LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — In northwest Las Vegas Saturday morning, it was a day of service led by young people driven by a desire to give back to our community.
About a hundred kids and teens gathered at Centennial Hills Park to build 3,000 care kits for our unhoused population, filled with snacks, water, toothpaste, shampoo and more.
WATCH | Northwest valley teen organizes service event at Centennial Hills Park
It was organized by "Creating A Giving Culture LV," a new local non-profit created by Arbor View High School junior Aiyana Castro who's working hard to inspire other kids her age and younger to serve their community.
"It's all about getting youth involved in the community, because most kids don't get the opportunity to serve from other non-profits — the age [to serve] is usually 13, so everyone that's not 13 isn't able to serve," Aiyana told Channel 13 on Saturday morning. "We're just trying to build that bridge and build that gap and get youth in the community serving."
It's Aiyana's first big event since she created her very own non-profit, something she's dreamed about since she started volunteering as an 11-year-old.
"I was that person that got told no, so I started my own initiatives," Aiyana said. "It was always my dream to get more youth out in the community, because it's all about helping people and making a bigger impact. Taking a look out here, there's so many youth here — I'm just so excited."
Other youth-led organizations were there helping out, including "The Wellness Box Foundation," a non-profit focusing on distributing feminine hygiene products to women and girls, ran by Chloe Kim and Ilana Stone, both juniors at the Meadows School.
"Being able to collaborate with other youth is really important, we think," Ilana said. "We're such a big part of the community that doesn't get a chance to be a part of Las Vegas as much as we can be, so being able to give back in this way — especially collaborating with so many other people — is so great."
OCA Las Vegas — an organization dedicated to youth mentorship in our Asian American and Pacific Islander community – brought snacks and toiletries for the community care packages, and volunteers for the event.
"I've been involved in service ever since I was a youth myself, and coming back and seeing these high schoolers so involved in their communities reminds me of what it was like all those years ago," said Alexa Guloy with OCA Las Vegas. "It's so great to see it's alive and well."
"What does it mean to you that we're at Centennial Hills Park, you go to Arbor View High School and that you're holding this event here in the northwest valley right now?" Channel 13's Northwest Las Vegas Neighborhood Reporter Guy Tannenbaum asked Aiyana Castro, the event's organizer.
"It means a lot, because this is my community," Aiyana answered. "Seeing everyone come here to Centennial to serve is such a big thing to me."
If there's something going on in the northwest valley that you think we should know about here at Channel 13 — good, bad or otherwise — we want to hear from you! You can email Guy at Guy.Tannenbaum@KTNV.com.
