By Ryvann Soerohardjo,YES 2014-2015, Suriname, hosted by ASSE in Williamsville, NY

During my YES exchange year in the U.S., volunteering and organizing great projects really caught my attention. In the U.S., I was able to do fun volunteer work with the Ocean Conservancy, the Special Olympics and the Shriners. Since then, projects I've organized were inspired by these great organizations. My ultimate goal is to have a great impact on my entire community with no one and nothing left behind. That includes all people, animals, and nature in my community. That's why one of my first projects was getting alumni together to volunteer at an animal shelter for one whole week. 

I also focused on nature. In celebration of Global Youth Service Day I gathered alumni together to walk around town with a purpose! We picked up litter to show others that we should take pride in keeping our environment clean. I also organized other projects such as the celebration of Valentine's Day at an elderly home, the Women Power Project, Breast Cancer Awareness Day, and projects that focused on feeding the homeless and spreading Christmas spirit among children in need. I've also implemented fruit and clothing drives.  

In the U.S. I learned a lot about leadership. A leader is someone who is able to get people together and work with them to achieve a goal. That is why I gather, not only alumni, but also friends and other people in the community to make our projects magical! Now, there are not only YES Alumni, but also YES friends. These are people who join the YES alumni and help us out with our projects. The help they contribute to these projects are demonstrated in many different forms. Some volunteer and others show support through donations. 

As a YES alumnus, I've collaborated with my fellow YES alumni and friends on several projects. In 2016, we received donations of gifts for children in need and distributed these donations to 136 children from four different elementary schools. In the following year, another member of the alumni community and I organized the "Spreading Christmas at Laarwijk" project. This project was fully funded by donations. Approximately a month before this date, we posted a flyer about the project on social media and the response was amazing. We received a lot of donations such as clothing, beverages, and food packages. Thanks to the donors we were able to make everyone at the plantation in Laarwijk happy! While other YES friends walked around the plantation distributing food packages and clothing to people who needed it the most, we talked about the history of Christmas, sang Christmas songs and did fun handcrafting activities with the children at the plantation. We really appreciated the warm welcome and gratitude!

In celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Day, I joined our team of YES alumni and friends to inform children, ages 12-16, in our community about breast cancer because we believed this is a topic we do not talk about often in our community. Getting informed is the first step to help prevent cancer. We chose this age in particular because this is the age where teenagers communicate with each other and spread information. They are also the future of this community. Thanks to the Pink Ribbon organization, a breast cancer survivor was able to attend the information session to share her inspiring story. 

Other projects I participated in included the Women Power Project where we promoted the abilities, strengths, and rights of women and a Valentine's Day celebration with residents at an elderly home where we enjoyed lunch and fun conversations with the residents at the home. 

In February 2018 another alumnus and I are planning to deliver care packages to elders who need it the most in our community. We already started gathering donations and this project is going great so far! One of my ultimate goals is to set up my own organization that will focus on volunteering. Through this organization I want to show others the importance of volunteering and making our community a better place. 

Congratulations on all of you accomplishments, Ryvann!