The community gathered to recognize and celebrate youths making a difference at the Naperville Youth Service Awards 2019 presented by Mayor Steve Chirico, the Naperville City Council and KidsMatter.
This year 19 different organizations and 26 youth volunteers were honored. Groups such as the Alive Center, Indian Community Outreach and the Naperville Public Library were represented.
It is the intent of KidsMatter, together with Mayor Steve Chirico and the City Council, to honor young people who connect with opportunities that give them a sense of purpose, provide them with valuable hands-on experiences, and ignite the volunteer spirit that has helped make Naperville the thriving community it is today.
Youth Service Awards – The Beginning
Since 1993, the City of Naperville has presented the Naperville Youth Service Award to recognize and honor outstanding volunteer efforts by local Naperville area students and to encourage all youth to get involved in community service.
KidsMatter
Serving 45,000 kids in Naperville. KidsMatter works to help young people build developmental assets including positive values, healthy relationships and self esteem.
Edward Hospital created KidsMatter (formerly known as the Naperville Youth Development Coalition) as a community-wide prevention health strategy to combat teenage destructive behaviors and was granted our 501(c)(3) status in 2001. Recognizing a problem-centered approach which relies heavily on professionals and public-sector resources rarely works by itself, Edward and a team of Naperville community leaders looked for a complementary approach which focuses on the healthy development of all young people, regardless of race/ethnicity/economic background, and requires action by all residents of the community.
