Delta Dental Plan of Minnesota, in partnership with the Minnesota Alliance With Youth, awarded $10,000 in grants through its Delta Dental Plan of Minnesota Serve A Smile Program to mark the 16th Annual National Youth Service Day, which was held April 16-18, 2004. The various grant winners, which received from $100 to $1,000 each, are youth and service-based organizations that observed NYSD by volunteering at homeless shelters, cleaning public parks, assisting seniors and more.

One of the grant recipients, the Volunteer Resource Center Twin Cities Promise Youth Task Force, used some of its grant funds to help clean up Phalen Park on April 17, when St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly kicked off the City of St. Paul's Division of Parks and Recreation "Spring Parks Clean-Up" event at the Lake Phalen Picnic Pavilion. An estimated 10,000 Minnesota youth participated in NYSD community service projects throughout the state.

"Delta Dental supports Youth Service Day because it promotes positive action and community service by youth," said Ann Johnson, director of community relations at Delta Dental Plan of Minnesota. "We're proud that our grants help young people to make a difference in their communities."

For a complete list of Delta Dental Plan of Minnesota's Serve-A-Smile Grant Winners in support of Minnesota National Youth Service Day 2004, visit the Minnesota Alliance With Youth's Web site.

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