Teen Volunteers in Action SD Chapter 3 celebrates the Class of 2023

Teen Volunteers in Action San Diego Chapter 3 (TVIA SD3) held their annual Senior Send-Off event on April 23 at the Fairbanks Ranch Country Club. TVIA is an organization of young men, who along with their families, are committed to developing community leaders through a structured program of volunteerism, philanthropy and personal growth and development.

This year’s Senior Send-Off honored 28 young men who have been actively involved in giving back to their communities throughout San Diego County for the past six years. Collectively these young men have put in close to 2,000 hours of community service. Their outreach throughout the county is broad. They have volunteered for organizations such as the San Diego Food Bank, Miracle League, Burrito Boyz, Last Chance at Life Rescue, Serving Seniors, Bridge of Hope, Rady Children’s Hospital, Meals on Wheels and Feeding America San Diego to name a few. In addition, each year the TVIA senior class chooses an organization(s) that they would like to present with a charitable donation. This year’s recipient is the Burrito Boyz.

Three young men — Jacob Costa, Andrew Li, and Tyler Kim — were honored with the Franci Free Award for Excellence in Service for going far above and beyond their TVIA requirements. Along with a small group of friends, Free created TVIA in 2000, recognizing that there were no service organizations in the area that were geared toward teen boys. Based on her belief that “teaching your kids to give back is a gift that keeps on giving,” she created an organization that now boasts over a thousand members in any given year, who provide countless hours of service to the community, while learning to become leaders of the future.

For more information on how to get involved with TVIA, visit the website at www.tvia.org.