VGCC Students Collect Food for National Youth Service Day

In honor of National Youth Service Day, young people enrolled in the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) program at Vance-Granville Community College recently collected food for an area food bank. They set up collection sites at Northern Vance High School, Southern Vance High School, and VGCC’s Main Campus, Franklin County Campus and South Campus. Melissa Ayscue, a WIA Youth Case Manager at VGCC, supervised the project. As a result of the food drive, approximately 75 pounds of food were donated to Area Christians Together in Service (ACTS), which is located on South Chestnut Street in Henderson. ACTS has operated a soup kitchen since 1983, serving meals to the hungry of Vance County.

Since 1988, National Youth Service Day has been observed during the month of April. As the largest service event in the world, it mobilizes millions of young people to address the needs of their communities, and educates the public, the media, and policymakers about the year-round contributions of young people as community leaders.

The WIA program is named for the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, federal legislation that provides training and employment opportunities for eligible adults to either enter, re-enter or remain in the labor force. One WIA program, Global Youth, is designed to serve in-school youth ages 16-18 and out-of-school youth ages 18-21 years old in preparing to enter the workforce through work experience, occupational skills training and an introduction to career opportunities.

Above: From left, Vance-Granville Community College WIA Youth Case Manager Melissa Ayscue and student Cherrell Dunston of Henderson prepare to load up the food collected during the recent WIA food drive, which would be delivered to Area Christians Together in Service (ACTS) in Henderson.(VGCC photo)