Serve Connecticut believes that engaging youth in opportunities to lead efforts that benefit their communities contributes to their personal well-being and development and positively impacts their academic engagement, civic engagement, professional development and workforce readiness.
For Youth:
Youth in Connecticut have the passion, insights, and ability to make a difference in communities across Connecticut! Every day, through acts of service large and small, Connecticut youth ages 5 to 25 improve the lives of others while learning about their own unique gifts and capacity to create impact through action. Check out these resources to learn more about how you can be involved in service and volunteerism around issues that matter to you!
InnerView is a FREE intuitive mobile tool that allows participating youth to track the hours they spend on service and volunteer experiences and then builds that service data into a digital service resume that youth can use to stand out when applying for jobs, scholarships and post-secondary education!
Whether participating youth are providing service associated with membership on a high school sports team, volunteering at a church food pantry, helping with a neighborhood clean-up, or volunteering virtually for a national or international organization, youth can track, celebrate and share their impact – aligning each activity with United Nations Global Goals.
At this time, Serve Connecticut is not offering Youth Service Training/Development Opportunities for interested youth to attend or participate in. However, we suggest subscribing to our Mailing List and regularly checking back into our website for any updates!
At this time, Serve Connecticut is not offering any Youth Service Funding Opportunities. However, we suggest staying updated for any funding announcements by subscribing to our Mailing List.
Additionally, if you have interest in reviewing any previous Youth Service Funding projects, we suggest heading to our Youth Service Funding Opportunities page and learning about the great service that has been done by youth.
For Community Partners
Connecticut schools, higher education, youth programming providers, municipalities, nonprofit organizations, philanthropic foundations and the business community play key roles in leveraging and improving access to service and volunteer opportunities for youth in our state. From engaging youth in service-learning activities, to recruiting youth voice and action to support community initiatives, to facilitating youth service-to-career workforce development strategies — everyone has a role to play in supporting youth impact and personal/professional development through service. Check out these resources to learn more about how you can open the door to youth engagement in our communities!
At this time, Serve Connecticut is not offering Community Partner Training/Development Opportunities for interested organizations to attend or participate in. However, we suggest subscribing to our Mailing List and regularly checking back into our website for any updates!
Are you seeking additional resources to learn more about Youth Service in Connecticut? Click down below and learn more.
Connecticut Youth Service Impact
InnerView & The Serve Connecticut Community Impact Award
Stay tuned for more information on the 2026 Awardees of the Serve Connecticut Community Impact Award, as well as the 2025-2026 InnerView Impact in Connecticut!
New Era of Youth Service Forum
In February 2026, Serve Connecticut hosted our Serve CT New Era of Youth Service Forum in support of the national Youth Service America (YSA) initiative at Central Connecticut State University. Youth and nonprofit organizations came together, both virtually and in person, to share their experiences and stories related to service. Together, they also collaborated on ideas of how to promote youth service further in the state and across the nation
Youth Service Mini-Grants
In 2024-2025, Serve Connecticut conducted a competitive Youth-Led Service Project Mini-Grant process that netted 151 proposal applications from across the state. Eligible applicants included schools, out-of-school time programs (afterschool or summer), municipalities, agencies and and/or youth-serving organizations. Youth-led groups were welcome to apply with sponsorship of an eligible applicant listed above.
The Commission conducted a scored internal review process of all 151 applications and awarded five grants to youth-led service initiatives for the term of January-September 2025 (detailed below). Each awarded mini-grant recipient was required to designate one adult representative and one youth representative to act together as team as project/initiative leaders and liaisons with Serve Connecticut staff. Underserved, underrepresented and/or disconnected youth should were encouraged to serve in the youth representative role. Youth and adult grant representatives attended a virtual welcome and orientation training with Serve Connecticut staff in February 2025. Ongoing contact between grantees was maintained throughout the service project was maintained by both Serve Connecticut’s Director of Programs and the Marketing Officer.
Youth Service Landscape Report
In 2021, Serve Connecticut received a Charles Stewart Mott Foundation funded youth service planning grant from America’s Service Commissions; the Commission used this funding to engage a consultant to conduct a landscape assessment of Connecticut’s youth service ecosystem as pertains to underserved/underrepresented middle/high school students
Key informant interviews were conducted with K-12, Out of School Time, Higher Education, AmeriCorps, tribal, and other relevant stakeholders. The resulting Serve Connecticut Youth Service-Learning Discovery Project (YSLDP) Report provides insight into the youth service, service-learning, and civic engagement landscape in Connecticut and makes recommendations on actionable items to further assess/deepen understanding of elements of that landscape, enhance youth service provider connectivity and capacity, and improve access/overcome barriers to youth service for participants.