Global Youth Service Day Matching Grant 2015 Application Is Available!

Eurasia FLEX Alumni Global Youth Service Day Matching Grants Program 2015

Annually American Councils for International Education holds the Global Youth Service Day FLEX Alumni Matching Grants Initiative, which is funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the United States Department of State. 

Groups of alumni of the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) Program are invited to apply for matching funds in the amount of up to $500 to implement local community service projects as part of the Global Youth Service Day Initiative weekend: April 17-19, 2015. 

Matching Grant - By offering a matching grant, ECA will leverage additional funds for GYSD.  In order to receive this grant, alumni must conduct local fundraising efforts to secure contributions from other donors.  Those funds must be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis. For example if you have 298$ worth of cost share/in-kind contribution from other donor you can request maximum 298$ for your project from us, but if you get more than 500$ in cost share from other donors, you cannot request more than 500$ from us.

Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) is an annual international event that:

·         Mobilizes youth and adults to identify and address the needs of their communities through service;

·         Recruits the next generation of volunteers;

·         Educates the public about the role of young people as community leaders by highlighting the contributions they make to their communities year-round.

To learn more about Global Youth Service Day, go to http://www.gysd.org.  or http://flexgysd.blogspot.com/

Eligibility: in order to participate in this program, alumni must

·         Be successful participants of the FLEX program;

·         Be in compliance with the two-year home residency requirement following the program;

·         Update their information in the alumni database, which may be done at any American Councils office or electronically;

GYSD Timeline:

·         Applications Available – November 1, 2014

·         Applications Due – February 15, 2015

·         Notification – March 15, 2015

·         Funds Transferred – Early April 2015

·         Reports Submitted May 31, 2015. 

The application deadline is Sunday February 15, 2015 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
For more information contact the FLEX Alumni Coordinator in your country/ region or email flexalumni@americancouncils.org. Proposals may be funded in part.  American Councils may request that applicants modify their budgets in order to accommodate partial funding.

Please note that these grants are not intended to fund purchases of computer equipment, Internet access, any salaries, and political activities working for or against any specific candidates.

Global Youth Service Day Matching Grant Application is available at: ais.americancouncils.org/flexalumni

Garden for Everybody

Denys Andrushchenko ’12 (Cherkasy, Ukraine)

Event Location: Klaipeda, Lithuania

$486 FLEX Alumni GYSD Grant Funding

$ 1250 cost share from LCC International University

The Garden for Everybody project was initiated by FLEX alumus Denys Andrushchenko ‘12 as part of GYSD 2014 celebration in Klaipeda, Lithuania, where Denys is currently enrolled at the LCC International University.  The alumnus’s goal was to create a sustainable garden at the university and promote local gardening among students. On April 11, the 24 student and local community volunteers constructed the garden boxes near the university dormitories, filtering the dirt from rocks, building big wooden boxes, filling the boxes with soil, and fencing in the area to protect against animals.  

The project also included an information campaign for the university students to teach them about recycling options and facilities and how to compost.  The composting facilities on campus will be used to fertilize the gardens.  Students and faculty on campus became more aware of efficient use of resources and healthy lifestyle. A time capsule with inspirational wishes for future generations was hidden by volunteers under the ground in the garden.

You can read more about the project here

Eco Kayak, Coastal Cleanup and Dolphin Watch

Svitlana Buko ’97 (Sevastopol, Ukraine)

Event Location: Sevastopol, Ukraine

FLEX GYSD Grant Funding: 500$

Cost Share: 724$

With coastal areas facing the double threat of climate change and environmental degradation, FLEX Alumna Svitlana Buko ’97 organized a project to promote ecological awareness among the coastal population of Crimea. The project also aimed to reconnect ecology researchers, kayakers, volunteers, and the general population.

The 37 participants, of which 7 were FLEX alumni, watched dolphins from a boat, cleaned up the beach - collecting 11 bags of thrash, studied how to kayak, and hiked up the mountain to watch dolphins. They also took part in two workshops on ecotourism and dolphin protection. The event took place on April 12, in Sevastopol, Crimea. Participants included representatives from local nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, marine research institutions, water sport organizations and business.

FLEX alumna Tetyana Timofeenko from Simferopol says: “During the project, I learned a lot about dolphins and their habits and lifestyles. It was very useful to learn about how to help a dolphin in a critical situation. The lecture was very interesting with great information about Crimean beaches, and the ways in which they are preserved. The most exciting part of the project was being excited about whether we would see dolphins and actually getting to see them, so close and so many!”
Check out the video of the event!
For more information, check out the website that Svitlana has made for this project.

Dolphins noticed during the project

Sevastopol, Ukraine - Balaklava

A look back to Svitlana's  last year GYSD project 

Practice CACTUS 2014

Anna Solohor ’12 (Cherkasy, Ukraine)

Event Locations: Kharkiv and Bila Tserkva, Ukraine

$ 422 in FLEX Alumni GYSD Grant Funding

$ 3538 cost share from partners

Anna Solohor ‘12, held a Community ACTion Ukrainian Style (CACTUS) Practice project for GYSD 2014.  CACTUS is a time-honored project with the goal of teaching Ukrainian youth the fundamentals of volunteerism, civic activism, and community service on the local level, culminating in the development of participants' own community service projects.

Anna’s project was was in Kharkiv and Bila Tserkva, Ukraine and included 78 participants and 24 volunteer leaders and trainers.  Practice CACTUS projects also took place in two other locations in Ukraine, involving 70 Ukrainian youth.  The project met a milestone with this GYSD project  because it was led fully by Ukrainian volunteers!

Project organizers would like to thank CACTUS organizers and local public schools for their efforts and contribution.

Friends of Help and Travel CRIMEA clean up

Evelina Ibrayimova’11 (Yalta, Ukraine)

After the clean up of Alupka Park

Event Location: Alupka

FLEX GYSD Grant Funding: 103$

Cost Share: 404$

Summary: FLEX alumna Evelina Ibrayimova ’11 organized a project dedicated to environment protection, volunteering, and community service. The first part of the project was a clean up of Alupka city park in Crimea where, volunteers collected 20 bags of trash. After the clean up, volunteers had discussion about the importance of volunteering and everyone shared their experiences and volunteering ideas. Later the team of volunteers visited the Vorontsov Palace, a masterpiece of Crimean architecture. The palace administration organized an interesting lecture about characteristics and history of the Voronstov Palace and showed it to the team from the inside.

Volunteers at Vorontsov Palace, Alupka, Ukraine

The project involved 25 volunteers including five FLEX Alumni. Volunteers not only contributed to the cleaner environment, but also expanded their knowledge of Crimean history and culture. As Evelina says: “By combining hard work, friendly discussion and cultural activity we demonstrated that being responsible for our land can be fun!”

GYSD 2014 and Dolphin watch project by Svitlana Buko

Hi everyone!

We had quite a busy month with FLEX GYSD matching grants, and that is why it's been a long time since I've shared something about GYSD 2014 with you. Right now I am very excited to announce that this year we have 16 FLEX GYSD matching grant winners from Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine! Kyrgyzstan is leading in the number of granted projects this year again - FLEX alumni over there are doing 6 projects. Way to go, guys!

The projects they are working on are amazing and very exciting! Starting from today I will tell you more about them and will keep you updated on how the projects are going.

Today I want to share with you the project from Svitlana Buko, FLEX'96 alumna from Ukraine. It's already her second GYSD project (you can read about her last year's amazing beach clean-up in Sevastopol here and here). This year she is organizing "Dolphin Watch and Eco Kayaking" project. Here is what she says about it: 

"Project aims to change perceptions of people who live on the coast of the Black sea, improve their understanding of Nature, share unique aspects of local life by meeting Dolphins. The key goal of the project is to help NGOs, Educational institutions, Research Institutions focus on Black Sea research, Sea Sport Associations and businesses to get together, share experiences, promote eco awareness, build appreciation of living on the coast and caring about the coast via Dolphin watch, clean beaches and contribute to better, cleaner, more aware of coastal ecology Crimea.

Last year before beach clean up with GYSD2013 grant Clean Beach my lead team and I made an assessment trip to the beach, checked out location after winter and estimated trash.

This year the project is even more complex and detailed preparation is essential. Volunteers will be taken for a practical coastal assessment trip to Inshir national reserve. This area is abundant with flora, fauna and rich cultural history. I plan to divide the team into 3 parts: 1 kayak group, 1 boat group and 1 hiker group. All members will have opportunities to witness Black sea dolphins, will do beach cleanup and will take part in 3 beach workshops on ecotourism, marine debris impact on the nature and dolphin watch. 

Assessment trip (hike) to the beach was conducted by the lead team of the project 3 weeks before the start of the project. We checked the beach terrain in order to evaluate trash volumes, estimate time and complexity of the hike. Onsite evaluation of the landscape also helped prepare for plan B (in case of unpredictable weather conditions such as wind, storm, rain)."

The project has only begun, but it does sound so amazing! Thank you, Svitlana for an amazing update and all the hard work that you are doing! We are really looking forward for GYSD weekend to hear more about your project! Also, check out the video about Svitlana's last year project:

If any of you (not even FLEX GYSD matching grant winners!!!) want to share any updates about your project or you want to announce your project so everyone could see it, please, email me, and I would love to do a post about it!

Clean-Up in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine

Another ecological GYSD event in Ukraine took place in Ivano-Frankivsk on May 1. The project "Let's Make Our River Clean" was organized by FLEX alumna Iuliia Murava.

The aim of the project was to clean the river Bystrytsia Solotvynskia. It is a very very beautiful place, and a lot of people spend a lot of time in spring and summer there. Unfortunately, nobody cleaned it in fall, and that’s why all the garbage was still there, and the area was very dirty.

7 FLEX alumni participated in this event along with 12 active members of the student union who have joined in. The volunteers have cleaned the right side of the river. There was so much garbage there, that the volunteers had to take it with one of the alumni’s car away in 2 rides. 

One of the evident positive effects of the project is that the idea of it has started a lot of other cleaning projects in Ivano-Frankivsk getting planned.

We hope that every year GYSD will attract more and more attention to the ecological issues around us. The alumni from Ukraine have showed they really care about the environment and nature, and we appreciate this a lot! Thank you!


More GYSD stories are coming soon! ;) Stay in touch!

Beach Clean-Up in Sevastopol, Ukraine

We have already written about Svitlana Buko from Ukraine and clean-up project at the Crimean coast. It turned out very successful, and now we are ready to tell you all the details about it with the help of Svitlana's report:

"On April 27 GYSD Crimean coastal up project  “Clean Beach” brought together 55 Volunteers  (8 FLEX alumni, 47 locals) to clean Fiolent National Park Beach “Small Light House”. Coastal clean-up was a great success – after several hours of work volunteers collected over 300 bags of trash!  Every piece of trash that is picked up during the Fiolent Coastal Cleanup should be a challenge for change!  

Core management team consisted of 3 volunteers – Svitlana Buko (FLEX Alumna), Ekaterina Pimenova (EcoFrest Project manager) and Elena Tsibizova (ecologist).  One month prior to the event  Managers  contacted local universities, local ecological NGOs, local office of State Administration of Protection of Natural Resources,  raised public awareness by participating in the local SevStarFM radio show and posted information in key social networks and local forums.

National park Fiolent is one of the most beautiful places in Crimea - beaches are down by the

steep cliffs with stunning vast views over the Black Sea. Beaches are hard to access due to steep cliffs and steep slopes in the landscape – these places are not usually cleaned up and are full of man-made debris due to the fact that it is a popular “wild camping sites.”  The natural beauty of the Fiolent area is the foundation of our community. It brings thousands of visitors to our coasts. It is essential to raise environmental awareness of locals, visitors, and businesses to protect our beautiful beaches.

Locals showed an impressive level of eco-awareness and responsibility. 55 volunteers registered at the social network registration page. Pre-registration was encouraged, but not mandatory. Statistics show different cities of participants: Sevastopol, Simferopol, Yalta and Moscow!  The main objective was to clean the beaches and the volunteers did just that, bringing bag after bag to the drop off points strategically marked at the top of the cliffs.  All the trash was divided into glass (green bags), plastic (blue bags), trash (black bags) – for separate trash recycling.  

"We just want to help make the Coast more beautiful," said  Katya Reznikova - one of the ladies who brought her little children with her to show them how coastal clean up is organized.  Another volunteer Valeria Zolotareva shared  "It's a great place to come with the family and have fun, so why not come down here and help keep it beautiful?"

"Trash is one of the biggest threats to the health of our sea and waterways," said Ekaterina Pimenova, local lead and eco manager of Sevastopol Ecofest. "It's here to stay unless we change our practices."  In order to raise more awareness about practices “awareness” signs were designed and produced by local business AudioMasterskaya and 3 signs were places strategically at 2 entrances to the beaches and at the bottom of the cliff, asking people to take trash back with them.

All the people  worked hard! It was a beautiful day to be a good steward of our Fiolent Coast beaches! Many volunteers banded together  and confirmed their willingness and interest to keep beaches beautiful during fall stewardship (using this project as a sample demonstration activity for future replication). The great turnout of locals and the support with trash disposal for separate trash recycling we have received from the local business Slovyanskaya Gavan’  sends a clear message:  Crimean people do care about their coastal environment.  Coastal Cleanup Day is what community impact and eco awareness is all about. Thank you to all of you who made a difference for our blue planet!

Special thanks to FLEX GYSD grant for supporting this project and brining Crimea FLEX alumni to support locals with coastal clean up! This was a tangible way to make a difference at the local level and still be a part of the World’s biggest  Global Youth Service Day!"

We thank you Svitlana for your hard work at raising eco-awareness and contribution to the Global Youth Service Day! Hope to see you at next GYSD as well! ;)

Keep in touch with our blog to read other encouraging stories! Who knows, maybe you will find the one that will become your inspiration for your first or next GYSD project! :)