Since 1890, The Kentucky YMCA Youth Association has been dedicated to youth development, civic engagement, and belonging. Through programming like the model state government and model United Nations, our association has strived to ingrain a sense of civic knowledge and agency in teens. However, it was not until 1998 that our mission extended the idea of civic engagement to include community service and philanthropy. We were focused, up until that point, on civic action in terms of voting, legislative activity, and government processes.

Then, an idea was born. The idea that true and effective civic engagement needed to include service to local communities; and that civic service would best be conducted in tandem with a sense of place. What better way to instill a sense of place, then to simultaneously grow pride in being from the Commonwealth of Kentucky, while also getting a sense for the larger world and how other communities are structured, built, and thrive?

Thus, the foundation of Y-Corps was born in the inaugural Service to the South trip. The brainchild of then-Y-Staff member, Joe Bringardner, brought together 15 Kentucky teens and led them through a service and culture trip through the Southeastern states, following the civil rights story and combining it with the unique communities present in today's southern states. The team carried with them their Kentucky heritage and stories as they served local southern communities, learned about how pre and post civil rights movement shaped our neighboring states, and explored what it means to truly live in community. They then returned to their hometowns with a wider worldview, understanding of history and place, and a greater appreciation for what it means to serve one's whole community with integrity and compassion.

Over 20 years later, this legacy has continued and expanded to four total Y-Corps journeys -- all modeled after the original Service to the South. Each year, new groups of Kentucky teens return from their trips with a more solid sense of self, and a renewed commitment to servant leadership. These teens are forever changed, and go out into the world as agents of positive change. All because of a dream to expand what it means to be civically engaged.

To acknowledge this history, and those who continue the Y-Corps tradition, in 2019 the Kentucky YMCA Youth Association Board of Directors ratified the Bringardner Service Corps -- an association of Y-Corps alums who are recognized throughout our movement and state as unique change agents. At the end of this trip, you will enter into this Corps, and although you will leave your Y-Corps journey behind, you will be bound together with your teammates, and all those who came before you, as a member of the Bringardner Service Corps. This recognition will be commemorated with a challenge coin, to keep with you as a reminder of your journey and commitment to true service that is compassionate, people-centered, and enriched by knowledge of history and place.