For the past 16 years, the Youth Service Project at the Area Learning Center in St. Cloud has adopted the St. Cloud Veteran's Medical Center as the site for our youth service project. This project pairs at-risk adolescents with area veterans as they decorate various buildings for 10 holidays throughout the school year. They also play bingo with the veterans in the Adult Day Health Care Program and make crafts and decorations for the veterans in the Community Living Center.
This has made a difference, not only in the lives of our local veterans and their families, but also in lives of the students that participate in the Youth Service Project. Many of the past graduates still participate during the school year. In fact, I participated in this last year and all have a wonderful time.
Kathy Lyerly and Mike Myers-Schleif are the facilitators of this program. They raise funds for the program (with student help) and plan the gifts and crafts that students make for the veterans.
Both the Youth Service Program and Kathy Lyerly and Mike Myers-Schleif have been nominated as St. Cloud Times Difference Makers 09 by the St. Cloud Times Editorial Board. The column appeared in the Local section in the St. Cloud Times today, December 3, 2009. Starting today and ending at midnight on December 1th, you can vote for both the Youth Service Program and for Kathy and Mike. You simply visit www.sctimes.com/differencemakers or www.sctimes.com/opinion and click on "Difference Makers." You can vote multiple times and for both programs. There are no prizes or rewards beyond recognition.
Let's recognize the wonderful things that the Youth Service Program and Kathy and Mike have provided for our district's students.
