AYS In The News

Globally Engaged in Service
Today in Dixie, St. George, UT
December 17, 2009
It's been 10 years since Glenn and Elisabeth Bingham, of St. George, planted a seed that has grown continents beyond imagination. In 1999, Elisabeth (recently named to the Dixie State College Board of Trustees) began searching for a service expedition for her teenage children. >>Read More

Teen Takes Service To Peru
The Evening Sun, Hartford Penn
September 14, 2009
"Hugh and Abigail Hodson want each of their four children to embark on a trip before graduating high school. But these trips aren't the normal sightseeing vacations. Nicholas Hodson, 17, a New Oxford senior, and his father, Hugh, spent 16 days this July doing manual labor in Peru with the Alliance for Youth Services, a group based out of Utah." >>Read More 

Ridge Youth Embarks on Fiji Mission Adventure
Paradise Post.com
May 1, 2008
"A Paradise High School junior is headed to Fiji this summer, but not for recreational purposes. Nicole Brown wanted to see more of the world and help people while she was at it, so she decided to sign up for a mission trip with the Alliance for Youth Service program."  >>Read More

Giving of Themselves
Las Vegas Sun
July 19, 2003
"To take her first trip out of the United States, 20-year-old Melinda Robison worked three jobs and saved her money for year and a half, while taking 18 credits at UNLV and maintaining her B+ average."  >>Read More

Trio Visits Peruvian Town To Help With Building Project
Las Vegas Review-Journal
September 16, 2003
"For more than two weeks last month, Katie Neilson, 17, her mother, Sheri Neilson, 50, and Sara Luce, 18, traveled to Peru as volunteers to help fill in trenches and perform other tasks, so the small village of Salcantay can have its first public restroom."  >>Read More

Teens Build House, Friendships in New Zealand
Las Vegas Sun
August 25, 2003
"When they agreed to help a poor Maori family build a house in New Zealand this summer, two Tallahassee teenagers knew they were in for adventure."  >>Read More

Peruvian Work Party, Local Volunteers Help Village Build Septic System
San Diego Union-Tribune
November 13, 2003
"POWAY- In a small, rural town of Salkantay, Peru, teens from inland North County dug trenches. As they shoveled, they made history. They were working on foundations for a septic system for the remote town's first toilets."  >>Read More

Teen Volunteers Get Change to Travel, Learn
Las Vegas Sun
June 15, 2002
"Most kids don't have to be dewormed after they return from their summer vacations, but for four local teens, it will be part of the adventure."  >>Read More

Service In The Rain Forest
Nevada Beehive
July 15, 2002
"Four valley teenagers and school teacher embarked on a remarkable three-week humanitarian service trip this summer that took them deep into the heart of the Brazilian rain forest to build a classroom at a shelter for impoverish street children who live along the Amazon River."  >>Read More

Working Vacation
Las Vegas Review-Journal
July 25, 2002
"For most young people, summer vacation is a time for hanging out with friends, earning some spending money at a low-stress job, lazing around the house and decompressing from the rigors of the academic year."   >>Read More

Boise Teen Uses Savings To Help Build Shelter For Kids In Brazil
Idaho Stateman
August 9, 2002
"Most teenagers save for cars and the latest back-to-school fashions. Natalie Irish dipped into her savings to buy bricks and boards for a children's shelter in Brazil."   >>Read More

LDS Youth And Leaders Build House, Dig Latrines for Members in Nicaragua
The San Diego Seagull
November, 2001
"At their own expense, Holly Fetters, a Larel in the Dayton Ohio East Stake and Jonathan Mack, a priest in the Olathe Kansas Stake, spent three weeks in August mostly helping the Pais family build a house in Nicaragua."    >>Read More

QUICK FACTS 2009

• Alliance for Youth Service (AYS) is a nonprofit organization that provides summer humanitarian expeditions to youth ages 16-19.

• Since its establishment in 1999, AYS has conducted 30 service trips to the following countries:
  • Bolivia
  • Brazil
  • Costa Rica
  • Dominican Republic
  • Fiji
  • New Zealand
  • Nicaragua
  • Peru
  • Tonga
  • United States – Appalachia

• In 2009, nine group of more than 20 participants from the United States and Canada traveled to countries including Fiji, Peru and Tonga to engage in projects designed to improve third-world conditions. Additionally, 18 Eagle Scout projects were completed as part of the work itinerary.

• Of the almost three week expeditions, one day is set aside for site-seeing, Participants are otherwise engaged in laboring to improve third-world conditions by completing a major service project and immersing themselves in the villages in which they are serving.

• Established in 1999, more than 750 youth from several countries have participated in AYS humanitarian aid trips.

• In 2010, AYS is expanding its offerings to include expeditions to Belize, Brazil, Fiji, Tonga and Peru allowing the program to accommodate some 100 additional youth volunteers.

• All the trips are typically filled by February of each year although the more popular locations fill much earlier.

• All participants pay their own expenses to participate; AYS does have a discount programs for youth that fund raise.

• AYS was founded by socially-conscious LDS parents who wanted to offer an experience for their teenage sons and daughters to reach out to serve in poverty-stricken areas of the world.

• The first AYS trip in 1999 was to Brazil.

• With headquarters in St. George, Utah, AYS is an LDS-oriented service group dedicated to engaging youth in global and interpersonal betterment.

• All participants agree to observe the AYS Code which comprises exhibiting high principles of honor, integrity, and morality, including graciousness and consideration toward individuals of different cultures, backgrounds and and ethnic conditions.