Youthlinc students excel at their main service sites!

This year, we have over 300 Youthlinc Service Year students volunteering across the state. Youthlinc students must fulfill their local service requirement by contributing 80 hours of local service, with minimally 40 hours at one main service site. Collectively, they will serve over 24,000 hours in their community! We checked in on all of our student’s volunteer supervisors and got some awesome feedback! Read below to see what they have to say!

 Tennis and Tutoring is so lucky to have Youthlinc volunteers serve as tutors and mentors to the young students in our program. All the Youthlinc volunteers are dedicated, reliable, thoughtful, and ready to engage with our participants. Having an older mentor to talk to and play with is really meaningful and the kids frequently ask when they will see their favorite tutor next. For volunteers who are with us long term, you can see a special relationship develop with the kids. Consistency, reliability and empathy are what make the best volunteers and we truly appreciate the young men and women from Youthlinc who have chosen Tennis and Tutoring as their place to give back to the community. – Angie Keeton, Executive Director

Matthew is a wonderful volunteer. He is committed to going out of his way to help those experiencing homelessness. Volunteering at our front desk requires thick skin and a calm disposition, both of which Matthew has. He does a great job interacting with clients and creates an uplifting environment. We are lucky to have him as a volunteer! – Hannah Kuhnhausen, Volunteer Coordinator

Maria is great. She is a lot of fun and is always willing to help out. She has a great rapport with the residents. Thank you for sending her our way. We love her!

Anna is absolutely amazing. She makes all our residents smile. It is nice to have her volunteer. She is always dependable and on time. You have an amazing program. – Mary Heideman

We were beyond lucky to have had Ronnie spend so much of her time at our program. She has developed many meaningful relationships with so many of our kids due to her positive spirit and natural ability to be patient and kind. We will miss her dearly and will always be grateful for all her efforts and dedication!

Hannah, is a great mentor in my class. She starts out our class calling on students to answer review questions. Then spends most of her time helping students that have been struggling. She prompts them to take notes, explains concepts and keeps a journal of everything we do in class for students that miss school. Hannah is an awesome example to others! – John Moon, Volunteer Supervisor

Ally has been volunteering in our first grade classes at Magna Elementary.  The teachers really appreciate her!  She listens to the students read and helps them with their work.  She works closely with some students who have a difficult time behaving.  We have been happy to have her as a volunteer at Magna. – Nancy, Volunteer Supervisor

Brady has been an amazing volunteer in our Preschool classroom. Our teachers love him and he does really well with the kids. I think it’s been a really great experience for him and he has certainty been a fantastic asset for us. At the YMCA we value role models who can provide diverse perspectives for the youth we serve. Younger males like Brady don’t often gravitate towards working with preschool age children so when they do volunteer for us our youth benefit greatly from the different life experiences they bring. Thank you for supporting the YMCA and the youth we serve by connecting us with volunteers like Brady. – Jamie, Volunteer supervisor

It has been so nice having them come and volunteer their time! Our Residences love them! Youthlinc has been super easy to use and I think it is a wonderful way for students to find great opportunities within their community! – Sierra, Volunteer Coordinator

We are happy to have them here! They have put in a lot of hours and have been quite dedicated as well. They have provided great care for the children in our nursery and have been quite reliable. They seem to want to be here, which is helpful because they in turn provide quality service and attention for the children.  – Parker, Volunteer Supervisor

It has been a real privilege to have students from Youthlinc.  They are delightful, faithful, and enjoyable to all of the children they help and tutor.  Thank you for sending them and YES I can always use more. – Ruth Pratt, Volunteer Supervisor

Sage has been very engaged, and kept in touch about her schedule when it changed so we could make adjustments.  – Sharon Harris, Director of Volunteer Services

Things are going great here with students from Youthlinc! We are especially appreciative of the consistency of all Youthlinc-ers. They come every week reliably and enthusiastically! We have 6 volunteers from Youthlinc, serving across many of our departments—the Inpatient department, Recreational Therapy, Front Desk Greeters, and as Prosthetic and Orthotic assistants. Many of them have expressed that their positions have been very rewarding. We are so grateful for the connection with your organization! We will be sad when these volunteers leave—when it happens, please send more our way! – Torill Contos, Volunteer Coordinator

Jet has been a wonderful volunteer! She just finished volunteering here last week and I really hope she decides to come back one day or apply for a staff position. While she was at Neighborhood House, Jet volunteered in a preschool classroom as an aid and also acted as our Lego League Coach. The Lego League position was particularly challenging but Jet rose to the occasion, learning the curriculum and working with our kids on their projects. The teacher who used to run the Lego League unexpectedly left Neighborhood House for another opportunity and we were scrambling to find someone to fill the position last minute. Our Lego League would not have existed this term without Jet, plain and simple. We are so grateful that she acted as our coach this term!  I have had great experiences with Youthlinc volunteers. They are dedicated young people who I know I can rely on as volunteers. Jet is no exception. – Lena Bain, Community Engagement Coordinator

Playworks Utah is proud to partner with Youthlinc as a provider of local service opportunities.  Youthlinc volunteers are consistently some of the most enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers to walk through our doors, and Maddi Mondragon is no exception.  She works directly with Coach Casey and the students at Midvalley Elementary to promote a safe and inclusive school environment, teach fun and meaningful games to third graders and develop leadership skills in our squad of Junior Coach fourth and fifth graders.  We have had the pleasure of not only seeing the kids that Maddi works with flourish under her tutelage, but also seeing Maddi step up into more leadership roles as she becomes more comfortable with her volunteer role.  Maddi started out as a line helper, reminding students that they should be quiet while transitioning to the next class.  Since then, she has gradually worked her way into more challenging positions and just last week, she led 3rd graders in a game of Kindergarten Kickball.  Many thanks to both Maddi and Youthlinc for helping Playworks make a tremendously positive impact on Utah school culture. – Theresa, Volunteer Supervisor

Mikayla volunteers in the Good Neighbors program as an English tutor to an adult English language learner. She has been a tremendous volunteer and is a real asset to our program. She meets with her student Diana every week and has established a very positive rapport and relationship with her. She has Diana engaged, motivated, and eager to meet consistently every week — and that is not easy to do. Mikayla and Diana are currently working towards getting Diana her driver’s license, so they have started studying for Diana’s written test. They also practice the English that Diana will need to know for the driving test as well. From the very first session, Mikayla has focused her lessons on helping Diana build practical, relevant, and useful skills for her career and everyday life. Diana brings her young daughter Ayesha with her to her tutoring sessions with Mikayla. I am so grateful that Ayesha has the opportunity to know a person like Mikayla, a positive role model and example of a hardworking young lady trying to better her community. Maybe someday Ayesha will grow up and return the favor, helping out another person in need, just as she saw Mikayla do. – Lauren, Volunteer Supervisor