June 24, 2008—Toledo, Ohio—The Toledo Youth Elect Service Project (YES) will begin tomorrow, Wednesday, June 25, and run through Saturday, June 28. YES is a local Catholic non-profit organization that seeks to improve living conditions and increase safety through interior and exterior repairs and upgrades for private citizens as well as other non-profit organizations.

The YES Project is primarily targeted at area youth. “We try to accept as many high school students as we can,” says Jennifer Bine, Director of YES Project 2008. “This year we have 139 youth and 70 adult volunteers,” she says.

Volunteers will meet Wednesday evening at Little Flower Parish to socialize and receive information about the projects they will be completing over the next few days. Thursday through Saturday, teams of volunteers will work at various sites in the area, which range from privately owned homes to organizations such as Helping Hands, Michalas Manor and the Padua Outreach Center In all, there are 12 sites where crews will work.

“We don’t just help senior citizens. We help any person or non-profit organization that could use our assistance,” says Bine.

While helping others, volunteers also gain something from the experience. Bine explains, “The youth learn how much of a difference they can make in someone’s life and how much they take for granted in their own. They are shocked at the living conditions people allow themselves to live in, simply because they don’t know how to care for themselves.”

In the evenings, YES volunteers will have a chance to relax. Thursday night there will be a reconciliation service, Friday a cookout, and Saturday concludes the service project with a closing Mass and slideshow.

Although YES only became an official non-profit organization last year, they have been active in the Toledo area for almost 30 years.  The organization has sustained itself through several youth ministers in the diocese who continue to volunteer for the group.