Roots & Shoots, a service-learning program of the Jane Goodall Institute, is excited to announce our 2010 round of $100 - $500 grants to support youth-led service projects in California!

Mini-Grants will support Roots & Shoots youth groups, pre-K through college age, in planning and implementing service projects. Projects should focus on helping animals, the environment, or the human community, and Roots & Shoots California and the California Youth Leadership Council (CAYLC) encourage addressing an issue that the group is passionate about while also addressing a community need.

Youth groups eligible for a Roots & Shoots California mini-grant must represent an underserved community: ethnic or racial diversity, immigrant population, youth with disabilities and/or low-income youth. Applicants must also be either a Roots & Shoots group in good standing, with up-to-date membership enrollment and project reporting, or a group that is willing to become a Roots & Shoots group upon winning the mini-grant. Check out the 2010 mini-grant application for more information.

See what some of last year’s mini-grant project participants had to say:

 “[Young people] listen when someone their age is passionate over what they’re preaching. That is very inspiring to me.”  –Hang N.

“We are very proud to be teens that have impacted our planet in a meaningful way. People think that we don’t do anything but look, we are changing the world.” – Maria V.

Mini-grant proposals are due by December 15, 2009, for service projects that should be completed from January 26-June 1, 2010. The application process is simple and straightforward, so get started today!