Leading Organizations Support Youth Action For the Global Goals

Announcing 2019-20 National Days of Celebration and Awards for Community Service Impact

InnerView Technologies is expanding the 2019-20 Youth Community Service Awards to deepen national awareness and celebrate action for the UN Global Goals, add statewide support of volunteerism and 21st century skills, and connect innovative solutions and programs addressing specific challenges in our communities and our world. This year's program includes leading organizations: The United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA), Michigan Community Service Commission, and Youth Service America (YSA).

Last spring, more than 4,300 students across the country received honors from UNA-USA and InnerView Technologies for local and global impact. Students across the country, ages 14 to 24, are invited to explore volunteer opportunities, capture service activities, monitor community impact and earn regional and national awards. Each activity builds a unique view of impact with the generation of a personal digital service resume. A variety of recognition opportunities exist for students and the causes they care about.

"Through positive experiences, peer leadership, community engagement and access to ways to get involved, we can introduce more individuals to service opportunities aligned with their passions," says Rachel Bowen Pittman, Executive Director of UNA-USA. "We believe this program uniquely connects an entire network of change makers including volunteers, service leaders, development programs, nonprofits, schools and committed businesses to elevate and expand the social impact of volunteer efforts and connection to the UN Global Goals."

InnerView is also introducing new purpose-driven, issue-specific awards to recognize youth champions of change. As a key partner, The Kroger Co. will advance and recognize youth engagement on UN Global Goal 2: Zero Hunger and Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. These efforts align with Kroger's Zero Hunger | Zero Waste social impact plan, which aims to end hunger in its communities and eliminate waste across the company by 2025.

"There is a fundamental absurdity surrounding the amount of food wasted every day in the U.S. and the number of people who go to bed hungry. Kroger's bold social impact plan, Zero Hunger | Zero Waste, is working to close the gap by creating solutions and partnering with likeminded organizations and people," said Jessica Adelman, Kroger's group vice president of corporate affairs and chief social impact officer. "Kroger is eager to connect curious, passionate students with organizations and programs focused on creating Zero Hunger | Zero Waste communities, and equally impassioned to celebrate these Zero Heroes for being part of the solution."

Michigan is the first state to support a statewide digital recognition for volunteerism. "We have always been impressed with Michigan's youth volunteers and the impact they have made," said Ginna Holmes, Executive Director of Michigan Community Service Commission. "These youth awards give us another avenue to recognize their service and lift up their efforts to better our state's communities."

This is the inaugural year of a partnership to support YSA's activation campaigns - 9/11 Day of Service & Remembrance (September 11, 2019), MLK Day of Service (January 20, 2020), and Global Youth Service Day (April 17-19, 2020) – by providing opportunities to serve and recognition. "We are thrilled to partner with InnerView to call on students to serve and celebrate on these days of service," said Steven A. Culbertson, President and CEO of YSA. "We're currently leaving two-thirds of our young citizens out of actively participating in our democracy. Volunteering is a gateway to a lifetime of civic participation and days of service are on-ramps to volunteering, especially for first-time volunteers."

Awards for this school year take into consideration community service activity from June 1, 2019 through April 15, 2020. To learn more about the spirit of the each award and attainment requirements, visit the awards page online at InnerView.org/awards

About the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA)

The United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) is a grassroots movement of Americans who support the vital work of the United Nations in U.S. communities, colleges, and Congress. For more than 75 years, UNA-USA and its national network of 20,000 members and 200 chapters have promoted strong U.S. leadership at the UN through advocacy campaigns, youth engagement, outreach programs, and public events. Learn more at UNAUSA.org

About The Kroger Co.

At The Kroger Co. KR, we are dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit®. We are nearly half a million associates who serve over 11 million customers daily through a seamless digital shopping experience and 2,761 retail food stores under a variety of banner names, serving America through food inspiration and uplift, and creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us, visit our newsroom and investor relations site.

About Youth Service America (YSA)

YSA believes that youth, communities and democracy thrive when we all work together for the common good. YSA is a leading global nonprofit that activates young people, ages 5-25, to find their voice, take action and acquire powerful civic and 21st Century skills as they solve problems facing their communities. YSA supports its activation campaigns grants, training and resources, and recognition programs for young people and their adult champions. Youth-led projects use Awareness, Service, Advocacy, and Philanthropy (ASAP) strategies to create social and environmental change. For more information, visit www.YSA.org.

About Michigan Community Service Commission

The Michigan Community Service Commission (MCSC) utilizes service as a strategy to address the state's most pressing issues and empowers volunteers to strengthen communities. In 2018-2019, the MCSC is granting more than $21 million in federal funds to local communities for volunteer programs and activities. The Governor's Service Awards, Michigan's AmeriCorps, Mentor Michigan and Volunteer Michigan are premier programs of the MCSC. The MCSC is housed in the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. For more information, visit Michigan.gov/volunteer

About InnerView Technologies

InnerView is the leading youth social responsibility platform to help students, groups, and schools highlight community service impact, passion for causes, skill development and connect local effort to the UN Global Goals. All students are welcome to join tens of thousands of 14 to 24 year olds who have developed dynamic Service Resumes through my.InnerView.org. InnerView Technologies is a social impact organization working with students, groups, schools, nonprofits, and committed & compassionate institutions. Learn more at InnerView.org

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