Please accept this nomination for the Smart Sprouts program as a candidate for a National Service Impact Award. Since March 2011, the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) has partnered with the Regional Office of Education to create and implement an intergenerational mentoring program at the YWCA. As the sponsor of the Smart Sprouts program, the YWCA of McLean County has served our community for over 100 years and acts to eliminate racism, empower women, and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. Our organization has been dedicated to assisting women, children, seniors and families through a variety of programs including: child care, home-care services, Medivan transportation, Wheels to Work transportation, RSVP and sexual assault survivor counseling services.

As one of the YWCA’s cornerstone programs, Smart Sprouts provides a fun and flexible way to make a difference in the life of a child. The volunteer mentors, known as “Buds,” are currently partnered with students K-5 (“sprouts”) in District 87 to assist with intellectual competence and essential life skills through the value and worth of reading. Volunteer mentors typically spend 2-4 hours per week interacting with low-income children enrolled in local after-school programs at 18 locations throughout McLean County.

Schools in McLean County have been affected by our nation’s current economic situation and benefit whole-heartedly from after-school programs where students receive the additional attention they need that is not currently being met during the school day. Since the inception of Smart Sprouts, well over 200 students each academic year have been served by Smart Sprouts mentors, totaling well over 1500 hours of volunteer service for this program. The growth and success of our program has become increasingly evident and more and more mentors have joined our volunteer force to actively encourage the joys of reading for pleasure.

Please accept our nomination for a National Service Impact Award.