We are so grateful to County Executive Pat Ryan who unveiled a three-prong “Call to Service Youth Program” at UlsterCorps’ 11th Annual MLK Day Celebration of Service and the 2020 State of the County address. The program encourages young people to become more involved in volunteer activities in the county.
- Generation to Generation. The Ulster County Office for the Aging will partner youths ages 14 to 18 with senior citizens as part of an effort to build “intergenerational relationships.” Working with UlsterCorps, the youth volunteers will conduct video interviews of the seniors for a digital oral history repository.
- The Ulster County Explorer program will provide those ages 14 to 20 opportunities to explore fire service. At 16, participants would be able to join their local fire department. The effort is an attempt to increase the number of fire service volunteers in the county.
- Ulster County Youth Corps will be a partnership between the county and UlsterCorps to increase volunteerism among the county’s youths by matching young people with nonprofit and government organizations based on the interests of the students and the needs of the organizations.
Ryan also announced his office intends to launch a “Call to Service Scholarship Fund” for students who “go above and beyond” in volunteer service.
Students and other young people interested in learning more or getting involved in any of the initiatives should text “Join” to (877) 875-5786 or go to bit.ly/GetInvolvedSOTC.
