Ytoss?, please contact ymcasp@vt.edu or 231-3734.
Trips for Spring Trips for 2008... Sorry, application process is now closed.   Northeast Mississippi We will be working with the Northeast branch of Habitat for Humanity doing a wide range of projects - framing, shingling, vinyl siding, painting, insulating, etc. Look forward to a fast pace schedule but free time to explore the area too. Construction skills would be helpful, but no experience is necessary. If you have any questions about this trip contact  Lane at lva360@vt.edu Waveland, Mississippi On this ASB trip, we will be traveling to the southeast coast of Mississippi to volunteer with Katrina Relief. Though the hurricane was almost three years ago, there is still a lot of work to be done. We will be participating in home repair projects such as tiling and hanging drywall, but no experience is needed to participate. Space is limited to eight people, so sign up soon! Come volunteer your time in a fun and rewarding way this spring break! If you have any questions about this trip contact Nichole at ncadieux@vt.edu or Sarit at sacliff@vt.edu Lakeland, Florida This trip will be working with the First Baptist Children's Home. During the day we will be doing different projects around the house and during the afternoon we will be doing programming and playing with the kids.  If you love kids and want to make a difference in a few kids lives, this is the trip for you. If you have any questions about this trip contact Amy at vtamy11@vt.edu or Brendan at bbarrios@vt.edu
Alternative Break Update:  A group of determined Y student volunteers have completed their monumental two country, three week trip to Cahuasqui, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.  Fundraising efforts proceeded diligently throughout fall semester and after raising their goal of $20,000, they flew from the States on December 27 and returned January 13...just in time for classes to start!  Read Trip Leader Jake Grohs' account of  their experience:   Over this past winter break, 9 volunteers traveled to Cahuasqui, Ecuador and Hato Mayor, Dominican Republic on the YMCA at VT’s first ever multi-country international alternative break.  While abroad, the students planted fruit trees, mixed concrete, painted murals, designed stairs, and fell in love with two beautiful and amazing communities.  As with most break trips, the hard work and sweat was balanced out by a day visit to the hot springs from an Ecuadorian valance and a playoff baseball game for the Dominican World Series!  This unique group of 9 will surely never forget the lessons learned while participating in such an amazing opportunity for growth and service.  Keep your eye out for similar opportunities next year, winter break 2009-2010!                                            A sincere thank you goes out to each of you who donated     money, time and/or effort to make this trip a success!     Platinum Sponsors:  Timothy Jabs of Jabs Construction in  Dumfries, VA                                         Kristin and Kevin Yonker of Yorktown, VA YMCA of Greater Charlotte and Vivian Carroll of Charlotte, NC Sharon and Jose Simon of Charlotte, NC   Gold Sponsors: First Baptist Church of Winchester, VA Mt. Hebron Presbyterian Church of Ellicott City, MD Myron Steves Jr. and Rowena Young of Houston, TX   Silver Sponsors: Service Learning at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA David and Pamela Shindeldecker of Houston, TX Alan Ronk and Foundation for Roanoke Valley, Roanoke, VA Ms. Victoria Gorman-Page of San Antonio, TX Janice Yant of Ellicott City, MD James and Kathryn Schaefer of Ellicott, MD James D. Sheldon of Lima, OH
YSP Program Leader Retreat Fall 2007 Our large group of Program Leaders headed out to Wilderness Adventure at Eagle Landing one hot day last August for our yearly retreat. We had a great day of flying through the morning air on their zipline, participating in team building activities (learning how fiesty our group can get!), and reviewing the responsibilities of a YMCA at Virginia Tech PL.  After much laughter, great discussions and and a bit more sweat than we had hoped, our day ended with the start of an amazing campfire, the fury of an incredible downpour of rain, and a frenzy by all to get to cover.  It all ended soggy, suddenly and left each of us with the yearning for just a little bit more. What will Spring Retreat have in store for us!!??
HOW DO I JOIN YSP? Well, its as simple as stopping by 312 Squires Student Center. You can fill out an application at the office or download one by clicking HERE. If you're still not sure, and want to ask us some questions, email ymcasp@vt.edu. Now is your chance to take the next step, come and visit us. You can find someone in the Y Student Programs office Monday - Friday from 9am-5pm. Student Program Leaders and staff are happy to answer your questions. We look forward to seeing you soon! Sandy & Jen
YSP currently maintains two websites. Click here to visit our student made  YSP website!	For information about YSP history, Click Here
Contact us:   YMCA Student Programs Virginia Tech 312 Squires Student Center (0546) Blacksburg, Virginia 24061-0546   Phone: 540-231-3734 Fax: 540-231-9625 E-mail: ymcasp@vt.edu