The following is a list of projects that were selected to receive a $2,500 grant award. Grants will be awarded no later than December 31, 2008, and service projects are to be completed by December 31, 2009. A brief description of each community service project will also be listed on the SkillsUSA Web site
in the near future.

The Arlington Career Center, Arlington, Va.
The Arlington Career Center's Industry and Engineering Program Cluster (which consists of Carpentry, Electricity, Heating/Ventilation/Air Conditioning/Refrigeration, and Engineering) has developed a plan to build a small, mobile, residential structure made entirely of environmentally friendly, recycled, and sustainable materials and using state-of-the-art "green" building procedures.

The Atlantic County Institute of Technology, Mays Landing, N.J.
A.C.I.T would like to revitalize our schools greenhouse. The herbs and flowers grown will be donated to local nursing homes and hospitals and local soup kitchens. We will also use them in are local culinary kitchen. The herbs and flowers will also be sold and the profit will be donated to local community service associates.

Bergen County Academies, Hackensack, N.J.
The community service project will be broken down into a two part chronological cycle: first, environmental conservation and beautification/rebuilding, then education of the next generation of conservationists and the general public. On March 11, 2009 we will spend three hours removing waste from the 100 foot buffer zone along the river and then we will restore the area's beauty with shrubs, plants, and flowers. Subsequently, we will teach an interactive lesson on environmental clean up to students at the grade school adjacent to our high school in the winter and they will join us on the day of the community service project. By providing the Bergen County public with a beautiful "green" pathway, we will enhance public appreciation for the Hackensack River, thereby encouraging public participation in protecting the river's environment.

Habersham Central High School, Mt. Airy, Ga.
This project will maintain a 'safety net' between the entrance of the courthouse and the parking lot. The construction of a new wall with non decaying materials will provide for a secure means of preventing future erosion control. The landscape will bring a Green Space of beauty to the entrance. This improvement will aid in the overall 'eye' appeal to the entrance of the county courthouse for the daily average of 500 community citizens that utilize the facility.
The Habersham County courthouse is in bad need of secure retaining wall and improved landscaping.

Lake Charles Boston Academy of Learning, Lake Charles, La.
The students and advisors will travel to South Cameron High School, which was devastated by hurricane Ike to help with the clean-up and restoration effort of this school. The students of this school are now being housed at a hockey arena in Lake Charles. Within the school itself, there are floors that need resurfacing,, walls that need painting, and supplies that need replacing. Some of the heartier varieties of plants may come back in the spring, but all of the tender vegetation will have to be re-sown, including the grass. In speaking with the superintendent of school s in Cameron Parish, at this point, they have only been working on how to get the students into some kind of school setting.

Manatee Technical Institute, Bradenton, Fla.
Manatee Technical Institute's project will entail finishing a "green" home for Habitat for Humanity. The home will be fitted with energy-saving and non-toxic fixtures and materials for the best environmental impact and stewardship for years to come. The project will involve about 40 SkillsUSA students and a partnership with Manatee County Habitat for Humanity. This project addresses a pressing community need, a need for affordable housing, especially during this difficult economic time. It also employs the green standards espoused by Timberland. It is driven by a grassroots effort in the community and the school to assist low-income home buyers. It uses products made from recycled materials and will reduce energy loss for 10 to 20 years or more. It engages high school and adult students, the family who will own the home, as well as that family's friends and family, and the community at large. The project educates future builders of America about green technology, giving them an opportunity to learn excellence and environmental sensibility that they will take with them into the construction industry. It is also carbon neutral. The project will provide immediate and ongoing benefits to the environment.

Metropolitan Community College, Omaha, Neb.Metropolitan Community College's (MCC) service-learning home repair class, better known as "MCC Cares," and the SkillsUSA chapter will provide students the opportunity to use their construction skills in "real world" situations that will benefit people in need. Partnering with the MCC Service-Learning Office, Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging (ENOA) and local churches, MCC students will repair or improve the homes and facilities of senior citizens and others in need. By applying their construction and leadership skills in the community, students will enable Omaha area residents to maintain their independence and their homes.

Merlo Institute of SkillsUSA
Students in the Merlo Institute Chapter of SkillsUSA will organize and host an annual recycling competition, inviting all high schools within San Joaquin County, as well as some public and private middle and elementary schools to participate. Through friendly school rivalry students will learn about issues affecting their environment and will work to protect the earth's resources. The publicity garnered by the events will foster behavior change in the students' families and throughout the community. Chapter members have named the project "The Waste Erase Race."

Sartori Education Center, Renton, Wash.
Implement a school computer recycling program where we take school district surplus computers and refurbish and reimage them for public use. This involves removing school district software and adding antivirus, word processing, and office type software. These will be passed out to low income residents of the city. Residents apply for computers by application and will be given basic computer instruction then the computer becomes theirs. This project will save the district the cost of recycling these computers and filling landfills, and benefits low income residents that can't afford a computer

Baraboo High School, Prarie du Sac, Wis.
The community service project would include having Sauk Prairie, Baraboo, and Waunakee SkillsUSA student build walls for Habitat for Humanity. The purpose of the activity would be to help jump start a house for Habitat for Humanity. Our goal is to build all of the exterior walls and if we have enough students and time, we would also build the interior walls for the house.

The three chapters would like to raise enough money to buy the framing materials. Since we would be building the walls at one of the three schools, we would also need money to transport the walls to desired location of the house. With the tough economy times, there are several families that are in need of a house to raise their family.

SkillsUSA Massachusetts, South Easton, Mass.SkillsUSA Massachusetts in conjunction with the MetroWest YMCA has developed a unique service-learning opportunity for overn100 SkillsUSA students and advisors as part of our Fall State Leadership Conference. The project will benefit the youth members of the YMCA as well as the environment as SkillsUSA members complete 10 projects at the YMCA camp, which will improve the condition of buildings, perimeter fencing, outdoor recreation areas and the grounds of the 100-acre camp. Specific projects will focus on environmental stewardship associated with the products and processes used to accomplish the following specific projects: painting, water sealing, fence installation, landscaping, repairing & painting picnic tables, organizing storage areas (for outdoor recreation equipment), re-capturing two "green-ways" at the camp by removing brush, cleaning water features and preparing planters.

Star Valley High School, Afton, Wyo.
Star Valley Middle school located in Afton Wyoming purchased a green house kit for their science classes. The green house needs a foundation, plumbing and electrical which was not covered in their budget. Verlin Andrews the mine supervisor at J.R. Simplot Smokey canyon mine has taken the lead to organize and complete the construction of the green house for SVMS. Simplot Smokey Canyon Mine in cooperation with Kilroy Construction, MECO electric, Star Valley High School Skills USA chapter and other committee volunteers drafted a plan to finish the 32'x48' green house at SVMS. It will be completed and in use by May of 2008. The green house will be used to start seedling trees which in turn will then be given back to Simplot and used in reclamation of the Simplot mine located in the Afton area. Kem Cazier principal of Star Valley Middle School said that one of the on going projects for his science classes would be to grow flowers and donate them to the Star Valley nursing home. The flowers would be used to fill planters outside the patient's rooms at the nursing home.

Sussex Technical High School, Georgetown, Del.
The total amount of the grant money will be used to purchase recycling bins for 2 schools. These schools have contacted us directly to help them create successful recycling programs. We will assist them in planning and implementing programs in their schools. We will use our school's program as a model. Sussex Tech's program began in January 2008 and to date we have recycled 120,000 pounds of materials. In addition, we will also give presentations to the students in these schools to inform them of the benefits of and procedures for recycling.

Tech Ed Center, Sugar Land, Texas
Project is divided into 2 phases: 1st phase-collecting school supplies hard hit by Hurricane Ike and donating those supplies to district in District 9 area whose students are going to class without supplies. The first delivery date is 10/22/08. We will then collect again for more specific school supplies as per teachers in the affected districted. The 2nd phase will occur if we receive grant money. We plan to replace technical manuals and supplies to CTE classes in the affected district. An example of this type of need is that Cosmetology students need mannequin heads and nail supplies. Another example is that welding classes need replacement welding rods. Very little if any of these items are paid for with insurance.

Truimph SkillsUSA, Cheyenne, Wyo.
This project is the installation and maintenance of a "living snow fence" on the west side of our new high school. The school will open January 5, 2009 and was built in a more rural area that previously had blown clear when a snowstorm occurred. The "living snow fence" also known as a shelter belt will provide a windbreak for the outdoor spaces planned for the school, be more aesthetically pleasing for the neighborhood residents, provide shelter for local wildlife, and help to neutralize the carbon footprint being left by the new school. The "living snow fence" will be planted with a variety of trees placed strategically in rows to achieve the desired outcomes as mentioned above.

Somerset County Vo-Tech High School, Bridgewater, N.J.
Students will conduct an extensive beach clean up in cooperation with the NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection's Clean Shores Program. The Clean Shores Program is an adopt a beach program that will become an annual project.