The Ray

Learn and Serve Tampa has been my passion project since 2020. I made a commitment to my Board of Directors that I could make our work sustainable within five years. We have done great work, engaging over 10,000 Tampa area youth in service and service-learning projects. We have developed strong partnerships with over 30 area schools in Hillsborough and Pasco, supporting teachers and students as they plan their service. Through these partnerships and the relationships we have built with various nonprofits, we have cleaned or refurbished many dozens of acres of public land with Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful and Tampa Parks and Recreation Department, sent hundreds of care packages to service members through Support Our Troops, started two weekend snack bag programs with Thomas's Promises, protected gopher turtle habitats and removed invasive species in Hillsborough County Nature Preserves, beautified many school campuses, raised thousands through youth creative expression for Students Rebuild, packed emergency meal kits three years in a row with 911Day.org, sorted food at Feeding Tampa Bay, honored veterans and Gold Star Families, organized recycling programs, planned clothing drives, and more.

There are no regrets as I did what I set out to do: Engage youth in service-learning and support teachers who give youth space to serve. Over time, my focus narrowed to middle school projects because there is a gap in these critically important developmental years. I will continue working to integrate service-learning into the culture of middle schools through research and relationship building, and I will continue to advocate for public education.

While I have not yet figured out what I want to be when I grow up, my ikigai will lead me to another career related to teaching and learning. I am sure of it. If you would like to keep in contact, please email me at learnandservetampa@gmail.com. Our current domain supporting kverdi@learnandservetampa.org expires on June 30, 2026. You also should have my personal cell number as it is the only number I have ever used.

The month is only half over! Global Youth Service Month ends on Sunday, May 10th. Still looking for something to do? Consider the #UniqueandUnited Challenge by Students Rebuild and the Creative Visions Foundation. It is a simple way for youth to "do" philanthropy with other people's money! But first, have students learn about Dan Eldon, the inspiration for Creative Visions. The Learn and Serve Tampa team need about 200 more student participants to meet our goal of 1000 student participants raising over $5000. We can provide supplies! The challenge ends of June 6, 2026

Visit StudentsRebuild.org and register your class, club, or entire school for next year's challenge!

Realize The Dream continues on their mission to collect youth service hours to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for his 100th birthday on January 15, 2029! The goal is 100,000,000 hours of youth service This program is YEAR ROUND. You can submit your hours whenever you prefer, but please submit! Just login and create your account.

Learn more about application-based youth service teams, councils, and programs! Follow the link to learn when applications open, requirements, due dates, and any applicable fees (don't let that stop you!). Visit our Youth Resources page.

On May, 11 2026, 9/11 will be FOUR months away! It is time to start planning for the 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance. This year marks 25 since that fateful day. If you have an idea and need supplies, please reach out prior to Jun 15, 2026.

Civic engagement is a way to improve the quality of life in a community through political and nonpolitical actions. As a young person, you can volunteer, join a service or civic group, raise funds for a cause, or possibly work on community designs. Civic engagement is vital to our democracy. If you are not yet old enough to vote, you might be 18 within 2 to 4 or 8 years, so being civically engaged at the local, state, and national levels is very important now. One action you can take is to write letters to advocate for your beliefs or values. To learn to whom you need to write, you can sign up with Ballotapia.org. You will have to provide your address and an email. Or you can search each level individually. Here is a federal search site. All elected officials provide several methods of contact. William James said it best: “Democracy is still upon its trial. The civic genius of the people is its only bulwark.”