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GSSM Student Mobilizes South Carolina’s Youth for 20th Annual Global Youth Service Day

April 25, 2008

Sarah Lancaster, a junior at the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM), will mobilize more than 100 young people to participate in the 20th Annual Global Youth Service Day, Saturday, April 26, 2008, beginning in her home county of York, SC. In the weeks to follow, four other GSSM students will replicate the project in Aiken, Greenwood, Horry and Kershaw Counties.  Millions of youth in the United States and in 116 other countries are planning community service projects and special events to celebrate the 20th Annual Global Youth Service Day, the largest youth service event in the world.

Through a Disney Minnie grant she received, Lancaster will launch E5Youth, targeting middle school students for community service opportunities based on their interests and abilities.  E5Youth organizes five key areas and encourages each participant to recruit at least five additional volunteers for service in the Environment, Education, Entertainment of the elderly and disabled, Empowerment of the poor, and Euthenics – improving living conditions. 

"I am so excited to have the opportunity through the Disney grant to launch E5Youth with my Governor's School classmates as we mentor younger kids for community service," said Lancaster.  "Not only is GSSM a great place to learn, but its unique blend of students makes it possible for us to network and plan with each other in reaching out to our communities all over the state."

"Youth are volunteering at record rates, more than any other generation in history," says Steve Culbertson, president and CEO of Youth Service America. "With 24-hour Internet and news shows, young people are exposed to global coverage, and they are reacting to it now, not waiting until they are adults to make a difference in the world."

For more information on the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics, please contact Jacqulyne Pouncey at the GSSM Foundation.