Forty youth leaders are traveling across America in a bus to provide community services and random acts of kindness to honor the 15th anniversary of 9/11.
Irvine-based nonprofit Team Kids kicked off its Servathon Tour with a festival on Saturday at Vista Verde Elementary School. The participating youth leaders, 31 of whom are from Orange County, will stop at 14 cities in 14 days.
“This is beyond anything we’ve ever done.” said Julie Hudash, who founded Team Kids just weeks before the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
Intended to spark a national youth movement, service projects during the tour include landscaping an affordable-housing community, hosting a youth town hall meeting and hosting a carnival for the children of fallen military service members, according to a news release.
When they reach New York City on Aug. 12, International Youth Day, the participants will present their tour accomplishments to the United Nation.
“Only 1 in 4 children in the U.S. feels valued by adults and that they are given useful roles in their respective communities,” Hudash said. “How do we expect to raise the next generation of competent, compassionate leaders, when we are discouraging our youngest citizens from serving as passionate leaders in their communities?”
The tour participants, ages 14 to 22, are Team Kids alumni and have completed the five-week Team Kids Challenge. The flagship program teaches elementary school students about community issues, working alongside mentors to address them.
For more information, visit teamkids.org
Contact the writer: 949-445-6397 or tshimura@ocregister.com
