Shaye DiPasquale HOWELL — It is the season of beaches and relaxation for much of the nation’s youth, but for Shaye Lynn DiPasquale, changing the world never needs a break.
In a pool of hundreds of candidates around the globe, Shaye, a 17-year-old Howell resident, was bestowed the “Everyday Young Heroes” award from Youth Service America (YSA) in recognition of her endeavors to foster better education standards for local foster homes, women’s shelters and underprivileged schools.
“My goal through my women’s empowerment projects has always been to help inspire and train fellow young leaders. I think that really spoke to the mission of Youth Service America,” Shaye said.
YSA is a global organization that provides grants, volunteer resources and recognition for young people who want to make a difference in the world.
The organization spotlights one young male or female between the ages of 5 and 25 who exemplifies selfless volunteer service motivated solely by personal initiative for its weekly “Everyday Young Heroes” award.
“This is our opportunity to shine the light on those who do not receive funds through (YSA). They have their own initiative to serve the community,” YSA’s senior manager of communications Michael Coursey said. “We look for authenticity and originality, really focusing on why people volunteer at such a young age more than just who.”
The winner receives a congratulatory letter, a certificate of recognition and is featured on the YSA newsletter and social media that are accessible to more than 100,000 members of the organization.
This past year, Shaye was a member of state Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande’s Young Women’s Leadership Institute where she volunteered with the “Birthday Book Club” to collect and donate books to an elementary school in Asbury Park.
“The process of collecting and wrapping the books for students really opened my eyes to how blessed I was to grow up in a house full of stories and fairytales,” Shaye said. “Not every child gets the privilege of being exposed to the wealth of knowledge and imagination that books hold.”
Shaye, who is an advocate for education and the empowerment of young women, was inspired to launch book drives in her own community, including her high school in Freehold Township, where she was attending the Contemporary Global Issues program.
“I relied upon my volunteers in the United Nations Girl Up chapter I founded at my high school to help me carry out these drives both in our school and in the community,” she said.
According to Shaye, Girl Up is a youthled campaign to raise funds for underprivileged girls around the world. She worked for the organization for two years.
After the collection, Shaye reached out to local organizations; two domestic violence shelters; Dottie’s House; 180 Turning Lives Around; the Freehold chapter of the American Association of University Women; and the summer book collection for Asbury Park schools.
She said more than 600 books have been distributed among these organizations during the past few months. She plans to distribute more books throughout the summer.
Shaye said a friend forwarded a link to the “Everyday Young Heroes” award application and urged her to apply. After her story was publicized, Shaye received a number of responses.
“I was really touched when another Girl Up chapter told me I inspired them to start a book drive,” she said. “This chain reaction of good deeds and community involvement was the exact type of reaction I hoped to receive by sharing my story.”
“This award is one of the most inspiring parts (of the organization). We want to inspire people to join the movement and show these young volunteers their ideas are great, their creativity matters and they really are changing the world,” Coursey said.
In September, Shaye will be attending Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania to study communications. She plans to create a Girl Up campus chapter and a Pennsylvania coalition for existing chapters in the area. Additionally, she wants to create a teen leadership network in New Jersey where teens can collaborate and share their skills and passions.
“The biggest issue I see is that youths don’t feel they have a voice or worthy opinion, but that is a huge misconception. As youths, we often have more time and energy to support a cause we are passionate about. A sense of involvement will help to develop critical leadership skills for the future,” she said. “It is important to always keep dreaming – to keep thinking up great ideas and to use your networks and support systems to bring those ideas to life.”