For me, Fresh Youth Initiatives is not just an afterschool program or summer day camp program, but it has become like a home for me. Here, community service is a priority, from painting a mural to creating over a hundred sleeping bags to give out to the homeless. I’ve enjoyed working in New York City’s only youth run food pantry, the Helping Hands Food Bank where we provide bags of canned and dry goods to clients around the Washington Heights/Inwood area. To know I have changed a person’s life or the life of a community makes me realize that a little change makes a big difference. Community service is important in this organization, but the meaning of family, friends, fun and respect is just as vital. Children, young adults, and adults alike learn the impact of working as a team, becoming friends and discover that to get respect, you must give it. As well as learning values, participants learn how to act and grow in the work place. I myself have gotten a chance to grow from just a participant to a significant part of the organization. FYI integrates the entire community as a part of the business and in the process creates a safe environment for its children. I am glad to have found FYI because it has helped me grow in many ways