YVC Day 2016: Smiles Across North America
All over North America, Youth Volunteers brightened their communities on Saturday for the first annual Youth Volunteer Corps Day. Our theme for the very first YVC Day was Project Happiness, where we encouraged youth to perform random acts of kindness to spread cheer around their communities.
Here’s what just a few of our inspiring Youth Volunteers were up to:
YVC of St. Joseph, MO, took advantage of their city’s First Saturdays festival to hold a traveling photo booth to bring smiles throughout their downtown area.
Hi 5 of love #YVCday #yvcphilly
YVC of Philadelphia set out on a mission to spread smiles throughout their city, including tossing a “football of love” to passersby and high-fiving those they passed. 
YVC of Omaha set up a booth at a local mall for customers to paint rocks with happy messages. They then scattered these rocks around the area for others to find as a happy surprise. 
YVC of Kansas City held signs spelling “BE HAPPY” near a busy intersection to bring some smiles in an unexpected location. 
YVC of Western Connecticut made bookmarks with positive messages on them and then distributed them at their local library. 
YVC of Calgary set out to change the name of a major street in their city, from Stephen Avenue to Happiness Avenue. Some 50 Youth Volunteers spread out along the street with all kinds of signs ranging from “Just smile!” and “Have a great day!” to “You’re cooler than pirates and ninjas combined!” One Calgary Youth Volunteer tweeted the following after his YVC Day experience, and we thought it was the perfect way to sum up the day:
When people started smiling and honking, I felt more happiness than them #gethappyproject #YVCday @YouthCentralYYC pic.twitter.com/knTl3Kv3FK — Tommy Le (@TommyLe__) March 6, 2016
Thanks to everyone who helped make our first YVC Day unforgettable! Save the date for next year’s YVC Day on March 4, 2017!