ABOUT
Learn and Serve Tampa, Inc., a 501 (3)(c) not-for-profit organization, has been focused on bringing service-learning opportunities to Tampa Bay area K-12 students schools since 2020. Our strategy has shifted to teaching young adolescents how to be service leaders. Our goals are:
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Elevate youth service engagement opportunities for the three National Days of Service.
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Become a network leader for empowering Tampa Bay area K-12 youth as service leaders.
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Provide easy access to resources and tools for K-12 service-learning projects, community service project planning, and leadership training via a website with specific access points for educators, youth, parents, and the community (nonprofits, civic groups, businesses)
OUR STORY
Learn and Serve Tampa, Inc. represents a teacher-driven initiative to make service-learning projects a reality for local K-12 students. Kristy Verdi, founder and CEO of this not-for-profit, has been using service-learning as an instructional strategy in her social studies classrooms since 1999 and taught a middle school service-learning course for 8 years based on a curriculum of her design. Her experiences have revealed the need for a support system for teachers who wish to use service-learning in their classrooms. By connecting classrooms to causes and the community that wants to support them, we can bring life to lessons and see the real purpose of learning.
In 2020, after the COVID-19 shutdown, the idea to start a nonprofit became a reality. By August 2021, Learn and Serve Tampa Inc received our IRS Determination Letter
Learn and Serve Tampa Inc is in compliance with the Department of Agriculture and is allowed to Solicit for Donations. We have successfully applied for project-specific grant funding through Youth Service America (YSA), Whole Foods Foundation, Roots and Shoots Foundation, and Education+.
What's with the ray?
A long, long time ago, in a middle school way out in Lithia, Florida, a teacher asked a principal if she could start a service-learning club. The club blossomed into a 6th grade elective "on the wheel" called Think, Learn, and Serve. A few enthusiastic "graduates" wanted to keep doing service-learning and came up with an idea. Over the summer, the students and the teacher met and came up with the name Randall Area Youth Service Council (R.A.Y.S.). As human brains will differ, some of us had the rays of the summer sun in mind. Others had a stingray in mind. The students took a vote. And, now you know.
The elective expanded to include a 7th and 8th grade service-learning leadership course that trained students to scout out community needs and plan service projects to help address those needs. From 2010 until 2018, the R.A.Y.S. program involved student leaders in planning and doing many quality service-learning projects. Many of those students are still engaged in service and are leaders in their places of business, college or high school campuses, and neighborhoods and communities. That blue ray reminds this teacher of what kids can do!
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Sandra Hinckley
Board Chairperson
Russ Verdi
Vice Chairperson
Annette Keys
Secretary/Treasurer
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dr. Kristy Verdi
Founder & Executive Director
Dr. Verdi has been an educator for 29 years and a service-learning leader for over 20. Click here to learn more about Dr. Verdi
Our Core Values
Student-centered education: Education is a process that needs to be entirely student-centered.
Youth Empowerment: Youth should be empowered to take action on issues that impact the world they are inheriting.
Democratic Thought: Not just what it is, but how you do it. The important role of self-discipline, respect for the rights and beliefs of others, and the process of teamwork and collaboration.
Equity and Equality Matter: An intentional focus on supporting all human beings, meeting each child where they are in their journey.
Healthy Planet, Healthy People: All institutions must adopt and lean into social and environmental sustainability goals.
Service for the Common Good is a Civic Responsibility: Service to others is expected of all. It is not a set of hours to complete. It is a moral imperative to sustaining human civilization. It is a key component to winning in life.
