Together, we can build the next generation of leaders. That’s exactly what YSR Connect — our new Youth Social Responsibility program — is designed to give them.
Military life asks a lot of families — and their kids carry more than most people realize. Frequent moves, interrupted friendships, new schools every few years, and the ever-present worry about a deployed parent don’t disappear when the school bell rings. They follow military-connected youth through every hallway, every classroom, every attempt at making a new friend.
At 365 Connect, we believe these young people deserve more than just support. They deserve a chance to lead.
What Is YSR Connect?
YSR Connect is a community-based service program for students in grades 6–12 and their families. Built around hands-on volunteer experiences with nonprofit organizations throughout San Diego County, the program creates consistent, meaningful opportunities for military youth to connect, serve, and grow alongside their peers.
Developed in partnership with the Armed Services YMCA San Diego, YSR Connect combines the reach of established community infrastructure with 365 Connect’s expertise in purpose-driven service experiences. Together, we’ve built something that addresses a real and persistent gap: a stable, values-centered space where military-connected youth can put down roots — even if only temporarily — and feel like they belong.
Why Military Youth? Why Now?
The challenges facing military-connected youth are well-documented but often underestimated. Frequent relocations mean disrupted schooling, broken friend groups, and the constant emotional labor of starting over. It’s not just hard on kids — it can affect academic performance, mental health, and long-term confidence in ways that follow them into adulthood.
Traditional youth programs aren’t always equipped to meet these needs. They assume continuity. They’re built for kids who will be there next semester and the semester after that.
YSR Connect is built differently. By centering service learning and civic engagement as the connective tissue, the program gives participants something that doesn’t require a long history to access: shared purpose. When you’re working alongside someone to pack food boxes, restore a community garden, or support a local nonprofit, the conversation starts naturally. Connection happens through action.
What the Program Offers
YSR Connect supports military youth across four interconnected areas:
Leadership Development and Personal Growth Youth aren’t just participants — they’re contributors. The program is structured to cultivate real agency, giving students opportunities to take initiative, solve problems alongside adults, and develop the kind of confidence that comes from actually doing meaningful work.
Community Service and Civic Engagement Through hands-on volunteer events with nonprofits across San Diego County, participants get a front-row view of how communities function, what they need, and how individuals can make a tangible difference. Service becomes a lived experience, not an abstraction.
Meaningful Peer Connections One of the hardest parts of being a military kid is that friendships feel temporary by design. YSR Connect creates recurring touchpoints where youth can form genuine bonds — with other military-connected kids who understand the experience, and with civilian peers who may not.
Stronger Ties Between Military Families and Civilian Communities The divide between military and civilian life is real, and it runs in both directions. YSR Connect actively bridges that gap by creating shared spaces where families from different backgrounds work toward common goals.
Service as a Foundation, Not Just an Activity
What makes YSR Connect distinct isn’t just the volunteer hours — it’s the philosophy behind them.
Service learning, at its best, isn’t about showing up and checking a box. It’s about understanding why a community needs what it needs, developing empathy for the people you’re serving, and walking away changed by the experience. For youth who have spent years feeling like temporary residents in every city they’ve lived in, that kind of engagement can be transformative.
When you serve a community, you invest in it. You start to care about it. And that shift — from visitor to stakeholder — is exactly the kind of foundation that helps young people build a sense of belonging, even in a city they may only call home for a few years.
Built on Partnership
YSR Connect exists because of collaboration. Our partnership with the Armed Services YMCA San Diego brings together two organizations with deep roots in serving military families and deep commitment to doing it well.
The Armed Services YMCA has been supporting military members and their families for over a century, with programs designed specifically for the unique rhythms and pressures of military life. 365 Connect brings years of experience designing high-quality, community-centered volunteer events that create genuine impact — for participants and for the nonprofits they serve.
Together, we’ve built something neither organization could have done as effectively alone.
Get Involved
YSR Connect is open to students in grades 6–12 and their families in the San Diego area. Whether you’re a military family looking for connection, a nonprofit interested in partnering with us, or a corporate supporter who wants to help fund programming that matters — there’s a place for you in this work.
Visit volunteer.365-connect.org to learn more about upcoming events and how to participate.
To explore partnership or sponsorship opportunities, contact 365 Connect directly.
To make an impact, Donate Now via our PayPal page.
365 Connect designs high-quality, community-centered volunteer experiences that bring people together in meaningful service. YSR Connect is part of our broader mission to turn action into impact — one community at a time.
