City youth to participate in service day

On April 20, young adults will participate in the Global Youth Service Day, a day of hands-on volunteering in Bloomington.

The primary partners of the day are the City of Bloomington Volunteer Network and the Monroe County Youth Council.

More than 200 students from four Bloomington high schools will participate in the day.

Students will volunteer in sustainability-based service projects, including mural painting at The Warehouse, preparing a rain garden at the Community Kitchen, preparing bikes at Bloomington Bicycle Project-2, volunteering in the garden at Wonderlab, removing invasive plants at RCA Park and preparing for Memorial Day at Rose Hill Cemetery.

All volunteers will meet at The Warehouse, the new youth and family community center, before going to the various volunteer sites.

“It’s been an honor to help the City of Bloomington Volunteer Network plan Global Youth Service Day,” Youth Planner of Global Youth Service Day Meghan Ray said in a press release. “I believe that this day will be truly valuable to our community. I have never seen my friends at North so excited to volunteer. I hope this enthusiasm grows throughout the year. The projects will be a ton of fun and the students will hardly notice they are volunteering. The mural, my personal favorite project, will serve as a reminder throughout the year of our hard work. I can’t wait to see the progress each year as this service day grows.”

Global Youth Service Day is the largest service event in the world as an estimated two million youth in more than 75 countries on six continents are expected to participate in the day.

— Claire Aronson