Hershey Heartwarming Young Heroes GYSD Grants (US and Canada)

Projects may address any issue or community need that is important to the youth project leaders and their peers. All proposed projects should engage a diverse group of youth volunteers from different social backgrounds and provide opportunities for those youth volunteers to create meaningful connections with their peers, caring adults, and community partners, while developing social awareness and relationship skills.

The strongest applications will have a partnership with community organizations that work on the issue being addressed and/or start or expand an ongoing service program. They will also include opportunities for relationship-building among participants and the community both during the project as well as once it has been completed.

Funding Information

• Youth may apply for grants of either $250 or $500 depending on the number of youth who will be participating as volunteers (project planners, project leaders, and day-of volunteers). $250 grantees will be required to engage at least 25 other youth as volunteers while $500 grantees have a 50-youth volunteer minimum requirement. A total of $50,000 in grants will be awarded.

What are they looking for?

• Proposed projects must be youth-led;
• Projects must take place during Youth Service Month (April 12-May 12, 2024), with some activity on Global Youth Service Day (April 26-28, 2024) strongly encouraged;
• Projects must take place in and impact the community where the youth applicant lives;
• Youth applicants must engage youth from different social backgrounds as volunteers (including, but not limited to young people of color; young people from low-income families or neighborhoods; and other youth who are usually served, but not asked to serve such as youth with disabilities, youth in the foster care system, youth from military families, youth in the juvenile justice system, youth who are immigrants or refugees, youth who are English Language Learners, etc.) as well as first-time volunteers.

What are the requirements of awardees of this grant?

• In addition to planning and implementing a service project that addresses an issue in your community during Global Youth Service Day or Youth Service Month, grantees must:
  • Submit a grant agreement that outlines the full terms of the awarded grant
  • Attend one hour-long orientation session
  • Create at least two public social media posts about the grant and their project
  • Register their project before Youth Service Month
    • The registration will ask questions including when and where your project will take place
  • Depending on the size of the grant you receive, involve at least 10, 25, or 50 of your peers as volunteers in planning and implementing your project
  • Complete a post-project impact report
    • The post-project impact report will ask questions including number of volunteers, number of hours served, number of people helped, and project outputs. Grantees will be required to track these measures; YSA will provide templates and guidelines to assist
  • Contact the grant administrator should any plans deviate from the proposal submitted in the application

Eligibility Criteria

• All youth ages 5-25 in the United States (including U.S. territories and military bases & DoD schools) and Canada are eligible to apply.

For more information, visit YSA.