Earth Savers Club

After conquering the St. Louis volunteer scene, 20-year-old Simone Bernstein and her 18-year-old brother Jake, are going national. Launching their website www.volunteennation.org on March 6, the siblings will work to get more than 72 million youth across the nation actively engaged in their communities. Media can view the site here prior to its official launch.

“Volunteen Nation will help promote organizations throughout the nation that have programs for youth. Kids want to get engaged in the community, and organizations need to understand the benefits of youth volunteers,” said Simone. “Youth volunteers have the time, the energy, the dedication and the motivation to volunteer in the community. Our hope is to have all organizations and corporate America realize the importance and value of establishing and marketing youth volunteer programs.”

Jake and Simone created St. Louis Volunteen.com in July 2009 when they were frustrated with the lack of information and resources available for students under age 18 who wanted to get involved in the community. Having seen an outstanding amount of support from friends and neighbors when their father was deployed with the United States Navy, Simone and Jake wanted to give back and make a difference in any way possible.

Since there was no local resource specifically geared towards youth and family volunteerism, they created St.Louis Volunteen.com to fulfill that basic need and provide a one-stop searchsite to promote youth volunteerism.

In addition to the website, Simone and Jake actively plan large-scale service projects to engage youth throughout the nation. They were recently recognized by President Obama in his 2011 National Education Speech, featured in Family Circle and Runner’s World, and commended by various corporations, including NASCAR, L’Oreal Paris and Energizer.

They are active on social media, using their Twitter handle @stlvolunteen and Facebook page (Search for the St. Louis Volunteen page) to promote community events and volunteer opportunities.

“We are generation on, ready to take action,and dive into solving problems in the community,” said Jake. “We have duties as citizens in the world. Some of them start before18-years-old. One of them is volunteering. Anyone can volunteer at any age. Everyone can make a difference.”

A Challenge to America

Volunteen Nation wants America's teens to give back to the community. To do this, Volunteen Nation is challenging every organization and corporate America to add a volunteer opportunity for teens to the site within the first 100 days.