Minneapolis / St. Paul Blog

Photo by aflcio2008

 The idea is simple: Maybe if you get kids to care about their community before they hit the terrible teens, they'll actually care as adults.

Rep. Betty McCollum and the Corporation for National and Community Service announced a nearly $900,000 grant for middle schools in the Twin Cities area today. 

The grant is meant to reconnect schools and communities through service learning, educating youth, and funding the National Youth Leadership Council, McCollum said.

"Minnesota is ranked number one for volunteer rates," she said, which is something to be proud of.

The grant is referred to as "Generator Go Green" or "G3" and will create stem oriented service learning projects, said CEO of the NYLC, Jim Kielsmeier.  It is an alliance to save energy, help schools save money, and help students become scientists. 

The grant will primarily serve middle school students from disadvantaged backgrounds and expose them to new ways to sustain the environment.