For the young men of the Young Men’s Service League (YMSL) Johns Creek chapter, service is more than a requirement—it’s a way to take on real challenges in the community.
YMSL is a four-year program where high school boys and their mothers volunteer together in support of local philanthropies. Each year, the Johns Creek chapter partners with 28 organizations, helping members build a lifelong commitment to service through hands-on involvement.
Over the past year, that commitment has taken shape through a focused effort to address food insecurity. In the U.S., nearly one-third of food goes uneaten, even as 1 in 7 Georgians and 1 in 5 children face food insecurity.
To help bridge that gap, the chapter partnered with Second Helpings Atlanta. In just four weeks, YMSL mother-son teams collectively served 400 hours and rescued over 6,000 pounds of fresh food from going into landfills. By delivering the food to local nonprofits, they provided immediate access to food to families in need. Students also packed 75 boxes filled with 750 snack bags for children at three schools.
“It feels good to give back to my community. I’m walking away feeling incredibly lucky for what I have and more committed to making sure my neighbors have enough to eat,” said Joshua Kempiners, an 11th grade student at Johns Creek High School.
For Laura Bennison, VP of Philanthropy for YMSL Johns Creek, the experience is designed to be both hands-on and eye-opening.
“We want our young men to understand both the scale of the need and the power they have to respond,” Bennison says. “When they see the full picture of taking food that might have gone to waste to organizations that can use it to support families right away, it becomes real.”
That sense of purpose carried into a rapid-response effort later in the year. When delays in SNAP benefits left local food banks struggling to keep shelves stocked, the chapter quickly organized a community-wide food drive.
More than 73 percent of members participated, rallying neighbors, collecting donations and delivering more than 4,000 items to six local organizations. On collection day, more than 25 volunteers sorted and loaded donations in just 30 minutes, filling 10 SUVs bound for partner nonprofits.
The chapter’s food drives support organizations including Community Assistance Center, Meals by Grace, Neighborhood Cooperative Ministries, North Fulton Community Charities, Solidarity Sandy Springs and Stella Love.
“When your group arrived with car after car of donations, it was honestly overwhelming—in the best way. Our shelves had been running low, and what you delivered made an immediate difference for the families we serve,” said Stella Love, founder and CEO of Stella Love non-profit.
Through each project, the goal remains the same: developing young men who lead with empathy, take initiative and understand the value of serving others.