By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
The St. Joseph Youth Alliance is partnering with 15 and Mahomies to incentivize youth to get off the sidelines and volunteer.
St. Joseph Youth Alliance has partnered with 15 and Mahomies, Patrick Mahomes foundation, the program called Volunteer for 15. Registration is now open for the program.
Program Director Misty Coyle says the program encourages youth ages 11 to 18 to pledge to volunteer 15 hours of their summer time.
"You can earn the hours between June 1st to August 31st, so there's still plenty of time to get those 15 hours in," Coyle tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "The first 500 youth that register, take the pledge, and complete their 15 hours get a volunteer for 15 t-shirt."
But the incentives don't stop there, Coyle says. She says youth that register and complete the most volunteer hours will receive an autographed item from Patrick Mahomes.
Volunteers can also make a video about why they enjoyed volunteering and have a chance to win tickets to a Kansas City Chiefs home game.
Coyle says besides that feel good feeling everyone gets from volunteering, there are other benefits for youth volunteering.
"But also, the youth get to work on some really important skills that they need as they get older such as critical thinking and problem solving," Coyle explains.
Volunteer for 15 encourages youth volunteers to step off the sidelines and volunteer for 15 hours. But what does it mean to step off the sidelines?
"It is so easy to stay at home and do the things that you want to do that's fun just for you and your family and there are times where your community needs you and asks you to step off the sidelines," Coyle says. "Come and help those in need, come and help those that could use a hand up."
Registration is now open for Volunteer for 15.
Coyle says that youth volunteerism is already higher than it's ever been all across the United States
"But there's still three out of four youth that are being missed on having the chance to volunteer," Coyle points out. "So, I'm hoping this helps drive up that volunteerism for those that are missing out and show that hey it's very easy to volunteer and help your community, and to do it with friends and have fun at the same time."