With exceptional leadership from Deloitte and its Vice Chairman, Jack Russi, the Jefferson Awards has created our turnkey youth service and leadership system in high schools titled Students In Action (SIA).

With our SIA initiative, we are now in over 325 high schools in 16 communities. The process is driven by 4 or more student leaders in each school who oversee a monthly activity, combined with 24 hours of classroom leadership training. The goal is to multiply student volunteering and do it by training student leaders. In academic year 2010-2012, our students were responsible for 1.5 million volunteer hours, federally-rated as a $32 million service value.

As SIA continues to grow, it became clear that we need to bolster our leadership team with the addition of a National SIA Director. Thanks to the very generous support of Board Members Hillary Schafer and Mark Shafir, this has taken place.

In ten years, we'll be in 2,000 high schools, effect 2 million students and provide 25 million hours of service, valued at $500 million.

"Deloitte is proud to have played a lead role in creating Students In Action. We're introducing the joy of service to thousands of students. Our SIA training provides them with invaluable life-long leadership skills. We're changing lives."

Jack Russi,
Vice Chairman and National Managing Partner,
Corporate Development
Deloitte LLP

Delaware First Lady Carla Markell with
Jefferson Awards Students In Action
participants

Students celebrating their service at the
National Youth Service Summit
in Cincinnati, OH

Leadership Training for
Chicago Student Leaders by the Illinois
Institute of Technology

Students from Charleston's School of the Arts
Cleaning up a local beach

Board Member Hillary Beard Schafer at the Jefferson Awards Ceremonies

Jefferson Awards Student In Action student leaders
from Adlai E. Stevenson High School

Jefferson Awards recipient Bill Shore,
founded Share Our Strength to end
hunger in America and around the world

U.S. Senator Al Franken speaking at the Jefferson Awards National Report to
the U.S. Senate

Students In Action school
St. Benedictine Academy participates
in leadership training

Zoe Ridolfi-Star
Lincoln Park High School
San Rafael, California

Zoe Ridolfi-Starr sings the praises of the Jefferson Awards. "The Jefferson Awards -Deloitte training is different than anything else we had in school. They want us to THINK BIG and follow our passion. It's all about empowerment and building self-confidence, followed by training in practical, real-world skills. We're full of energy and have dreams of changing the world. We're not afraid. The Jefferson Awards provides encouragement and sustained support."

In 2009, after seeing so many people suffering from Hurricane Katrina, Zoe organized for 15 students and three adult chaperones to go to New Orleans over spring break to build homes with Habitat for Humanity. Zoe's vision then was to launch a national service project and show that students have power and can be agents of change. Today Zoe's vision is global. She's building schools in rural India.

Ariana Taveras
Benedictine Academy Parochial High School
Newark, New Jersey

Benedictine Academy, an all-girls parochial high school in Newark, New Jersey, entered the Jefferson Awards - Deloitte Students In Action program in September 2010. Benedictine Academy is an inner-city school. 60 percent of the families qualify for federal assistance. In their first year, they won "Best School" from New Jersey, and won the national award for "Best New School -2011." Benedictine Academy is testimony that the Jefferson Awards is changing lives.

Junior, Ariana Taveras, reports, "Young people are usually told all the things they can't do. The Jefferson Awards message is Yes, You Can. Go with your instinct and you CAN make the world a better place. Then they showed us how. How to write a power letter. How to public speak. How to build teams."

Faculty member, Linda Michalski, Theology Chairperson, expands on this. "The Jefferson Awards was a true watershed moment for Benedictine. We were already doing service, but the Jefferson Awards challenged us to THINK BIG. It was very empowering. Instead of doing very nice, but small community volunteering, we reached out and involved the Mayor, the statewide media, the United Nations in our student-led campaign to help stop human trafficking worldwide."